Week 293-295 - Coachella Valley - 04-08-2012

A funny thing happened on the way to Aguanga!

Every week we try to publish a travelogue, but our last one was three weeks ago. For the last month we have been in the Coachella Valley (home of Palms Springs and seven other major cities). So, we haven't any new travel photos to share with you. How, did this happen? Let us explain. One of the best aspects of living full time in your motorhome is that you don't have to be on a schedule to get home in a week or two. You can figure out day by day where to stay.

We left Desert Hot Springs in the Coachella Valley on Sunday, March 11th. We set our course, first to Hemet and then Aguanga, specifically Jojoba Hills RV Resort (where we learned Pickleball in January 2008). Our plan was to visit with our friends and PB mentors for a while, before we headed home for a family wedding. So what happened? Weather! The high average temperature in Aguanga for the next week was to be 54 degrees. Not too bad, but the low average temp in Coachella Valley was to be 57 degrees and the high between 75 and 90. This would be a much nicer place to stay until things warmed up elsewhere.

So we headed back to the Palm Springs Elks, which is really in Cathedral City, just east of Palm Springs. Amazingly, as we traveled from Hemet to Palm Springs, our friends Gordon and Karen called. They asked "where are you guys and do you want to play Pickleball on Wednesday at Cahuilla Hills?". "Why sure we would, we're headed that way right now".

So we spent a week at the Elks and played social Pickleball with our friends.

It is only $5 a night to stay at the Elks, but it is only dry camping, so in a week or 10 days your gray and black tanks will get full. So we started checking out RV parks in the valley and lo and behold, there is a lake park. Who knew that the Palm Springs desert area had a lake? Lake Cahuilla Park is nine miles south of Indio. They have dry camping, electric or full hookups. We chose electric and water hookups for $26 per day. But, they honor the Passport America half-price camping on Monday to Thursday. So we got Tuesday to Sunday for only $18.20 per day.

The lake is two miles in circumference which we walked twice and Mandy came once. Activities at the lake include rental kayaking, swimming in a very nice pool (April to October on weekends), fishing (just stocked the day we were there), camping and horse back riding. This powered para-glider come by for our photo shoot.

After two weeks of enjoying the weather and playing Pickleball, we were ready for some higher-class accommodations. Another web search and we landed at Indian Wells RV Park in Indio. They also honored the Passport America half-price stay which was $32 per night. So we relaxed with full hookups and enjoyed a little cable TV and dinner with Gordon and Karen. And, yes some social Pickleball at Cahuilla Hills. Note that Mandy has some "cat like" tendencies, preferring to lay on counter as Ellen primps in the morning.

When we visit friends and relatives briefly, we always take photos. But what often happens when we spend extended time with people, we forget. So we inserted this photo of Gordon and Karen from our time together at the Grand Canyon North Rim.

Okay, we had our fun in the valley and the rest of the world is warming up, so it is time to leave. Not so fast! Our friends Clint and Jackie live in Rancho Mirage (another Coachella Valley city) and we only saw them briefly at our last Pickleball tournament. So we told them we would come by for a short visit. As it turned out Jackie is recovering (very quickly) from a medical illness. And Clint needed to leave town on a one-week business trip. So, why not stay in front of their house and be on hand in case Jackie needed anything.

Jackie took great care of us! While we helped where needed, mostly she was just the gracious host as she and Clint had been in January 2011 when we last stayed with them. While at the house we got to see their cactus bloom where the flowers last only one day. And Ellen got pictures of these Hummingbird babies sitting in their nest which is only two inches wide.

Clint returned from a successful trip and we enjoyed dinner on the pool patio. While Clint encouraged us to stay a few more days, we had the wanderlust itch to get back on the road again (sing it Willy).

Woven throughout this month was the every other day exercise at the Cahuilla Hills Pickleball courts and also at Outdoor Resorts Indio.

So while we left the valley on March 11th, we returned and stayed until April 8th. We had no idea that this would happen. And we spent 26 days in one of the most expensive places in America for only $11 per day.

People often ask us how we plan our routes and you just saw exactly how we do it! Huh?

We want to thank Karen and Gordon, Jackie and Clint for a most lovely month and look forward to another visit in the future. We pray that you were blessed during this Easter time and that you are grateful for a Risen Savior.

We now know exactly where we are headed - home, for our son Nick's marriage to his beautiful fiancée Hayley.

Love, Pete, Ellen and Mandy

Photos from Apr 2012