... new under the sun?

 

As we close in on our fourth and last week here in Desert Hot Springs, we're trying to cram in as much as we can, weather permitting.  This past week has been a mix of too windy to do anything and a rain day, though the BIG rain fell Thursday after we'd returned from a fabulous musical evening in the clubhouse and were snug inside our Tergel.  Notwithstanding either wind or rain, Catalina Spa's pools are our sweet siren song, and we're in every day.

Smartie pitched a fit on our way back from Joshua Tree last Sunday, so Monday was a hunt for a new air filter, which was ordered and picked up the same day, much to Smartie's relief; she's no longer gasping for air.

Don't tell Smartie that Jimmy was eyeing this snazzy car!

On Wednesday we made our way to Whitewater Preserve and started hiking, but the sky was dark and threatening and raindrops started falling on our heads, so we gave it up.  This past Friday, we drove to Indian Canyons to check out their trails, but the fellow at the entry kiosk told us that the trails were muddy, slippery and the wind was blowing like crazy, so we turned back to a different (and new) trail, just to be Out and About for a while.

Here are a few pics from our outing on the Tukut Trail

 in Whitewater Preserve on Wednesday.  

We didn't get too far.

Check out that sky!

X marks the spot?

Ahh, as we were trying to get across the wash to see water (Whitewater River), we turned around, saw the sky, felt raindrops, and said, okay, that's enough!

I know the river was blasting through here after Thursday's rain!

We had a fine day, anyway!

* * * * * *

Friday morning we awoke to a glowing rainbow, as rain showers continued over the mountains, with blue skies overhead.  Wacky.  When the wind blows through the pass, Desert Hot Springs really gets hammered, and the wind was whipping wildly again on Friday.  The main highways between DHS and Palm Springs were closed due to blowing sand, (second time since we've been here) which meant we had to find alternate routes to our Indian Canyons destination.

Here are a few pics from South Lykken trail, not too far from Indian Canyons (which was ruled out, as I said).  Jimmy's looking in the direction we're heading.  This close to Mount San Jacinto, we were under clouds and hoped it wouldn't rain.  Too bad the desert is colorless this year, as in, absentee flowers and flowering shrubs.  It figures:  No rain for months and months = no flowers.

This hawk was watching us (or perhaps a mouse or vole?).

The rocks/cliffs along here'bouts are aslant, stacked and crazy.

And fascinating.

We got this far before the trail grew narrow, rocky and straight up a mountain, not what we wanted to do.  Instead we followed a trail to the right of Jimmy.

Rain showers toward Indian Canyons.

I didn't try it, but I bet you could echo in this rugged box canyon!

I'm standing next to a dead bush, right?  Wrong!  The Chuparosa is beginning to bloom!  A couple of years ago when we were in Tahquitz Canyon, these common desert shrubs were in full bloom.  Obviously the desert received water that year.  Speaking of water, how about that dark cloud behind me?

We climbed down and up over the (dry) wash and kept walking on into Oswit Canyon, and I spied this teensy what-looked-like a little fern nestled into a rock crevice.  It's Parry's Lip Fern -- new to me.  Rare plant species?

That's about it.  We could've continued on, but it was time for lunch.  We enjoyed the two-mile/ish hike, (plus elevation gain/loss) and didn't get wet.  You can see what irrigation does in the desert -- see the green?  Looking toward part of the city.

Grabbed a phone pic this (Saturday) morning of San Gorgonio with his fresh mantle of snow.  Wow!  Always something new under the sun.