That California Winter Look

Travelling the I5 in the winter can be tricky. Usually there is only rain from Seattle to Grant's Pass. After that, it can change in a moments notice when the winter storms sweep in from the Pacific and hit the higher elevations. We got lucky this year. Rain on the way down, and warm showers on the way home. Of course, the down side to that is that it is a bit grey and boring. Central California is especially grey. We had no blue sky from Mojave to Sacramento.

There is that long stretch where all one can do is count trucks and how many times we pass the same ones, and watch out for 'smokies' because everyone is driving over the limit.

How many millions of nut trees and fruit trees did we pass? It is hard to say but I would not want to prune them all. The rows are insanely perfectly straight and they go as far as the eye can see. They are up to their armpits in fruit and nuts in this country but when you go to a farmers market or see a truck selling produce in the parking lot of a gas station, you can be sure it will be twice what we pay at home. Oranges are being harvested now and we passed so many trucks carrying tons of them. Yet, they sell them for almost twice what we pay at home, where there are no oranges growing anywhere.

On the way south, we spotted these, the first palm trees and orange trees and we got really excited. Somehow, going north gives one a different perspective on the same trees. Not so excited. More than once I was tempted to take I5 south after filling up with gas and see how long before busylizzy saw through my ploy.  

You know you are heading north when the shorts and T-shirts are replaced with jeans and hoodies. A few more miles down the road, the hoodies were replaced with parkas. busylizzy is sporting a fake smile. She likes the warm better than the cold.  

And the last orchard of any type we saw before we hit the sheep and cattle country of Oregon was an Olive Grove. These are interesting and beautiful trees with their gnarled charm.

These Olive trees are confused. On one branch there are hard green, rosy cheeked early ripe, pinky red all over, black ripe, and old shrivelled ready to fall off olives. My theory is that they are picked all at once and then dyed either green or black. That way they all taste terrible and become destined to make a perfectly good pizza taste terrible too.

You Cannot Escape Shopping

Jim and Dawna had been up this highway the day before and wanted us to see the view from the lookout point. This is Highway 74 that is an extension of Monterey Drive, the road only two blocks from our street.

It was a clear day and view was spectacular for more than 180 degrees. This is looking eastward. Behind that mountain ridge is Indio and LaQuinta.

If you are a 'driver' like I am, you will marvel at this road that takes you up a 6% grade for several miles, turning on itself many times. Not for the queasy or those prone to car sickness. ('Click' on it) 

Besides the view, what do we find in the viewing area but a Hopi Indian lady displaying all the jewellery and pottery her kids have made. She was from Arizona, or so she said. Her 'stuff' was beautiful and busylizzy bought some ear rings. Each display blanket was a different colour "so I know which kid gets what money"

The pottery was exquisite!

You just never know when a shopping opportunity will arise, even in the middle of the desert on the top of a pile of rocks.

Disclaimer: For those of my readers from our church, as you well know, there is an excellent series of sermons going on now regarding 'bling'. I am rubbing our noses in it a bit and in actual fact, we purchased very little bling and had this in mind at every shopping opportunity. Our purchases on our trip were by far practical and of very good value. Having said that, the whole trip was 'BLING' so who am I to speak. :)

Palm Desert Golf

The Palm Desert area is a golfer's paradise. One does not realise how many golf courses there are here because so many of them are behind the walls and the berms that protect them from snoops and sneaks. However, get to elevation and it becomes quite evident that the Coachella Valley is riddled with golf courses. One of the most intriguing is the Iron Eagle course that I wanted to see, but it is off the beaten track and accessible only via private driveway. Until one hikes the Hopalong Cassidy trail. As one gets to the lighted cross on the hill, the view to the backside of the course tells all. In the photo above, the famous Big Horn course is in the bottom left. Above and in the dry hills is the Iron Eagle Course. This photo was taken from the lookout near the top of the highway that crests the mountains and then goes southward to Hemet. Click on it for a better view.

The contrasts are striking. Keep in mind that I was using a telephoto lens to bring everything closer.

By a quirk of nature, the acoustics here were amazing. Perhaps the wind, the contour of the hills, or a combination, but I could hear every word these golfers were saying.

