Reading In The Desert (Part 1)

Palm Springs, Police, & Pancit

Last month Traci Thomas and the folks at PAGE BREAK hosted a reading retreat in Joshua tree and I was one of the lucky few selected to join them. So without hesitation I packed my things, hopped on a plane (narrowly evading the ice storm hitting Chicago), and flew across the states to read a book in the desert with a bunch of strangers.

I arrived in Palm Springs a day early, largely to give myself some time to relax and explore. The campsite was an hour away from the airport, so I figured a respite before the retreat was called for. Shortly after landing in the balmy resort town, I unpacked my things, changed, and went straight out to explore.

Downtown Palm Springs consists of a simple squat plaza in between two highways, Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive. The strip vaguely reminded me of Andersonville here in Chicago, because of how kitschy and overpriced everyth…