I have no shame in admitting that I steal some of my best ideas and tips from other bloggers. It’s how I began shaping this dream back in 2010, when I first found “Jennifer-Living-in-my-Car’s” blog, as well as To Simplify Glenn back in his “Falcon Days.” They were like “pushers” in the schoolyard, teasing out something in me that I always knew was there…the gypsy element. It just mushroomed from there, as my blog reading list now usurps the stack of books piled at my elbow, serving as a makeshift night table in the Winnie’s corner bed.
One such blog, Van Tramp, I have been following since before he met Instagraming Kerri. But I follow it even more intently now, as this girl knows two of my favorite things; food….and cocktails! So when I read a post on Van Tramp’s blog of a place that “Kerri must go,” I take notice. When that “must go place” includes music, well, I then I must go too. 😉
Actually, this urge is compounded by the fact that I am now approaching the third straight week of eating my own cooking. I. NEED. A. CHEESEBURGER!! So one look at the online menu from Van Tramp’s latest post about Pappy & Harriet’s in nearby Pioneertown just outside of Joshua Tree is enough to tell me what I need after my long dry spell in the desert.
Our first night back in the north Joshua Tree boondock, I try to talk Jim and Gayle into coming with me to Pappy & Harriet’s. Music, beer, and Vegan Veggie Burgers…what’s not to love?? Okay, well, a two hour wait for one. We try for reservations, but they have been booked up for two weeks! On a Sunday night when the House Band is playing! The hostess tells us we can come and try for a table, but be prepared to wait for two hours. And, “you can walk around, but you must check back every 15 minutes.” Jim’s answer? “Not just no, but HELL No!”
Scenes from “Pioneertown”, just about 15 miles outside of the town of Joshua Tree.
Pioneertown started as a western movie set back in the 40’s.
So I decide to brave it alone, because, well, “Cheeseburger!” I call and ask if there is seating at the bar, and learn it is first come, first served with a full menu. I arrive at 6:45pm, because the Sunday House Band is scheduled to take the stage at 7:30pm. The Hostess at the door tells me it will be two hours, and to check back in 15 minutes. I go for a walk around Pioneertown, and when I return, she puts a check by my name and tells me “There’s still a wait, so come back and see me in 15 more minutes.” So I walk over and lurk at the bar, just as someone is leaving…I swoop in and score a stool with a view of the stage!
Cisco Kid and Judge Roy Bean were filmed here.
Gene Autry also broadcast his radio show from here.
Pappy & Harriet’s is the quintessential dimly lit tavern with a long wooden bar running the length of the room. Decor behind the bar is as eclectic as the mismatched bar stools that surround it. Music is pervasive, but not enough to impede conversation. And yes, the cheeseburger is worth every bite. But nothing can compare to the cheese fries which come with it. Hot, crisp steak fries with molten cheddar cheese, creamy ranch dressing, and chopped green onions scattered on top like a cardiac explosion. Oh, and a cold “Brotherhood” Anchor Steam Brown Ale in a pint jar to chase it down.
Pappy & Harriets opened in 1982, and are famous for mesquite smoked BBQ and burgers, with a slogan, “If you’re in a hurry, you’re in the wrong place.”
Terribly blurry picture at the bar, made more so by the “Brotherhood” Brown Ale.
But this experience is memorable, not just because of the food, but made more so by my barstool mates, as I sit on this stool engaged in conversation for three hours that seems like thirty minutes. To my right is Nancy, a former full timer who owned an Itasca 24 ft Class C before settling down in the Coachella Valley. Nancy tells me tales of secret coves up and down the California Coast (Note to Self: When someone is giving you RV tips in a bar, write them down on a cocktail napkin. Don’t wait for the email, because it might never come.) ;-(
To my left is Bruce Almighty, (not his real name) a man dressed in white with a shock of silver hair who reads me like a book as we share a way too familiar conversations between two total strangers about spiritual paths. It is riveting as well as haunting.
And the band plays on…
This experience causes me to ponder “the chicken vs. the egg.” Do places like Pappy & Harriet’s, or even Joshua Tree for that matter, become popular because there is a special ambiance or unique lure? Or are we “followers” just fallen prey to marketing of blogs and “Listicles” (articles that list the “Top 5 Places you Must See Now or Your Not Cool?”) Am I perpetuating the problem of overcrowding by flocking to places made famous by publicity? Worse yet, blogging about it? Or did they get that way because they offer a chance not to miss the best damned Chili Cheese Fries on the planet?