Seeing this course from above was an unexpected but delightful bonus for sticking it out on the longest hike we attempted. Effort does have its rewards. Next goal ... actually play it.

Living on the Edge ... of the Road.

Our last night on the road was in Umpqua (Roseburg) at the Holiday Inn Express. We heard this gentle rushing noise all night and in the  morning realised the source. It was the Umpqua River flooding! This photo is from our hotel room balcony. All of Oregon was in Flood Alert from heavy rains. We thought we would be in for a day of driving in the rain, not my favourite thing to do.

After filling the tank with tax free gas for the last time, we headed out and much to our delight we had sunshine. To make things interesting, I took to having my camera strung around my neck to take some action shots of the road. Here we are, following my least favourite kind of truck. They make me nervous, especially when the sticks start falling off. (We have real logs here in BC)  

The sun was short lived but the scenery was wonderful. Most of the trip is great to look at except for a long dismal part in mid California.

A bit more sun and then we were headed into a nasty bunch of rain clouds. Note the lack of traffic. It was light until Portland and then very heavy almost to Bellingham.

And then we drove into the wall of water. Was I Pharaoh heading into the sea after the Children of Israel? That was not fun and lasted for about 50 miles.

They say all good things must come to an end. Well, that applies to bad things too. And as the deluge stopped abruptly, there was a rainbow!

And just down the road, another one. We witnessed at least a half dozen rainbows driving through Oregon and southern Washington.

Driving and photographing at the same time is not for the faint of heart. One must compose and shoot very fast and expect to be deleting many photos. I made sure there was never a semi on either side of me as the car seems to wander a bit while I am peering through my view finder. It certainly is a great way to stay awake while driving. On the other hand, it is probably a way to die also. busylizzy was puzzling as to what she would put on the traffic report if something happened. It would probably make an episode of TV's "World's Worst Drivers". But then, I like living on the edge every so often.  

Oh look! There's a smokey parked in the median. Quick, put the camera in the back seat.

Day 36 The Last day of Vacation

It is late and I am too bushed to post any photos tonight. We had a wonderful day of driving with only a few intermittent showers in Washington Sate. The traffic in Seattle is insane and we are fortunate to get through that gauntlet unscathed. It was 5 seconds at the border crossing and next thing we knew, we were home. 
Now, to wade through the piles of mail and messages. I was able to keep up to emails and most phone calls while in Palm Desert, but now it becomes urgent to follow up. 
Tomorrow will be a 'catch-up' day, and a chance to see my Pop to see if he still knows me. Nice to see the mild weather at home and best of all, no snow. 
Off to the showers now to wash away a month of tan. In no time at all, I will be all white and pasty like the rest of you. Ah, but the memories will linger.     

Day 35

Shoulda' flown. It's easier.

So, curious about last night's dinner?  We are discovering something about the downturn in the US economy. We cannot find the independent restaurants. They are out of business and as a result, there is nothing left anywhere but fast food. At least that is the case on the I5 corridor. We are searching for the Holiday Inn Express hotels and wherever they are, there seem to be no decent places to eat. So the dinner from Hades last night was at a Carl's Junior. Never been before and never will go again. 

As for the Denny's, the 'rellies' were right, they are dependable in that you will get consistent grease, but I must admit, a very fresh garden salad. And AF, I did have the very sandwich you raved about. It was passable, but a one time event for me. Am I just not hungry enough or has the Palm Desert Cheescake Factory spoiled me rotten? 

So tonight we are in Roseburg. We dawdled on the way, and stopped often to walk and enjoy the last of the very balmy weather. It is very mild here and has been all day, even in the mountain passes. I took a lot of photos today but this computer is not downloading them at all. I cannot even look at them except on the camera. 

