DHS/Palm Springs

 Catalina Spa and RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs is our stop of choice in that area.  It allows us to enjoy the desert and mountains quietly and is still close enough to Palm Springs for us to continue our "eat out every night" regime.     This time my favorite site was taken....but the site next door was available, so we took it.

A long story short, the people in "my" site turned out to be a big surprise.....It turned out that Julian is the son of our back home veterinarian!    We never knew him when there, he was just a kid,  but it was a fun coincidence to meet such a long way from our old homes.   He and his wife-to-be travel full time (work from their MH) and have spent most of the recent winters in site 356!    Needless to say, we had several interesting conversations and shared a glass of wine at New Years.   

We were both bundled up in this photo, while Julian sported shorts and tee shirt.  The reason for that is that his MH shaded our sitting area - the reason we always liked his spot better than the one we had!

After a few days, we decided that we'd add an extra week onto our original reservation.   We had our decorations up, lots of places to eat and explore and no plans for New Years at home, and also.... why not?

Jesse and Erin adapted quickly to our last-minute decision (no doubt rolling their eyes) and were able to get an on-time delivery of birthday flowers!     Thanks guys, they were so beautiful, and I was impressed with your effort!

One day we drove, off road, to a beautiful overlook on Eureka Peak.   Part of the drive took us through Joshua Tree National Park.

It was windy below so there was a haze of dust over the valley.    Beautiful, nonetheless.

beauty even when dead!

Taos wonders where we are....

colorful minerals in the stream

The weather was beautiful during the day, interesting clouds in the blue sky, with chilly evenings.    Typical desert weather.

yes, I know....out of focus through the window!

We walked the busy downtown streets and enjoyed people watching.   Lots for Taos to take in!

interesting offerings at McCormicks

We revisited the Palm Springs Air Museum.   It's one of the places that Dave always enjoys, and it was Taos' first visit.

We drove up behind the ever-present Mt. San Jacinto on the Palms to Pines highway, through the cute tourist town of Idyllwild, into Banning and back home.  It was a long, twisting, turning route up through the barren desert mountains into pretty pine covered meadows, past Lake Hemet and down to the desert again.    Next time we'll stop in Idyllwild for a bit.     This trip it was quite chilly up there and we were in pretty heavy clouds - even a little spitting rain!   Not conducive to strolling the streets or taking many pictures.

Mt. San Jacinto is in those clouds, see it?

Lunch and a short stroll by the lake and we were ready to get back in the Jeep and turn the heat on!

As we reached the final stretch coming down to Banning, we popped out of the clouds, but we could see it's fingers still reaching for us......

We enjoyed many dinners/Linners/lunches in Palm Springs.    At one of our favorites, The Farm, we met a young couple who run an artisanal cheese shop in Canada, near Vancouver.     We "met" them because Taos' hugeness was beginning to encroach on their nearby space.    I apologized and we began talking.

Croque Madame and Croque Monsieur 
 at The Farm

Since we'll be in Vancouver for a bit this summer, we made plans to stop and visit her Golden Ears Cheesecrafters shop in Maple Ridge, BC.   She takes part in Harvest Hosts if anyone is interested!

Some of the restaurants we visited were favorites, some new to us.   We opted to skip a favorite Mexican Restaurant, the Blue Coyote, and instead, eat at TacQuila, just down the street (up the street?)    While it sounded and looked fabulous, it was, as Jesse often says, meh....

Lobster Taco and Mexican Street Corn

 We celebrated my birthday at a lovely, romantic, new place, and it's now on our "list" of favorites - Vallauris.

Another "new" one was the all-white Eight4Nine.   We enjoyed New Years Eve Linner there.     Wonderful food and a very welcoming staff.

We spent New Years Eve at Beluga, with wine and shrimp and the silhouette of Mt. San Jacinto filling our windshield.

Here's what Annie has been doing.....

the birth of a new snowboarder?