January 4th we headed for Palm Springs, having no idea what was there except our images from Hollywood.
The drive is only about an hour but the scenery changes quickly and I wanted to see it all. That day I learned to plan more carefully. I was so busy looking at the map and GPS to find a RV park that we were there before we decided on which park, in which city. There are several cities that run together like many other municipalities. We had a map with city names but no idea of how connected they are.
We settled in Sands RV and Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs. They offer 1 week plus 2 days for $295.00 which includes Wi-Fi and cable TV.
We have chosen parks based on the info from the GPS which takes into account the length of our RV and roads where we will fit. The parks have been good but we realize we have no expectation at this time of utilizing many of the park amenities such as bocce ball, pickle ball, golf, etc. We are more interested in exploring the countryside and it’s people.
We have not even owned bathing suits for decades. Times must change. In Desert Hot Springs we were referred to the store “Glossy” that stocks over 7,000 women’s bathing suits including well-known brand names - all priced at $29.95. For that price we can’t go wrong. Some day we will even use them.
Sunday we explored College of the Desert weekend street market. It is held in the college parking lot with a huge variety of vendors including food, clothing, shoes, decorations, etc. I bought a silver ring with polished seashells. There were so many unique items but we have no house to decorate so we’ll decorate ourselves.
Monday we headed for Indian Canyons. Andreas Canyon is the first natural oasis we have ever seen. From the parking lot there is a vista of Palm Springs and unending desert with the mountains over 20 miles in the distance.
Behind us the canyon is lush with magnificent fan palms sheltering meandering Andrea Creek. The half mile walk up the canyon takes us through the palms.
The return walk goes along the other side of the canyon where we viewed the streak of green surrounded by barren, weathered cliffs.
We returned in time for a ranger’s talk. He described the history of the area and how the people thrived in the canyon oasis. There are still bedrock mortars and metates used to grind food, medicines, dyes, etc.
In a hostile environment the oasis attracted nomadic people and allowed them to settle and prosper. It was a very labour intensive life led by independent, peaceful people.
Hearing about the people and touching the rocks and plants they used brings them to life and helps us remember what we have learned. There are other canyons but it was late afternoon after we had spent several hours in Andreas Canyon.
Tuesday was our first overcast day in 2 weeks so we settled into the nasty “paperwork” which still follows us. We had very general ideas about the costs of this lifestyle and now we need to record all our spending in order to plan our retirement funds. We are reminding ourselves that “retirememt $” are much less than “paycheque $”. We try to look for discount coupons and senior’s discounts. The senior’s discounts often start at age 62 so that helps both of us.
Every Thursday night a highlight of Palm Springs is Villagefest (street fair). Palm Canyon Drive is the main street and for 6 blocks it is setup with booths of all descriptions. There is an unending variety of food, jewelry, ornaments, soaps, etc. A great people watching opportunity when you can move through the crowds.
As well, every Thursday evening the Palm Springs Art Museum is free. We admired the art for about an hour until a tour started with an extremely knowledgeable, enthusiastic docent. I’m sure he could tell a story about every piece in the museum and it’s creator. We can read the descriptions and admire the work but a good guide brings the art alive and puts it into context within the era when it was created. The tour lasted over 2 hours because people kept asking questions and new people joined. A great evening!
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