As we headed home, we passed miles and miles of date palms. I found the history of the Phoenix dactylifera here so very interesting.
In 1898, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created a special department of men called Agriculture Explorers to travel the globe searching for new food crops to bring back for farmers to grow in the U.S.These agricultural explorers were kind of like the Indiana Joneses of the plant world. These men introduced the country to exotic specimens like the mango, the avocado and new varieties of sweet, juicy oranges. But of all the exotic fruits brought, the story of the biblical date — and its marketing, cultivation and pollination — remains one of the most romantic of all.Enter Floyd and Bess Shields. This couple came to the California desert in 1924 and started Shields Date Farm. They working long and hard to build up their business and educate their customers about date culture.In the beginning, Mr. Shields would give his lecture in the garden. As the popularity of his lecture grew, Mr. Shields incorporated a slide show, then recorded his presentation in conjunction with the slide show so that the show could be run several times a day. In different times, we have watched, with delight, the 15-minute film Romance and Sex Life of the Date where we could still hear Mr. Shields talking about his favorite subject: the Date. Oh man, so cool.I really wanted a world famous date shake but it was 9 AM- just too early for that for me.Oh boy, the soft medjools I bought and ate later were exceptional though.Wandering around the gift shop at Shields was like a stroll through our childhood. When was the last time you saw gum cigarettes? Whoa.Our final stop on the road home was at Cabazon to ogle its dinosaurs. Formerly Claude Bell's Dinosaurs, this roadside attraction features two enormous, steel-and-concrete dinosaurs named Dinny the Dinosaur and Mr. Rex. Located just west of Palm Springs, the 45-foot tall, 150-foot-long Brontosaurus and the 65-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex are visible from the freeway to travelers passing by on Southern California's Interstate 10.
A second dinosaur, Mr. Rex, was constructed near Dinny in 1981. How apt that Mr. Bell was featured in a book titled 'The Well-Built Elephant and Other Roadside Attractions - A Tribute to American Eccentricity. Eccentric, kitchy, awesome, fun!
"Making memories one road trip at a time!"
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