We went for a walk after we checked into the hotel tonight and I think we headed into the bad part of town. We managed to escape unscathed and because we were searching for a restaurant and everything was closed, we settled for the closest to the Hotel, yes, you guessed it, Denny's. That was an experience. Overly helpful waiter for sure, probably bucking for a big tip. We ordered from the senior menu for two reasons. We were not that hungry and the menu was for 55+. Hey, we more than qualify. The meals came with two sides so we ordered things like coleslaw and tomatoes. Then they gave us a choice of soup or salad. The salad was HUGE and good. Then they brought toast of our choice. Then the meal. There was more food than 10 seniors could have eaten. We are stuffed and left food over. 

But not as much as at noon. We were in Shasta City (not a city at all) and again searching for something other than fast food. We found a quaint log house turned eatery and because there were people in there, we chanced it. Should have ordered the half portion. I got a Beef French Dip that had to weigh a couple of pounds. I ate half and was stuffed. It was the best beef I have had in a long time. The waitresses and staff were very friendly and we even met someone from N. Vancouver. Again, a fantastic salad. California is where it is all grown so there is no excuse not to have a fresh salad. 

The complimentary breakfasts here at the Holiday Inns are really good. A buffet style with hot entrees and plenty of fruit, juices, yogurts, danishes, different types of coffee, etc. Yum! 

Enough about food. We did not turn on the wipers until just past the Siskiyou pass. It poured for a while and then just rained. Starting to feel like home with the grayness and moisture. Not too much traffic, but then it was Sunday. Truck volume was way down, smokey presence way up. No tickets, yet. Haven't seen any jerks on the road in all these thousands of Kilometers. Okay, so I didn't look in the mirror.     

Day 34

And so we said goodbye to our desert home, and goodbye to Palm Desert this morning at around 8 am. It was already warm and the blue skies beckoned to stay another day. The hills were so clearly visible in the clean desert morning air and we could hardly believe we were leaving without our morning hike in those hills. 

We made good time until we hit the Morongo Valley where we were so intent on finding a gas station that took a credit card that we missed our turnoff. It was only an 8 mile detour, but the scenery was worth it. 

Then through the Yucca Valley, Lucern Valley, Apple Valley and Victorville. It was still warm and sunny and I was sorry I had not worn shorts at least for this part of the journey. Only minutes later, as we approached Mojave, did the air cool down. We lunched in a Denny's (shudder) and I hate to admit it but we both enjoyed the sandwich and fruit salad. If you have ever been to Mojave, you know that this is fine dining there.  

Refreshed, we hit the road again and by the time we were in Tahachapi there was snow beside the road and it was cool enough to assure me that jeans was a good decision after all. And then it hit. 

On the way down, it was here that we had that horrendous pea soup fog. Now it was a sludgy gray bank of something that we drove into. It looked like a smog, but it was just winter. We avoided turning on the heat as long as possible, but it was inevitable. The rest of the day it was a low gray fog that limited visibility to maybe a mile. The sun tried to poke through a few times but gave up just past Bakersfield. We immediately began to suffer from light deprivation. And then I took my sunglasses off. Hey, I wore them for four weeks and they were kind of attached. 

The road is good, no rain, much less traffic than on the way down, and now we find ourselves in Lathrop (I think it is just south of Stockton which is just south of Sacramento) at a beautiful new Holiday Inn Express. Nice. We are right across from the pool, spa, and exercise room. This is a perfect way to decompress from our desert home which we grew to love so much. 

I will not say what we did for supper. I am ashamed and embarrassed but I redeemed the meal (?!) with a Kit Kat bar from the vending machine. 

Off for that swim and soak now before we have an early crack at this big King size bed.     

Day 33

We took a drive up Highway 74 south of Palm Desert this morning. We stopped at the lookout and then again at a visitor center on the way down. What a view! Photos later. We bought a few last minute mementos and then caught some heat by the pool. It was the warmest day yet with temp. around 77F. Tomorrow the forecast is for 80F+!  Just in time for us to leave. But, I am not complaining. It has been the best month of vacationing we have ever had. It is so sad that we are spending our last night here tonight.

We celebrated (mourned) our last day with a nice dinner out at the La Casita Mexican Restaurant. Very authentic decor and food, with  Mexican waiters and cooks. Very warm and friendly and it must be popular according to the crowds. I am no authority on this food group or type, but what I had was good. 

