A WEEK IN THE
DESERT
We spent a week parked @ Sam's Family Spa in Desert Hot Springs. It's a laid back kind of place with nice hot baths and a swimming pool. It's close to Palm Springs and there are lots of hiking options nearby. We took the time to relax, catch up on movies and get some trailer "chores" finished.
We stayed at the north end of the Coachella Valley where there were fields of windmills. The wind was fierce while we were there. It blew with great gusts - one night the trailer shook and our rugs blew away. The carpet flew about 80 yards and landed smack against a fence.
One of the first things we did was go in search of local dates. We remembered a stand down the road from the campground. It didn't take long to find the farm.
The bags protect the dates from birds and insects while they ripen. We got BIG fat medjool dates and black gold dates. Both are delicious.
1000 Palms Desert Oasis
Thousand Palms Preserve is located along a fissure on the San Andreas fault. Water seeps from deep beneath the earth to fill this shallow pond.
Surrounded by fan palms
Walking along the San Andreas Fault
Big Morongo Canyon
We hiked along some hills that led back into the canyon. It was quite dry and the cottonwood trees were leafless but the birds were active and it was a "gneiss" walk.
The walls of the canyon are comprised of Pinto Gneiss that was formed 1.7 billion years ago. There are distinct bands of mineral crystals. The dark bands contain more magnesium and iron. The lighter bands have more silicate minerals.