Out and About update -- to Saturday, 2/21

 

"Life is meant to be a beautiful adventure."  We agree.  So, we continue to be adventurous as best we can, or as we say, go Out and About.  Last Saturday, the 14th, we returned to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve (up the big hill) and chose to hike the Canyon trail like we did last year.  It was a stellar day for a 4.5-mile walkabout, and a lovely place to be.

The steep-sided canyon follows Big Morongo Creek from north to south.  Jimmy, above, is looking north, as we were making our way back toward the entrance.  I find it fascinating that the upstream end of the canyon originates in the Mojave Desert, while its downstream portion opens into the Colorado Desert.  Two different habitats, five miles apart, a morphing if you will.

We passed through the natural spring-fed desert oasis that makes this preserve one of the ten largest Cottonwood and Willow riparian habitats in California.  The trees, which are just beginning to leaf out, are magnificent!

Plenty of birds at the Nature Center feeders, including White-crowned Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinch and Mrs. Ladderback Woodpecker, and more.  The preserve is an internationally recognized birding site.

* * * * *

Yes, we're basking in the desert sunshine.  Wait, did I say sunshine?  The entire state of California was slammed with rain and snow on Monday 2/16, including here in Desert Hot Springs.  Other than a swim between rainshowers, Monday was a perfect inside reading day, while raindrops spotted the windshield. Most enjoyable.

* * * * *

Tuesday, the 17th, was clear, yay!  We finally made it to Indian Canyons, our first time, the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis.  We tried last year, but the trails were closed.  We've been looking forward to this!  

But first, look what Monday's weather system left!  Snow on Mt San Gorgonio and flanks!  It tops out at 11,503'.  This photo is from our giant RV windshield; what an amazing view early in the morning!

Indian Canyons.  Wow.  This has to be the prettiest of all the oases canyons we've been to.  It's 15 miles long, following Palm Canyon Creek, one of those now-you-see-it, now-you-don't streams.  We walked a mile along this fairly flat canyon floor -- it really is one of the great beauties in the west.

The trail eventually leads out into the open.

"Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and are especially sacred to their people today.  They're historically important to scientists and nature lovers.  The Agua Caliente people have thrived here for thousands of years."  From their brochure.  Truly, see how easy it would be to fall in love with this setting?

Eventually we left that trail and started up the East Fork Loop trail, knowing we wouldn't go too far, it being strenuous and way too long.  But the views from higher up were fantastic.

I wanted to see the palms that were "up there,"

and Jimmy didn't, so I started up on my own.

And here's where I quit and turned around. 😊

Mt San Jacinto's clouds were filling in.

Opposite view of where I turned around.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll see two people sitting on a rock overlooking the vast scenery.  Far in the distance, dead center, is Palm Springs and the wind turbines.  Hushed and serene up here. 💖

I rejoined Jimmy and we began the trek to the visitor center on the "moderate" Victor Trail, which took us on the other side of those stately palm trees, an up and down trail full of wonders.  The yellow x is where I turned around in the two photos above this one.  Those palms way up there?  No path to them.  Oh well.

A couple of times along here we felt rain, drops that blew in from the rain/mist falling on San Jacinto, left.  That was kinda fun.  We were never threatened with a deluge, at least not then!  We're high above the palms, as you see.

Nice cactus photo.

And those clouds were turning dark.

We were in heaven hiking around here, scanning the hillsides, admiring the differing rock formations, flowers (oh yeah), and all the cactus, never mind that we'd have to get down to the canyon floor where the palms are and where those tiny people are, winding around and about the mountain we were on to get there.  What a joy that we can do this.  At the VC, we sat down at a picnic table and treated ourselves to a big ol' Gatorade and a small package of crackers.  Time to head for our RV home.

Whoa-ho-ho, good thing we left when we did!  Showers abound!

Eventually, it rained on us at the RV!

* * * * *

As I said, snow dumped on NorCal, and then on Wednesday reports from home started coming in.  They were not encouraging.  Trees are down all over Nevada City, power lines snapped, roads blocked and traffic snarled.  We have no power at our house, and according to a message from PG&E, power won't be restored till Tues, the 24th!  YIKES.  Well, nuts.  Heck fire.  Hope our roof is all right.  ** Sigh **

Well, there's nothing we can do about it from here in the desert.  No point in heading home since we couldn't even get in our driveway!  That's the hazard of traveling like we do.  You can't be home to take care of it when things go haywire.

Our month at Catalina RV resort and spa is over on March 3rd.  Maybe all that danged snow will be gone by then!

Our across-the-road friend, Fran, sent us this pic of our house.  They've lost trees on their property, but she said we haven't.  Well, that's some good news for us.  She and I both think we should move to a place without snow!