So it was a last soak in the hot tub, under the stars and the half moon, watching the satellites and jet liners come and go. There is a warm wind blowing tonight and we were reluctant to come inside, but, we want to get off to an early start tomorrow. Reluctantly, we will leave our desert home and head north. We are grateful that the outlook for the I5 corridor is sunny to Oregon and then warm rain the rest of the way home. We can ease back into winter that way. So,until we bunk down in the next hotel that has wi-fi, so long from the land of desert and oasis.    

Day 32

The dinner at the Cheesecake Factory last night was awesome. Last time we went, the wait was more than 1/2 hour, but this time we were ushered straight in and got the best booth in the restaurant. After dinner and dessert, we were greeted by some people from back home. This happens in the Palm Springs area. 

Jim and I went for a very long walk after dark, to work off the cheesecake. The Reeses Pieces/ Butterfinger infused with caramel was so delicious, but at my age, I should know better than to load up on sugar that late at night. 

Early this morning busylizzy and I went for a neighbourhood stroll. It got warm quite quickly and soon we were looking for the shady side of the street. We took a lot of photos of different architecture styles and landscaping ideas, desert style. Too many to post here and I am saving the best ones for later. 

There are not too many houses for sale, but we did find about 10 in the immediate area.  

Hovely Lane and our street, Palm Crt. off to the right. Lots of bike lanes here but mostly used by golf carts.

It is amazing how many different types and varieties of desert plants such as cacti and Palm trees there are here. Many of the evergreen trees are very smooth on the trunk and the leaves are a dark green, like a citrus tree.

Siesta time.

The sidewalks are undulating and curvy. You have to pay attention when you are walking, but it always is interesting.

We found this fixer upper. Around $250K with swimming pool, spa, 2300 sq. ft. three bathrooms, 8000 sq. ft. lot, and fully furnished.

And here is a bank foreclosure going to auction on Jan 21. only a few blocks from us.

Back home and lovin' our place.

Day 31

In my limited travel experience, I have never seen a city so well laid out and so beautifully done. We have been exploring off the beaten path and everywhere we go, there is beauty. The streets are wide, the curbs heavy duty, the sidewalks wide and undulating, and it appears that nothing here was done on the cheap. It is also evident that they do not have the problems we have in Canada such as frost heaves. If anything here is cracked, it is the result of earth tremors, but is repaired very quickly. 

On our walk this morning, we saw that the mile strip we travel has been swept, the trees pruned, and the boulevards raked and vacuumed, all since our last walk. All is groomed and maintained meticulously. There are no weeds, but we also have noticed that more of the private yards are going to artificial turf. It makes sense here and because the real lawns are so heavily fertilised, it is difficult to tell the difference. 

As we walk, we pick oranges for a quick snack. They are everywhere and nobody is picking them, except us tourists. We had some wonderful tangerines 'fall into our hands' just this morning.

We also came across a very nice house with a For Sale sign and a container full of brochures. The asking price is $259K. There are a number of vacant houses in our neighbourhood, and the local shopping malls are about 1/3 vacant. The Walmarts and Costcos seem to doing fine, but the specialty stores are suffering. 

Last night, buylizzy wanted to check out Joanne's Fabrics. I dropped her off and left to get a root canal which was a whole lot more fun. Actually, I went to Costco to see if I could get a bead on some photographic equipment. They have a good selection but not all the accessories. The Costco here is twice the size of ours. Of course, take the wine and liquor section out and it would not be all that large. 

We spent four hours by the pool today. We are getting really lazy. Did it take this long to unwind? In a few minutes we are going to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We need one of these at home. 

     

Day 30

We seem to have fallen into a healthy routine. There has not been one day go by that we have not done something that gave us a good bout of exercise. This is a very good thing and our exercise of choice has turned out to be a good brisk hike on one of the many desert trails that criss cross the mountains on the edge of the city. Today we really out did ourselves. We wanted to do the Hopalong Cassidy Trail, but higher than we had ever done it before. The sky was slightly overcast and the air was cool so it seemed the perfect time to test our endurance. Cahuilla Hills Park is the trail head for a myriad of paths, hikes, and nature trails and that was our base for this morning.

