Well the weather has been getting constantly hotter everyday 78f (25c) before noon and just a perfect day, no wind and blue skies. Walkabouts the resort today I observed the different trees and many varieties of cactus, a few of them labelled. And I would like to share them with you.
large tree with no bark
Now this picture below is not a cactus , just a friendly neighbors dog Keisha that came to visit Suzie. We chatted with her owners for a while and a few other neighbors as well. Puttering around a bit enjoying our books in the shade then a refreshing dip in the pool and a soak in the awesome hot tub.
Keisha
This one below is a tumbleweed (don't think its a cactus) that just appeared in the site across from us, interesting. We see these blowing across the highways and if you hit one with your vehicle they usually explode into a cloud of dust.
Not sure where the time goes but soon it was time to fire up the grill again for some tasty pickerel fillets we still had vacuum sealed in our freezer from Ontario, accompanied by a rice pilaf and tossed salad.
So the perfect weather is good and getting more perfect (thats kinda like more betterer !) Ok so its just going to be sunny and warmer for the net few days, I think we can wind down the year and begin a new one on that note.
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Another awesome morning, sunshine, blue skies and very warm about 70f by 8 am then getting warmer as the day progressed, we lovin it! And love the view of the San Jacinto mountains towering over Palm Springs.
Nice morning view of the mountains
After our morning coffees, computing and a walkabout we hopped in the car and headed west past the windfarms on I-10.
The wind farms are amazing!
We took a short drive to the small village of Cabazon just west of Palm Springs to check out this attraction for our grandsons. World's Biggest Dinosaurs and it was a reasonably priced ($5.00 each senior rate) attraction and a fun place for kids (I'm a big kid and had fun too!) Always had a passion for dinosaurs. We checked out the robotic indoor displays then wandered about the outback enjoying the poses of the numerous dinosaur replicas the two largest we could go inside.
entrance to the parking lot
this one had a gift shop in his belly
This one we looked out through his mouth
animated
animated
After enjoying the Dinosaurs and taking lots of pictures for our grandsons, we just took a short scenic drive to along 111 past the Aerial Tramway to Palm Canyon Drive and cruised Uptown Palm Springs. We did not have any desire to wander the streets looking at the stars on the sidewalks, and checking out the expensive boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops (we did that a few years ago), but it was a nice drive nonetheless.
We may go up that mountain someday.
Palm Canyon Dr.
uptown
colorfull shops
sightseeing jeep tour
more wind farms
Now we are back at the resort and stopped Jim and Sharon's for a short visit then then home to chat with new neighbors that had pulled in (quite a few arriving after Christmas now). Relax with our books in the shade for a while and noticed the mountain view is obscured by smog coming thru the mountain pass from Los Angeles, apparently quite a common occurrence here .
smog
The smog comes thru the mountain pass and keeps to the lower elevation of Palm Springs heading towards the Salton Sea. Standing in the same spot I turned around and took a picture of the clear blue skies north of us at a higher elevation.
Clear skies here.
Now its time for fire up our Weber to grill some tasty, sticky, tender baby back ribs with sauerkraut, noodles, peas and acorn squash for another yummy supper.
Then a nice colorful sunset to signal the end of another great day.
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Up before the sun as usual computing, coffee and when the sun rises I can go for a walkabout. I stepped outside with bright blue skies and there hiding in the bushes is this bear staring right back at me! There he is up close and personal, am I excited or scared? He is not too big, was not moving and kinda friendly looking, then I realized probably some young camper must have left their mascot in the bushes to guard the site. And 'Ted the Bear" as he introduced himself explained he is doing just that, never lonely thou with lots of new campers dropping by. So after a lively conversation I left him there with a dish of water and carried on with my walkabout.
"Ted the Bear"
Just enjoying the fresh air, sunshine and scenery across the desert, the mountains and wind farms in the distance with the peaceful area this resort is in.
our site
wind farms
Palm Springs at the base of the mountain
entrance to the resort
Now a nice walkabout and stop at the office to secure two tickets for New Year's Eve at the clubhouse, chat with a couple of neighbors then hopped in the car for a short trip to Desert Hot Springs for a few groceries and get reacquainted with the area.
