Coachella Valley

Yesterday we left El Cajon for Indio and the Coachella Valley. It was going to be a short ride so we didn't have to rush in the a.m. which was nice. Jeff even "squeegeed" off the slides as it had poured almost the entire night. That song "It Never Rains in California" kept going through my head. Especially the line, "it pours, Man, it pours!". Since we were heading back north, I kind of figured there would be a few hills. I did not count on going from 850 feet to 4000+ and back down.

Really??

View of the Valley
 (See that winding thing? That's the road toward the bottom)

We had to stop less than halfway down the road because the BB's brakes were SMOKING. Like, we pulled into the scenic overlook and got dirty looks from the other people there. Like we meant to smoke 'em out!

After a good half hour we proceeded down the mountain and made it to our destination, Indian Wells RV Park. Super nice people (but still, a parking lot type park), and LOTS of Palm Trees. Love 'em. We got hooked up and settled in and the did 5 loads of laundry that was hanging around. After dinner, Jeff pooped out so I used grocery shopping as an excuse to get out and explore a little. The town was beautiful during the day, but stunning at night. All surrounded by dark mountains, Palms lit up, balmy breezes, and twinkling stars.  I love driving around a new place and imagining what it would be like to live there. I could live here, that's for sure. I sure understand now what the attraction is to this place. The Coachella Valley is comprised of a lot of towns...Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Indio, Indian Wells, Coachella, Cathedral City, La Quinta...to name a few. All these adorable desert communities are stretched along Hwy 111 aka Palm Desert Blvd. We are located in Indio at the east end. Palm Springs at the west end.
Had a good nights sleep and was up at my usual 6 a.m. and literally chomping at the bit to get started exploring. Jeff was finally up and ready about 10:30 and we decided to visit the Living Desert Museum. A zoo, basically, with an arboretum joined in.

We walked through the plant/bird portion of the "museum" first. It was actually really fun to get the names of so many cactus/bushes/succulents that we had seen in Anza-Borrego. Also a lesson in the Cahuilla Indians native to the area and how they lived and used the plants for food, medicine, structures...

We got to the zoo part and enjoyed the very natural exhibits of, duh, desert dwelling animals. So many were having their naps as it was noon and getting quite warm out. We did get to see (finally) Big Horn Sheep which are native to the Anza area though dwindling in population. We had so hoped to see one in the wild but after seeing them at the zoo, I more than understand how easy it would be to miss them...

...they blend!

The highlight of the animals was the baby giraffe, barely 2 months old. We were actually amazed to even get a glimpse of her as Mama usually keeps her under wraps. She was 111.1# and 5'9" at birth!

After finishing up at the zoo, we drove the length of Hwy 111 to Palm Springs. Honestly, I was a little disappointed. It is beautiful but I thought THE Palm Springs would be the cherry on top of every place we had seen in the valley. Not so much. Actually, Indian Wells appears to be the most affluent (and gated) area in the valley. There is a string of country clubs and resort hotels along 111. And we are right on the edge, which is pretty cool!
Tomorrow I would love to get up to Joshua Tree and get some hiking in. It is suppose to be another gorgeous day, always is in paradise....