Palm Desert for warm sun and family fun...
A scenic 1 1/2 hour drive to our home, this desert town, near Palm Springs, is a wonderful place to escape to. The area was first known as the Old MacDonald Ranch, but the name changed to Palm Village in the 1920s when date palms were planted. Local historians said the main residents of pre-1950 Palm Desert were Cahuilla Indian farmers of the now extinct San Cayetano tribe, whose presence is still very felt here.
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| We began our day at the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument's Visitor Center. We learn a great deal about these mountains which contain nationally significant biological, cultural, recreational, geological, educational and scientific values. In the Monument, the desert floor meets steep, dissected mountain slopes and rises through five distinct life zones...interesting and gorgeous! |
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| Randall Henderson "Mr. Desert" wrote in 1937, "here are two deserts: One is a grim, desolate wasteland. It is the home of venomous reptiles and stinging insects, of vicious thorn-covered plants and trees and unbearable heat. This is the desert seen by the stranger speeding along the highway, impatient to be out of the 'damnable country'... |
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| ...But the stranger and the uninitiated see only the mask. The other desert - the real desert- is not for the eyes of the superficial observer or the fearful soul of a cynic. It is a land which reveals its true character only to those who come with courage, tolerance and understanding. For these, the desert holds rare gifts: a health-giving sunshine; a sky that after the sun goes down is studded with diamonds; a breeze that bears no poison; a landscape of pastel colors such as no artist can reproduce; thorn-covered plants which during countless ages have clung tenaciously to life through heat, drought, wind and the depredations of thirsty animals, and each season send forth blossoms of exquisite coloring as symbols of courage that triumphed over appalling obstacles." Today we experienced the other desert- the real desert- and loved it. |
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| We then met Steve's brother, Kevin and his wife, Ann for lunch in El Paseo, the first residential development occurred here, in 1943, in connection with an Army maintenance camp in the area and has since developed into an upscale shopping district, not unlike Rodeo Drive. |
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| There is something magical about ending your day, dining along a palm tree lined street in the company of charming conversationalists. |
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1 comments:
I love day trips! Very fun. Have you ever driven to Palm Desert through Anza (the back way from Temecula)? It is a pretty drive.
It looks like a beautiful day. I like the reflection of palm trees in the wine glasses. :)
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