Joy&Bill: Palm Springs 1

A typical low rise villa in the desert city of Palm Springs. Many Hollywood stars had homes here, like Elizabeth Taylor for instance. Some still do probably. It is very quite at the moment, as the temperature is heading for around 40 degrees. However it is a very dry heat, so not too bad. The "snow birds", as the people who come here for winter are known, have now left for cooler spots.

The courtyard of our condo.

Now this is what we call a wind farm!!! It is the San Gorgonio Wind Farm, the third largest in the world, passed on the way to Joshua Tree National Park.

Myrtle the Turtle (actually a tortoise) at the town of Joshua Tree, gateway to the west entrance of the park.

Our first walk in this desert park was the Hidden Valley Trail. It is in the Mojave Desert part of the park. The huge Boulders form a natural corral, making it a legendary hideout for cattle rustlers in the days of the Wild West.

The park gets its name from the abundance of these eerie looking Joshua trees. In 1851 the Morman travelers saw in the twisted branches the upraised arms of Joshua from the bible.

Being Spring, the desert was a mass of colourful flowers.

Cactus.

Mojave Yuccas.

On the Barker Dam Trail, one of the few spots with any water.

A cattle drinking trough, we think.

At Keys View, the view over hills towards Palm Springs was very smoggy as usual, however we did spot this snake - unfortunately? not a rattlesnake.

At Jumbo Rocks.

We continued south in the park through the Colorado Desert, which had much less vegetation. This is the Cholla Cactas Garden. The cholla is very nasty if you touch the spikes - they have barbs that make them difficult to remove.

Last stop in the Joshua Tree Park, the Lost Palms Oasis at Cottonwood.

Next day we went to Indian Canyons, the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, for another walk. This time in the very dry 40 degree heat. It wasn't too bad. The Californian fan palms here are fed by natural springs from the San Jacinto Mountains.

We took the Andreas Canyon Trail and some of it was though a Palm filled oasis.

Bill enjoying the cooler spot.

A lot of the trail however, was in the baking sun. Worthwhile though, because it was very beautiful.

Later in the day we took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, a cable car which climbs 1829 vertical metres up the San Jacinto Mountain in about 14 minutes.