Desert Pools, Desert Hot Springs CA 2/14/2012- 2/21/2012

We could only stay at Palm Springs Park for two weeks and we had already been there for a week when Larry and Elaine got there, so we had to go to another park while they stayed at Palm Springs for their second week.

 We ended up going to Desert Pools in Desert Hot Springs, about 15 miles from the Palm Springs Park.  It is a Western Horizon Park and we were able to get into it under our ROD program.  We had visited our friends, Russ and Louise, when they camped there, but we had never stayed before.

 It is really famous for its natural hot springs pool.

It has three natural hot springs hot tubs.  Each one is a little higher temperature.  When we got in, we thought the coolest one was just right for us.  The other two were too hot!  Some people are convinced that they act as a "fountain of youth."  So, maybe we got a week younger while we were there!

 It is a nice park, with nice facilities.

 

 The miniature golf course looked fun, but we never took the time to play it.  We were parked in the very back of the park and most of the facilities were at the other end.

 As you leave the Park, there is a check-off list that all RVers need to follow before they leave a park--antenna down?, steps up?, vents closed?, hoses ok?, sewer cap on?, spouse, kids,  pets aboard?  We usually don't have to worry about the kids or pets, but the spouse is the most important thing to remember!  It is amazing how ofter people forget some of the other things.

 One day we went back to Palm Springs to go on an outing with Larry and Elaine.  To get there went on the "roller coaster" road.  For about five miles you practically loose your stomach at every dip!

 We went with Larry and Elaine to the Coachella Valley Preserve.  It is kind of an oasis out in the middle of the desert.  These oasises happen when there is water that comes up from springs in the ground and then palm trees grow naturally.

They just grow naturally and are not trimmed back like most of the palm trees in the area.  They are really big and shaggy.

 Some of the trees had been cut down to make trails for the public to follow.  It was the first time we had seen the inside of a palm tree.  The wood is very porous and soft until it drys, when it becomes very hard and is heavy

.This house was built years ago out of some of the palm trees.  They now use it as a museum/info center.

 Terry and Elaine are standing by this young fan palm tree.  It is really pretty, but the leaves have quite sharp spines on them.

Along the trail to the little lake formed by the underground springs, we find some rock piles.  We have seen these along a lot of the trails we have walked in the desert.  It must be a hobby of some of the hikers.  Elaine decided to add some rocks of her own!

The little lake was really pretty--a true oasis in the dry desert.  You could see little bubbles in the bottom where the water was coming up.

 Terry, Me, Larry, and Elaine took a little sit-down time before we headed back.  A nice couple from South Africa took our picture after I took pictures for them.  It was fun listening to them with their accents.  I asked them if we had an accent to them and they said "yes."

Palm Springs, Palm Desert CA 1/31/12 - 2/14/12

After being in the desert boondocking for a few days, it was nice to get back into a park with all of the conveniences--water, sewer, electricity, swimming pool, laundry room, etc.

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Palm Springs Park, in Desert Palms, CA, is one of our favorite parks. Even though some of the sites are tight, it always has a lot of activities going on and everyone always seems so friendly

I think that one of most fascinating things about the Palm Desert Park are the palm trees.  It is actually a working palm date farm.  The trees are harvested every year (they ask all RVers to leave the park during that time) and then they sell the dates at the Park.  We get to use all of the water we want to wash rigs and water the lawns because it is classified as agriculture.

Terry is showing off his pretty red Hippo parked among the palm trees in front of the Club House.

We had made plans with our friends, Elaine and Larry, from Boring, OR, to meet up with us at Palm Springs.  After staying with us for two weeks last year, they bought a yearly zone pass into Thousand Trails are are trying out this lifestyle for the first time in their little Minnie Winnie motorhome.  We plan to travel together for the next three months and help "show them the ropes!"

We always enjoy the little "resident" roadrunners at Palm Springs.  This one is quite friendly and wants to join us for lunch!

 We did a craft sale with Scentsy and Elaine joined in with some of her unique knitted scarfs that she makes.  It is a fun way to get to know some of the people and, of course, it is always nice to sell a little.

We went with Larry and Elaine on a little excursion trip one day.  First we went to the Salton Sea.  It is a body of water that collects all of the run-off from the mountains and from the irrigation around it and then just sits there and evaporates.  It has quite a bit of salt in it, but flows no where.  There is some recreation and fishing done on it.

Larry, Terry, and I stand on the beach with sand composed of barnacles all broken up.

There are always a lot of dead fish along the banks.  They die from suffocation because there is not enough oxygen in the water.  This is caused partly from plants in the water and also from no water flow going on.

Our next stop were the mud pots.  We had to travel out a ways and on quite a bit of dirt road.  Once we got there, there wasn't much to see, with Terry, me, and Larry standing on the walkway.

There were a few large mud holes, but no mud was being spit out that day.

Our next spot was a place called Salvation Mountain.  It was built by a man who came from back East.  He believes that he has a calling to let everyone know about Jesus Christ.  He has covered this hill with cement and adobe clay and then paints messages, scenery, and quotes scriptures on it. 

He started this quest in his 30's and is now in his 80's.  He wasn't home the day we visited.  It would have been fun to meet and talk with him.  He has several vehicles/homes parked around, and they are also painted and written on.

We weren't sure which one he actually lives in.

On one side of the hill, he has built a type of museum.

There were trees on that side and he has used them as a foundation and has put bails of hay up in the limbs and covered everything with adobe clay and then paint.  In some places there are quite a few layers of paint, even on the floor, making quite a thick coating.

From the inside, you can see where he continues to add bails of hay on the top, covers them with adobe clay, with the tree limbs supporting them, and then adds them to the decor.  This was an amazing place to see.

The last leg of our excursion took us to a date farm where we filled up on date samples.  Terry was the navigator.  He always tells me he cannot multi-task, but he does a pretty good job watching the map (bottom reading glasses), and also watching the road with his sunglasses keeping the glare out (top pair of glasses!)  It is really nice to have Larry and Elaine's little car to run around in.  They are so good to let us tag along.