In this summer issue of Desert Magazine, we interview Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez, a grandson of immigrant farmworkers, says that the “grit” and determination of Coachella residents can be summed up by the famous slogan. Mayor Hernandez, who grew up in Coachella and attended schools there, entered politics at the age of 23 and has dedicated his career to his community. Though it has been off the radar for many of the Valley’s residents and visitors, the city of Coachella is one of the fastest growing communities in Riverside County. When it incorporated in 1946, it had just 1000 residents. Now, it is well over 40,000. Thanks to the Coachella Festival and Stagecoach (which are held in the city of Indio), the Coachella name now has international recognition. With the added success of the Thermal Club and Irving Azoff’s Ladera Golf Club in nearby Thermal, the city of Coachella is dedicated to positive community growth and realizing its place in the sun.
Elsewhere in this issue, our stalwart sportswriter, Judd Spicer, provides our readers with a much needed primer in staying active (particularly if you’re a golfer) during the blistering summer months when doing much more than walking out to the mailbox seems like a trek across the Gobi desert. I, for one, am grateful for his tips. The hottest round I have ever played was at Desert Willow golf club on a brutal July day. If you’ve ever played golf in the Coachella Valley in July on a day with no wind, you know what it feels like. I was determined to stay out of exposed sand traps…they looked twice as hot as the fairways. The mango and ice soaked towels at Desert Willow were lifesavers. They made the round bearable, but it was still tough to avoid the worst of the heat. As Judd points out, the best tactic to get through a round of golf in summertime in the Coachella Valley is to get the round in very early or very late. On the other hand, an early round of golf in the Desert can be one of my favorites as you generally have fewer people. The Valley courses always have the best service and ways to make the round enjoyable… and sometimes you just need to get a round in, regardless of how hot it might be!
Lastly, sometimes it gets so hot, you just have to get out of town for a little breather. We are indebted to our Creative Director, Randy Dunbar, for taking one for the team and taking on the thankless task for jetting off to Cabo San Lucas at the tip of Baja California to investigate the ways in which this Mexican resort team may be one of the best antidotes when the thermometer threatens to say above 115 degrees.
The team at Desert Magazine wishes you the best of summers and we will see you again in the Fall when the low triple digits feel like relief. And I’ll just close this with three simple reminders: Sunscreen, a wide-brimmed hat, and always park in the shade.