Life is meant to be a beautiful adventure, indeed!

Joshua Tree NP, Sunday, 2/15

 

Sometimes things work out just right despite the seeming odds and today was one such day.  Let's face it, only fools would choose to visit a national park on a Sunday in the middle of a three-day weekend! (Presidents' Day)  Think it might be crowded, perhaps a long line of vehicles to even get to the entrance gate?  Short answer:  Yes and yes.  And yes, but with rainy weather in the upcoming forecast, maybe today was THE only day to go.

We parked Smartie at the first available parking spot when we saw a trailhead marker.  It didn't matter which trail; we knew most of the crowd would be going to the heart of the park.  Turns out we were on the Creosote trail which led to Big Foot trail, woohoo, and a good choice as we encountered very few people.  We wandered for four delightful miles, stopping frequently to admire, point, study, sniff and smell, shake our heads at the crazy rock jumbles, gaze at clouds and generally wonder at nature's gifts.  We can be poky, too, not caring about our "steps" or counting miles.  What a blessing to just be present!

A nice young couple saw us ogling the Joshua tree blossoms and asked if we wanted our picture taken together.  Sure, we said.  That was the beginning of a terrific afternoon (on a partly cloudy and cool day).  For once, we were dressed just right.

Could this be goofy or silly?  Or simply fun?

Jimmy being swallowed by a cholla and me being crushed by a boulder.

How old might this Juniper have been when it gave up?

Even in death, it's remarkable.

Like the other trails we've been on, this one was also a wildflower hit.  Clockwise, top left is Desert Bluebell, next is Wright's deervetch (lots of these).  Bottom right is the absolute smallest, cute and tiny Mojave Desert Parsley -- you see the tip of my dusty shoe in the pic.  Middle is TINY Fremont's phacelia and the tip of my index finger (oooh, which of the two is smallest?), followed by a Smooth Desert Dandelion.  So cool to see all these different blooms.

Rock art 😊

Da guy! 💖

Cactuses!  My fav is California Red Barrel which most of you already know, top left.  Next, man, look at those killer spikes!  Bottom, left to right are Hedgehog, Cholla, and Beavertail.  They're all lethal if you touch 'em!

We had to do some climbing and downhill scrambling on Big Foot.  I'm not as agile as I used to be, since I'm no longer a youngster, so I'm being very careful where I place my feet.  Jimmy ripped those old limbs apart -- nah, not really.  This is a great place to hike if you like rocks, and we do.  Also, we like everything else (except spiders, that would be me).

The rocks behind me are full of doodads and colors and splits.  If you enlarge the pic you can see them.  Kind of like the two small pics at right.  The one at the bottom reminded me of a piano, and -- again -- there's my dusty shoe to show size.

Isn't this a gorgeous Joshua tree blossom?  I couldn't get my nose close enough to check out its scent without getting stabbed by one of those dagger-like "leaves."

Harmonious would be the way to describe today's Joshua Tree visit.  Plus, we made it back in time for a sweet dip in the pool.  Once the incoming weather clears, we plan to return to this fantastic national park.

Yup, we really do know how fortunate we are.

Life is Good -- through Feb 14th, 2026

 

We've been two weeks in the desert, and those weeks have flown by as if they were being paid double time.  Jimmy is now four-plus weeks post-op and doing famously, no issues.  The weather here has been superb, couldn't ask for better ... but it's about to change, with rain forecast for several days next week (same as in Nevada City).  We've mixed our hiking with other fun things, as you will see.

Sunday the 8th, we hiked 5 miles on the Mission Creek Trail, similar to what we did last year, but the Preserve changed the route some, all to our good.  Very enjoyable hike.  The four stone cottages, now used as picnic venues, remain unchanged.

In his book California Desert Trails, Joseph Chase wrote about cholla thus:  "It's an ugly object three or four feet high, with stubby arms standing out like amputated stumps. The Indians say that they jump at you: this sounds like an exaggeration, but upon my word I don't know.  Often when I have felt sure that I passed clear of a certain cholla I found he had me after all."  Kinda harsh, but maybe true?

With the little bridge we were able to cross the creek and continue our hike on t'other side.  Looking north toward Mt San Gorgonio.  Haha, nobody fell in or got a soaker.

Looking south toward Desert Hot Springs.

Two wildlfowers I've never seen before, which is always a treat for me -- top left is Chia Sage (Salvia columbariae) annual native California herb, and bottom right, this translucent beauty is Sand Blazing Star (Mentzelia-involucrata).  It looks so delicate.  Top right is Rose Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rosacea), and bottom left is Apricot Desert globemallow.

