Hey stranger, it’s been a bit. I hope you’re doing well.

If you’ve been here before, you might be thinking: didn’t Cactus Hugs used to be… different? Louder? More chaotic?

It did. More posts, more randomness, more “hey this happened today.” That version was fun, but it also aged like unrefrigerated potato salad on a hot August day. So this is a reset. On purpose.

Cactus Hugs is back as a local guide again, but with guardrails this time. Less chasing novelty. More stuff that actually helps people who live here, visit here, or are trying to figure out what the desert is really like before committing to a packed itinerary and heat exhaustion.

Why the New Direction

Since updates stopped in late 2020, a lot has changed. In the Coachella Valley. In the world. On the internet. And, honestly, with me.

I’ve always hated how things ended during the pandemic. I’ve also hated how the site was left behind, frozen in time like a weird little internet relic.

So where to take it now?

The internet is already full of desert content that looks like it was written by someone who spent exactly 36 hours here and decided everything was “vibes,” or reads like straight-up chamber of commerce propaganda. We don’t need more of that.

This version of Cactus Hugs is built around a few simple ideas:

• Useful beats trendy
• Evergreen beats frantic posting
• Local reality beats tourism brochure optimism
• The main goal is to be genuinely helpful

That means fewer hot takes, fewer half-baked posts, and way fewer things written just to “keep the site active.” If something doesn’t help you decide what to do, where to go, or what to skip, it probably doesn’t get published.

What You’ll Actually See Here

Most of the content falls into a few buckets:

• Things to do — weekends, seasons, annual events, and places people always ask about
• Food and drink guides — by city, not vibes, and only places that are actually open
• Reality-check posts — the stuff people don’t tell you until it’s too late

You’ll see less “Top 10 Everything” energy and more “here’s how this actually works” guidance. If something is overrated, crowded, miserable in summer, or only fun for a very specific type of person, that gets said out loud.

What This Site Is Not Trying to Be

This is not a newsroom. It’s not a personal diary. It’s not trying to win the SEO Olympics or post three times a day because an algorithm might get bored.

The goal is a durable local resource that compounds quietly over time. Something you can bookmark, come back to, and trust not to waste your time. The internet has enough noise already. This is meant to cut through it, not add to it.

How You Can Help (Without Becoming a Content Intern)

You don’t need to comment on every post or follow ten social accounts. The helpful stuff is simpler:

• If something is closed, changed, or wildly wrong, tell me. I’m not perfect and things change fast. The help is genuinely appreciated.
• If a guide saved you time or helped you avoid a bad plan, share it.
• If there’s a question you see people asking over and over, that’s a good post idea and I’d love to hear it.
• And yes, this matters: if you don’t like the new direction, that’s fine. You’re not required to come back, and I genuinely wish you well.

No spammy sponsored placements. No paid hype masquerading as advice. If monetization happens, it happens quietly and without torching trust.

Where This Is Going

The short version: slower, better, and more honest.

The long version: a solid library of desert guides that don’t need to be rewritten every six months, supported by light ads and the occasional partnership that actually makes sense.

It’s going to take some time to get there. You may see things on the site that feel a little out of place while the cleanup happens. Cactus Hugs previously had over 10,000 posts, and that’s a lot of content to comb through. I’m working through it carefully.

If you’ve been around since the early days, welcome back. If you’re new, this should feel like advice from a local who wants you to enjoy the desert without pretending it’s perfect.

Either way, thanks for being here.

Not sure where to start? Check out our Things to Do in the Coachella Valley guide.