Desert Wonders

Today we explore the Indian Canyons. In our research we found this was a 'must see' and they were right. We drove down Palm Canyon Drive again, but kept going through town. Soon we were passing amazing homes high on hilltops and Indian Canyons Golf Club - and then nothing but desert. We came to the entrance gate of a beautiful recreation oasis.

We are walking in the footsteps of the Aqua Caliente Cahuilla Indians who settled here centuries ago. There are 3 canyons here which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Our first stop was Andreas Canyon. Off on the scenic foot trail that lead us through the canyon, over boulders and through groves of statuesqe skirted palms. The path followed the Andreas Creek and we stopped to appreciate the unusual rock formations beside us and above us. Part way up the path we came to a spot and looked up to see camps way above us on the mountain tops.... how did they get up there? Lizards scurried across the path as we sat on a rock enjoying the contrasting greens of the fan palms and hundreds of different plants as we listened to the silence.

To contrast the Andreas Canyon we decided to see Palm Canyon next. We climbed up the winding road to the top of a hill looking out over the entire recreation oasis and Palm Springs valley. It was breathtaking. At the ranger station there were hummingbird feeders with about 8 hummingbirds fighting for positions. One of them was different and when I asked the Ranger what it was he said it was a Costa. He has a gorgeous purple head and when fending off other "hummers" his purple turns a floruesent violet. They were really fun to watch. Down a narrow foot path into the 15 mile long canyon. We find ourselves standing in a grove of Fan Palms that tower above us. The path leads along the Palm Canyon Creek and up into the hills. About a mile down the path crosses the creek. However, the water was high and we decided not to cross it so we turned back. There were several picnic areas along the way and we sat under a canopy of palms and enjoyed the cool air of this oasis in the desert. It's in the 70's now and we decided to head back to camp. While climbing back up the foot path we spotted a Desert Spiny Lizard sunning himself on a boulder. These lizards can be multi colored, but he was only showing his gold color today. We really enjoyed the hike and the magnificent wonders around us.

Tonight we met Glenn & Marcie for dinner. We went to the Fishermans Market in Palm Springs. It was good to see them again. The market sells fresh fish and is also a restaurant. It reminded us a lot of the Seafood Center we used to go to at home. We enjoyed exchanging stories about our RV escapades and then it was time to say good night.

It was a good day.