We tried to hike to the Whitewater overlook, but it was another couple of miles, so we quit along about this spot.  This yucca is flowering!  Can you see Jimmy?

On the 6th we brought our own folding chairs to a music special in the pavilion here at Catalina from 1-3, put on by musically-inclined local folks, great fun to listen to toe-tapping tunes.  On the 7th our friends, Sue and Mo, who hail from Grants Pass OR, served up a mighty fine Copper River salmon dinner for the four of us.  Yum! Forgot to take photos!

Here's Jimmy on the Willis trail (part of the Coachella Valley Preserve) which we tackled on Monday the 9th.  We kinda got lost deep in the palms for a bit, haha, and had to search for a way out!  Because of a late start, we melted on the trail in full sun.  The surface was finely crushed granite (sand) and it was like walking in hikers on soft beach sand; we only covered 1.5 miles, which was enough.  Ah, I relished stepping into the pool on our return.

One of the more nondescript bush/shrubs ever, it was covered in stunning tiny midnight blue/purple flowers (inset) with bees all 'round.  I wondered, looked it up.  Indigo Bush  (Psorothamnus).  We saw quite a few on this trail.

Look! I was here! These native California Fan Palms burned in 2010, no thanks to mean-hearted vandals, but many recovered, as you see.  The fire burned the palm fronds and skirts where bats, birds and other animals have their nests.  Doesn't this make your blood boil?

I look like I'm peddling fruit juice!

We had our friends to dinner at our place on the 10th and started a round of Yahtzee, which continued on the following night.  Not sure if there was an overall winner, but I know who the overall loser was, boo-hoo.  We laughed and giggled and laughed some more.  Oh, we had a ton o' fun.  Mo, Jimmy and me.

This is a good pic of Sue, left, and Mo in our place.  You should see the outtakes.  We couldn't keep a straight face with all the laughing.  They departed Catalina Spa and RV Resort Thursday morning, wanting to get home before the bad weather strikes the west coast.  We'll miss them.

For a change of pace, Jimmy and I went to see Hamnet at Mary Pickford is D'Place in Cathedral City.  For 15 bucks, Jimmy and I could watch a movie and each get a box of popcorn on Wednesday Senior's Day, woohoo, such a deal.  The movie?  Oh my, Academy Award performances.

And every day we're in the pools and loving every minute. 💖

On the 12th, we returned to Coachella Valley Preserve to hike the Pushawalla Palms loop trail, another repeat from last year.  And after hiking this "moderate to difficult" 5-mile trail, we've decided we don't need to ever do it again!  Hey there's Smartie way down there parked under the Red X.

Up up up on a slim ridge, then down and up and repeat 20 times or so.  A tough slog.  But ... we did it!  Jimmy says he was younger last year when we did this. 

Yup, Smartie's down there somewhere.  You see the ridge line we've been on.  Mt San Gorgonio in the distance, dead center.

These beautiful palms are our reward for a grueling hike.

California Fan Palms. They're magnificent.

I heard an owl! Really!  In the daytime, here!  I looked and looked but couldn't find it.  He/she had an answering companion further away.  Since I couldn't locate it (forgot my binocs), I took random shots with my point 'n shoot, then peered at each on the computer.  On the last pic, I found it!  Right at the tippety top of this hill (or whatever you call it) is a bird.  Not easy to make out, but if you enlarge the photo, you can see it.  Google and Merlin tell me Great Grey Owls live in the desert.

THIS is the way out of the riparian palms area.  To the top.  Yikes.

Ugh.  2/3rds of the way up.

At the top.  Red checkmark is where we were.

A couple more flower pics for you!  Left is Littleleaf Rhatany (purple heather) and right is Notch-leaved Phacelia.  The purple heather is another new one for me.  Something of note is Desert Sunflowers and the Phacelia and other wildflowers decorated the trailside much of the way, which made it more enjoyable.

Tergel and Smartie in a pink cloud! 😊

Out of sight is a gorgeous technicolor sunset.

Finally, on Friday the 13th, Jimmy and I betook ourselves to Sherman's Deli in Palm Springs for a late lunch.  Look at those plates!  My Oasis Salad has mixed greens, cabbage, dates, avocado, feta cheese, corn, chicken, tomato and cornbread croutons in a creamy citrus vinaigrette.  This is the best salad I've ever tasted.  I had it last year and knew it was on MY menu this year.  Jimmy's burger was good, too.  We ate half and brought half home and finished it "for supper."

What we were also after was a Valentine's dessert.  We hit the jackpot.  Check out this massive slab of Black Forest Cake ... for two.  As my sister would say, Oink Oink!

Happy Valentine's Day!