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Exploring the desert is ongoing for my husband and me.
Exploring the desert is ongoing for my husband and me.
We drove out to the Coachella Valley Preserve this past Sunday and spent several hours hiking from one palm oasis to another.
This is the view of the first oasis as we started our hike across the incredible desert.
The trail is very sandy, almost like walking on the beach.
Even though it was relatively flat...it gave our legs a good workout!
We were treated to amazing blue skies and temperatures in the 90's.
It was windy...so we were comfortable.
There are a few stand-alone palms on the outer perimeter of the oasis.
I love the variety of vegetation...some blowing in the wind on this day.
We saw a lot of the fringe - toed lizards.
We take hiking sticks to feel a little more secure against the dreaded rattle snake!
We didn't see any of them on the trail.
...a few wildflowers in early May...that's a nice surprise.
This is the palm oasis we were heading for along the McCallum trail.
There is ground water for any oasis, but this one has a magnificent pond...not for swimming, though.
We had a good mile or so, hike to get there.
Distances on the desert are deceiving...always farther than they appear.
We only met a few people on the trail...sweet!
Looking to the north as we hike towards the west...the mountains were such a beautiful purple.
Jerry is nearly in the McCallum Oasis now.
We have reached our destination!
This is all ground water that comes up due to seismic activity along the San Andras Fault.
We are in earthquake country out here!
The palms thrive in these places.
It's called "1000 Palm Canyon."
I took photos from every angle of this pond possible trying to capture the many reflections floating on that water.
My husband is enjoying some shade and watching little fish and crawdads, aka crayfish, swimming in the shade under the trees.
What a reward for our efforts to get here!
This is nice enough to linger awhile...and we did.