After a light lunch just putter around a bit then get out our chairs to relax in the shade and enjoy our books for a while it was about 80f (26c) in the shade, quite comfortable.
the mountains from our site
The sites are not really big but big enough for us, how much space do we need, we have 30 amp electric, water, sewer, and cable tv if we want it. A nice bush around our site and no direct neighbours. Oh we could go to the new section with larger sites and 50 amp service for another 2 dollars a night if we wanted, but we are only 4 sites from the store and the pool. Speaking of which we walked over to the store for a soft ice cream (only $1.00) and sat by the pool for a while.
tasty
the busy pool
Well the ice cream was good and the pool was busy, so we continued our walkabout the resort, then back home to read a bit more, and fire up the Weber to grill some potato slices and a small pork roast, accompanied by some fresh carrots, broccoli, applesauce and a crusty bun for a tasty meal.
Another great relaxing day in the California Sunshine and perfect weather, now we can relax, again (inside now its too dark and cool to be outside), read compute and a bit of tv knowing our site is secure guarded by "Ted the Bear" hiding in our bushes.
Thanks for stopping by and visiting our house, you are welcome here anytime, its nothin fancy but its our home.
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This morning as the sun in rising we are ready to head out. Its still pretty cold, frost on the car windshield but it will soon be gone when the sun hits it. Across the road is a Flying J tavel Plaza on the Arizona side of the state line so we will fuel up our coach and car before entering California and save big bucks. $3.21 a gallon here $3.85 a gallon in California. We will not need fuel again until we return to southern Arizona in about three weeks.
Todays journey was a nice comfortable 126miles. We left at 8:30 am and arrived at 11:30am (10:30am California time).
nice drive
lots of rv's with their sand toys
nice road across the desert
At the rest area a nice map showing the three types of desert here in southern california
the Salton Sea to the south
Getting closer to the Coachella Valley we catch a glimpse of the Salton sea to the south of us then we descend into the valley where the cities of Palm Springs, Indio, Desert Hot Springs are located.
Coachella Valley
We now know Palm Springs is here "Bob Hope Dr." but a little further to Palm Dr. and Desert Hot Springs
Snow on the mountains
Desert Hot Springs main st.
This is a nice small town with everything we need, Palm Springs about 20 minutes away. Now on to Catalina Spa Rv resort, we checked in and set up on a nice site and had lunch.
our site
Now just gonna putter around and friends we met here last year Jim and Sharon, and again in Rock Port Texas were riding their bikes stopped by. A nice surprize, a few hugs, handshakes a cool beverage and we did some catching up.
Jim and Sharon
Then a walk to their site to inspect their new to them coach (very nice!). Chat a bit more and decided we should carry this on to the very warm pool and hot tub. We passed this scenic campsite on the way back electric trains and lighted houses.
nice campsite
It was getting late 3pm and we both had things to do later so only 45 minutes in the lovely pool.
the four of us in the pool
Then this huge amazing hot tub that we just love.
Jim, Sharon and Suzie in the hot tub
Now 4 o'clock they have a bbq dinner to attend and I have to fire up our Weber Q-100 to grill a perfect cornish hen. Want to finish cooking before it gets too dark.
warm up the grill, turn to med, low set chicken on the grill and close lid
about an hour later open lid and an awesome BBQ'd moist chicken
done just in time as the sun sets behind the mountains
Now with our chicken we like our Swiss Chalet Dipping sauce made famous by the Canadian restaurant of the same name. We stock up with lots to get thru our winter away, not everybody loves it like me but thats ok.
So some creamy whipped potatoes, and peas to accompany our tasty chicken and sauce, dinner was awesome!
yummy
Now the day is done, we thought about going to Karaoke tonight at the clubhouse, but the energy was level was gone after a busy day visiting in the pool and hot tub.
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