A Fat Purple Fig

Kitty and choose a whimsical ceramic gift, fill the car with gas, tip our Alamo shuttle driver, and say farewell (for now) to Los Angeles. We are pumped about this flight. I have splashed out on first-class tickets for the shortest flight of all, so Kitty can experience the wonder that is feeling flight-special. We glide gracefully past the cattle-class queue for the bag drop, and instead have a lovely conversation with our Sky Priority attendant as he adds a fluorescent ‘Priority’ tag to our cases, and wishes us a lovely time.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians is a sovereign nation on almost 40,000 acres of land in Banning, California, whose business ventures include two casinos, a bowling alley, a golf club, and a Taco Bell, amongst numerous others. Their annual Pow Wow, which attracts 25,000 spectators, is hosted in an area beside the newly-refurbished Casino Morongo, a 27-story resort which stands before the rocky backdrop of the San Gorgonio Mountain.