The Desert

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Geo: 33.7256, -116.263

Bob and Connie have a lovely 3BR, 3 bath house in a gated golf community - Heritage Palms. Bob drives his cart from his garage onto the golf course that looks immaculately maintained. As is apparently common in the desert, the golf course grass is cut very close in Oct, then over-seeded with a winter rye grass, and watered heavily. The course is closed for a month (!) for this process.

Went for a walk this morning along a line of palm tree oases (palm springs) in the Coachella Valley (Indian, not Spanish pronunciation), along the San Andreas fault. Had brunch at Panera, a bakery style cafe.

The girls then went shopping and Bob and I checked out a couple of golf shops. The PGA Tour Superstore is huge and carries a massive range. Then we did a recon to the Desert Willow Golf Resort where we are playing their Firecliff Course tomorrow.

Stayed home and had a BBQ in the evening. I roasted a slab of beef but it turned out tough and a bit stringy. The marinating and cooking went well; apparently a rump roast cut was a poor choice to BBQ. No matter, the company was good and we had a good chat.

The nine cities in the desert include Indio, Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, etc. I wondered at the lush green gardens and golf courses, and a little research provided the answer. Drinking water comes from acquifers, accessed by 1,200 ft deep wells. Most of the 50 or so golf courses use water from the Coachella Canal, which brings water from the Colorado River. The Canal is also used to replenish the acquifer at four different locations. About 17 courses and some schools use recycled water for their irrigation.

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Photos

Coachella Valley spring
Scrubby desert with a line of springs along the San Andreas fault.

Gate Post
Cute gate keeper.

Cadillac SRV
Not a car I would choose to buy. The front pillars restrict vision too much. There is a neat safety feature where cars in the driver's blind spot (on either side) activate a sensor that shows a warning light on the wing mirrors.

Heritage Palms golf course
View from Bob and Connie's back deck.

Comments

[Morag]

Loving reading about your travels and you are certainly getting a good look and feel for the various golf courses you have played. And enjoying the retail therapy I'm sure Robby-dob. Sounds like you are both having the best time and quite
different to your other travels earlier this year. Waiting for the next instalment xx