We chose the Homestead Trail which would eventually link up with the Hopalong trail, somewhere at 800ft. in elevation.

The first part was quite steep and the steps were a life saver on the loose rocky trail. We reminded ourselves that each step upward would be a step down on the way back, when we would be tired and we would appreciate it.

The first place to stop and get a breath, and look back at how far you had come, was Engstrom Point. There was also a little cabana and some water fountains there to get your last drink or fill that water bottle that you would need soon enough.

I did not realise that the Eskimos had migrated this far south, or maybe they wintered here, for right on the junction of two trails was this Inukshuk.

We came across this large outcropping of crumbling pink quartz. The picture does not do it justice. (That is what one says when one takes a poor photo)

We were not sure just far we were going to hike, as the trail is 14 miles long. But, then we came around a bend and saw something that would become our goal. From many places in the Coachella Valley one can see this cross on the mountain, lit up day and night. It was a long way off but we were determined that we get at least that far. The people on the trail near the cross were like ants and it was farther away than we thought. Can you see it on the ridge, just to the left of center?

With a clear goal in sight, we put our heads down and trudged up the steep grade and sooner than we thought, we arrived. The trails are wonderful, very well used and hard to miss. Joggers, hikers, walkers, and mountain bikers all use them, although the traffic today was not heavy at all.

We were considering going up the Airtram, which is a very popular tourist attraction in Palm Springs, but after seeing this view, we realised that for $26 more, the cost of the Airtram per person, we not get a view very much better than this. What you do get at the end of the tram ride is a lot of snow. Didn't we come to Palm Desert to get away from all that?

This is the plaque at the base of the cross, put there only 10 months ago. It has recently been defaced with a Budha like etching and the words "True peace can only be obtained through thyne ownself" It might get people thinking and talking about the subject, but it is unfortunate that there could not have been more respect for those who spent the time and effort and money to put this up on the top of the mountain.

The hike down is always faster, but I find it hardest on my knees. We came around a little bend in the trail and look what we found, propped up on a rock. How appropriate! The perfect place to advertise such a service. Problem is, it is probably considered litter and how easy will it be for the environmental Nazis to find this guy?

Jim and Dawna are in the Indian Canyons today but we will spend the evening together. Last night in the hot tub, we heard the extended version of how they met and courted. Tonight it will be our turn. I should make some stuff up, like we met in jail, or something. :) Come to think of it, we did. .... Just kidding.   

Day 29

Before we rented our Desert Home, we had another choice. busylizzy had a client who had just purchased a home in the Coachella Valley and they wanted us to rent it. Today we drove to Old Towne La Quinta and checked out what we missed. The reason we did not chose that one was that it seemed a bit small for our purposes. It was confirmed after we saw it today. Also, our location here is far superior, although I must admit that La Quinta is a very quiet and quaint community that has a distinct charm and is not as busy.

We came back to Palm Desert and checked out something we spotted from one of our hikes last week. We were high on a mountain ridge and spotted a huge garden center below us. busylizzy, the consummate gardener, just had to see it up close so we did. It was similar to our garden centers except for the type of plants. This (the photos) is not even a fair sampling, but it was very interesting and it was great to see a bit more colour again. There is not a lot in the natural desert except in the early spring when the cacti bloom. We saw some very interesting and unusual plants here and I will no doubt blog about this in more depth at a later date.   

This display of garden ornaments reminded us very much of Puerto Vallarta where they craft very similar things.

These are strictly indoor plants at home. Here they thrive in the gardens and courtyards. (Bird of Paradise)

This was a type of succulent, almost a cactus. It was 8 ft. tall and the colour was vibrant and unique.

busylizzy is still recovering from a gastro-intestinal event so we layed low the rest of the afternoon.

Definitely pool weather today. Our friends are spending the day in Hemitt (sp?) with some relatives so it is quiet here this evening. 

I washed all the talcum powder dust off the car today. It feels strange driving around here with a grubby car. Everything here is first class and shiny new. Exotic cars are the norm. My car is the farthest thing from exotic, but at least now I am gleaming like all the others.