Last October I headed out to Palm Springs for Desert Trip. It was an unusual weekend for me, spent alone amongst a 100,000+ people. I didn’t head out to the festival until about 4pm most days. Which left me with lots of time for some serious r&r. I spent that time by the pool (I stayed at Sparrows Lodge…it’s gorgeous!), solo brunching at Ace, getting a massage (also at Ace – as an FYI their massages are the best in the business) and just biking around Palm Springs on my borrowed-from-the-hotel bicycle.

One said bicycle jaunt (in 100 degrees) took me up to the Moorten Botanical Garden. If you live in Southern California, the variety of cacti and succulents in the garden itself isn’t that impressive, but it’s quiet and has this quaint 70’s vibe (it actually originated in 1938) that makes a visit and the $5 price tag, 100% worth it. All of that said, the best part, which is the must see here, is hidden in a little tin shed – The Cactarium, the worlds FIRST Cactarium to be clear.

In here the cacti and succulents were unusual, alien even… natures most bizarre.