February 12th we arrived in Desert Hot Springs, just 6 miles from beautiful Palm Springs, CA. Our intention was to stay 4 days, see the sights, and move on to Arizona. After spending 2 hours at the Sands RV and Golf Resort we decided to extend our stay and got the special for newcomers...pay for 7 days and get 2 free. The RV park was beautifully landscaped, well maintained, and full of fun loving young retirees enjoying the 9-hole golf course, pickle ball and tennis courts, swimming pool, fitness center, game room, yoga, hiking club and other scheduled activities available throughout the day. About 60% of the guests are from Canada, and our fun and crazy neighbors were from British Columbia, and one couple from Wausau, WI. We lucked out to find this great park and camping neighbors.
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| View from our camping site. |
The day after arriving in DHS, we saw the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies perform their show "The Last Hurrah" at the historic Plaza Theatre in downtown Palm Springs. This is the 23rd year of the Follies, and it is also the last; the final performance will be May 18th. All the talented cast members are between the ages of 55 and 84, and have backgrounds performing on Broadway, TV, movies, or in Las Vegas productions. Their high kicking and dancing was pretty amazing; I want what they're drinking! The costumes included elaborate showgirl costumes with huge head pieces, feathers and sequins. Maureen McGovern was the special guest star and still sings beautifully at age 65. Belting out her Grammy award winning hit "The Morning After" (theme from the movie "The Poseidon Adventure") gave me goose bumps.
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| Entrance to the Plaza Theatre |
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| Restaurants and outdoor cafes surround the theatre. |
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was another item we crossed off our bucket list. The tram is unique in that the floor slowly rotated as it ascended the mountain and we were surrounded by the views of the Coachella Valley and San Jacinto mountains. Panoramic views from the summit included Palm Springs, the Sultan Sea, and San Andres fault.
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| One of the two trams. |
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| Each tram can hold 80 people. |
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| View from the tram. |
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| View from the mountain's summit. Palm Springs can be seen the right side of the photo. The San Andres fault is in the far distance. |
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
Poor planning took us to the Joshua Tree National Park on Saturday. We should know by now not to go to these attractions on weekends. Anyway, we had packed a picnic lunch, water, and hiking shoes, and joined the rest of the crowd at the Park.
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| "Mormon immigrants named the Joshua Tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward." |
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| Spiky, twisty Joshua trees and unique piles of rocks and boulders give this Park an interesting landscape. These trees need well timed rains and a winter freeze to produce springtime flowers at the end of a branch. |
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| This rock formation is known as Skull Rock. |
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| We met a Cub Scout Troop on our hike in the Park. |
Throughout the weekend I was trying to ignore and self medicate the pain from a tooth ache. Tuesday morning I couldn't stand it anymore so instead of joining the hiking club for a hike over the San Andres fault, I got on the phone to find a dentist. I made an appointment with a Palm Springs dentist in the afternoon and received the distressing news that I needed a root canal. I was referred to an Endodontic Dentist and had to wait until Friday for the procedure. Since we were supposed to leave on Friday, we extended our stay at the RV park for another week.
I never thought I would look so forward to a root canal, but by Friday I was about out of mind with the pain and couldn't wait for it to be gone. We arrived at the dental office, my name was called, and as I settled into the chair I looked around for the "gas tank" and was horrified that there wasn't one. The only anesthesia I would get were shots of Novocain. Because I'm a dental phobic, I always have plenty of drugs for this type of procedure; i.e. a tranquilizer 1/2 hour before getting in the chair, gas when I get in the chair, and then shots of Novocain after I'm floating and totally relaxed. This was going to be a white knuckle ride! I barely survived the torture, but by the next day the trauma from the procedure was fading and the tooth ache was gone; I felt like a new woman and we were able to enjoy exploring more of the area.
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| Thousands of wind mills produce energy for the area. |
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