This bizarre cloud was born out of a wicked wind storm. Don’t you think it looks like “The Fist of God?”
Anyway, here are some photos from the hikes we did in Joshua Tree National Park. From the north side, a loop made up of three trails; The North View, the Maze, and the Window for a total of 7.5 windy miles.
The sky looks like Zorro just few through…
Check out the varied “veins” running down this one boulder…
Got to be my favorite Balanced Rock of all!
From the south side, Lost Palms Oasis, an out and back of 6.5 miles, rolley ups and downs through beautiful rock formations punctuated with wildflowers. At the end lies an oasis of over 100 California Fan Palms, one of six such groves within the park.
Lost Palm Oasis Overlook
The last eighth of a mile to get to the Palms is a killer!
Lost Palm Oasis contains over 100 California Fan Palms.
Lovely being amidst the palms on a windy day, as the sounds of the palm fronds overhead are ethereal.
Lost Palms Oasis is one of six palm groves in the park.
I think this might be the start of what needs to be a “Boondocker Wall of Shame.” This picture is taken through my windshield of a person who actually parked this close in the south boondock area of JTNP, blocking my egress!
That parking job is just shameful. SHAMEFUL! At this point in time, I would give a pinky finger for the burger and fries you had for dinner. Some things just don’t translate perfectly to another food culture.
What a cool glimpse into the happenings in and around Pioneertown! The line about utilizing a cocktail napkin for future reference sent me to my memory chest to pull out a collection of hastily and hazily sketched napkin (and coaster) notes from a history of chance meetings over cocktails. As always, thanks for the memories~~yours from today begetting mine from yesteryear…:-)
Awesome description of your cheeseburger evening! And you palms and rocks. Thanks for such a very interesting blog. Continued happy trails.
I don’t remember Pioneertown ever being so busy. But then it’s been well over 10 years since I went there for some famous pie. What is it with some boondockers parking so close without an invitation?
Don’t you have an ice pick? 😉
Pappy and Harriet’s is one of a kind! As is that crazy cloud fist!
I hope you had to ask that boondocker to move so maybe he’d learn his lesson!
The Fist of God is way to real…..Next time check the top of my skull for verification. I do believe they give the long, long wait times so that the less patient will move along. Glad you snagged the cool spot by the band. Always good to add to the memory bank!
It is so hard to figure what some people are thinking. I guess they weren’t thinking or at least only of themselves!
Your description of the cheese fries had my mouth watering. Oh, yum!!
I really enjoyed hiking in Joshua Tree. Love those rocks!
That “close’camper,” – welcome to my world. I recently had a woman with a child sleep in her parked truck right in front of me while boondocking. The next day she came back with a tent, and was ready to pitch it – again right in front of me. When I asked her how long she was planning to stay, she told me to take my “negative energy and walk away.” She didn’t want me in her circle of positive energy. GEEZ! I got photos, too and will have to add to a post – I like the idea of a “Boondocker Wall of Shame!”
I have to say, I don’t even LIKE french fries, but you sure made those sound good! 🙂
I’m not much into confrontation… But I think there would have to be some, if someone parked like that in front of me. It appears (in the photo anyway) that there are miles of desert to park in. Did you ask what possessed them to park right in front of your “picture window”?
Ohh, I would just have to say something to that inconsiderate person. Really! There are people like that all over the world, for some reason they need to be near other people to feel safe. We go to places like that to get away from other people but they don’t seem to understand. BTW, always always get other people’s email addresses as they rarely write, we always make the first connection.
Regarding Allison’s “pinky finger” comment, I might give up an even more significant body part for either a cheeseburger or a filet mignon…..:)
Jim D.
Not to say that your clueless boondocking neighbor is Canadian, but his trailer is. Unless there has been a recent change one must go to Quebec to obtain one.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.
In fairness to my encroaching neighbor, she did have temporary plates on that new trailer. So I am hoping it was just a case of not knowing any better, despite the fact that there were miles of pullouts further down the road. She did arrive late at night. But this seems to happen to me a lot. I wonder if it is because I don’t typically “spread out” and make it look like I am going to be there for a while. I don’t lay out a mat on the ground, or leave chairs outside. Maybe I need to start making my “footprint” appear a bit larger and less temporary. 😉