Day 24

Jim and Dawna were recovering from their strenuous day in Joshua Tree Park so busylizzy and I went for our morning constitutional by ourselves. We chose to hike the "Mike

Schuller Trail" which is only a few miles from our house. When we stepped out into the crisp morning air, we decided to wear jeans rather than shorts. That was the first mistake.

We were only a few yards up the trail and I realised I was wearing the wrong shoes. Second mistake. My hiking shoes were at home, having the day off. How do these things happen? Don't ask.  

The trail gained a lot of elevation very quickly and I was so glad I left my hoodie in the car but was regretting the decision about the jeans. This trail is directly south of Palm Desert and climbs up directly behind a shopping center.  

As we climbed higher, the trail leveled out a bit, but the views were panoramic and spectacular. It always surprises me how far reaching the Palm Springs to Indio area is.  

Even busylizzy, who is always cold, was starting to strip down in the heat.  

The geckos were out in force, warming themselves in the sun rays after a cold night.

The trail was wide and smooth, but gawking around too much might cause a wrong step and it was a steep and a long ways down.

Determination. Almost at the top!

And a rewarding view at last.

Back down and on the way to where our car was parked, I spotted one of those disguised cell phone towers. What a great idea!

We got home and had a lunch of soup with grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and then spent the next few hours beside the pool. Oh, that sun was so warm today. I was determined that I was going to use the pool at least once before leaving. Today was the day, even though the air temperature was only 65F, and it was great. busylizzy has photos to prove it. Jim and Dawna got back from their walk and soon joined us. They too jumped in the pool. So refreshing in January. 

As for tonight, who knows? It is what is called a holiday agenda.