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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Desert Days, Week One: Variety Spices up our Life!

We're settled in to our nice big site (#168) at Sam's Family Spa in Desert Hot Springs for a month and our first week has flown by. It's still pretty warm, most days this past week have hit the mid 90's, way too hot for us to enjoy hiking, so we've spent a lot of time both exercising and relaxing in the various pools here at the spa resort.

What a way to start the day!

Sam's is unique among the many hot springs resorts in Desert Hot Springs; their four hot mineral pools are emptied every night and the water is recycled into a lagoon, then used to water the oasis-like plantings around the property. There are also two non-mineral pools, with cooler temperatures, that have just a touch of chlorine added to keep them fresh.

At the lagoon.

One warm day we ventured out early to Sunnylands. Once the estate of Walter and Leonore Annenberg, former US Ambassadors and philanthropists, the property is now a meeting/retreat space used by world leaders plus a lovely desert garden and hospitality center which is free for the general public to enjoy and learn about the Annenbergs. One can also tour the original estate for a fee.

Modern formal native gardens at Sunnylands.








One afternoon we had the great pleasure of meeting blog readers, Zsuzsa and Tom. They live in Palm Springs and as soon as they sell their condo they will hit the road full time too. We had fun hanging out in the pools at our park followed up by happy hour; sharing the many little tidbits we've learned in our two years on the road. It was great to see their enthusiasm for this lifestyle!

Sorry "Z", I caught you with your mouth full!

Our good friends David and Wendy live just over the hill in Yucca Valley so one day we headed over to their place for lunch and had a blast riding mopeds on their track, so cool!

David and his moped cave!

Hans and David flying around the track!

We finally had a cloudy and breezy morning, bringing the temperature down just enough so we wanted to hike. Just a few miles from our park is the Thousand Palms Oasis Reserve.  Part of the Coachella Valley Preserve System, this site has miles of trails taking you through palm oases and the rather stark desert surrounding them.


Several faults that make up the San Andreas Fault flow through this area
and are the cause of the springs that allow the oases to grow.

Into the palm forest!

I had never visited a palm oasis that held so much water!


Departing the first grove, we entered a grassy/ riparian area.

Which gave way to a wash, still heavy with plant life.

The next palm garden held a substantial pond!


Leaving the oasis, the trail continued into the desert.



We crested a small hill and looked back at the palm garden.

So you can see we're getting into the swing of the desert, the heat was an adjustment after our relatively cool and comfortable temps of the summer in the Pacific Northwest but we're hitting our stride and doing some exploring and a lot of hot springs soaking!

With this fabulous sunset we knew we were back in the desert South West.





22 comments:

  1. Ahhhh...a place I know and love. Don't miss the hike to Flag Mountain which you can do directly from the park. It's a bit of a local secret, but I've got coordinates on my blog.
    Nina

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  2. Yes indeed, I've been scoping that one out!

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  3. Having grown up in Georgia, it was a wonderful treat to discover the desert and all it's beauty! The palm oasis areas are quite pretty! But nothing can beat a desert sunset...
    Looking forward to week two...enjoy!

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    1. I know! What is it about the desert that causes such amazing sunrises and sunsets?!?!

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  4. I'm keeping close tabs on your stay. I want to go there someday. Looks great so far. Amazing that it is do hot in late October. Glad. it cooled off enough for the hike.

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    1. This year is staying hotter than normal I understand.

      A couple of things about this rv park: it is waaaay out there, seems like it's at least 20 miles one way to most things we want to do. Also there is not much in the way of hiking or walking from the park itself.

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  5. How did I not know about Sunnylands? As it cools down, the Living Desert is another great place to see local flora and fauna - I've yet to see the Bighorn Sheep in all the times I've been, but they swear they're there! I lived in Joshua Tree for a while and it is a wonderful park with miles of trails through different terrain - and those rocks!! Enjoy the desert, it is so magical.

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    1. We hiked in Joshua Tree today, post coming up soon! No Big Horns though :-(

      Sunnylands has only been open since 2012, so it is fairly new.

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  6. Beautiful pictures, Lisa. I'm taking notes! We are so looking forward to our stay there. And some of the most incredible sunrises and sunsets I've seen lately were when we were on the Playa, in the desert, during Burning Man.

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    1. Thanks! Happy to help you to plan your family reunion! :-)

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  7. It's hard to imagine so many different terrains in one hike. And I wouldn't have thought that so much water would be there either. The hot mineral pools sound fantastic. I just looked at their rates and the monthly rate is about 1/3 of our monthly mortgage. I can't wait until our FT journey begins. See you on the road one day!

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    1. It is amazing the breadth of pricing one can find for monthly rates at RV parks! In fact, Sam's is pretty darn pricey on a daily or weekly rate, that's why we are staying for a month.

      Looking forward to seeing you on the road someday!

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  8. We always enjoy a couple of days at Sam's when we're passing through that area, but have never stayed there long enough to do anything but soak in the pools. You've found some great nearby trails, though! We love Joshua Tree - it's one of our all-time favorites.Gorgeous sunset photo!

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    1. 1000 Palms was nearby and Big Morongo is sort of close...Joshua Tree is quite a haul, but worth it! :-)

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  9. Ive heard so much about this place and it looks like a monthly rate is the way to go.
    Cool desert sunset... I miss those desert sunsets!

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  10. Glad you are adjusting to the heat. It hasn't been fun being back in the high temps. Boy, I miss the 60's for hiking. We finally dropped into the high 70's today. We get a few days before we go back to the 80's again for the weekend.

    Settling in for a month is so relaxing. You don't feel the need to be on the go every day. Sounds like you are doing a great job keeping busy. Love Hans on the motorbike!!

    We hiked the Thousand Palms Oasis when we stayed in Indio. Very strange to see those areas of palms and the water.

    Love your sunrise and sunset photos. That final photo is gorgeous!!

    Enjoy your soaks:)

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    1. I agree completely, these high temps are brutal to hike in! Looking ofrward to a cool down this weekend.

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  11. I've always wanted to go to Sam's Family Spa, and now with your recommendation we'll just have to try it. We're going to be in SoCal for most of the winter - first Santee Lakes and then near Temecula at Rancho California.

    We're having a lot of trouble with Blogger lately - impossibly slow with downloading pictures and creating posts. Are you having any trouble? It may be our network. But it's putting a serious dent in our blog updates.

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    1. Maybe we will meet after all, we will be at Santee Lakes for a month starting 11/21.

      No trouble with Blogger lately (fingers crossed!)

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  12. Hey guys, I thought I would tell you about a great spot. The Integratron, its a great location to visit. See my post about the area. http://blog.spantz.com/2014/02/chakras-realigned.html

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