Desert Hot Springs

Mar 02       Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio - Desert Hot Springs     27 miles     40 minutes

We camped in the Fantasy Springs Casino dirt lot last night and everything was going good until a semi truck pulled in around one in the morning, parked pretty close to us and ran his generator. So irritating, I was so frickin mad!!

Today we checked in at Caliente Springs Resort in Desert Hot Springs. Caliente Springs is a 55 and better resort. Yes, we now qualify to stay at these old fut resorts. It's located in the greater Palm Springs area and is known for the natural hot mineral waters that continually flow into their hot tubs and pools on property.

Nothing fancy with the sites

Hot tubs are fabulous

We'll be here for one week. They honor Passport America so we get half price, $203 for the week. Real good deal considering how nice the amenities are. The pool and hot tubs are amazing. We can learn to play pickleball here, something I've been wanting to learn. Also, water exercise classes which I really enjoy.

Very nice mineral water pool

Mar 02   The Living Desert Zoo

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is located in Palm Desert. We got our tickets through the Costco website. Two adult tickets for $22.00. This is a good deal, the normal adult price is $19.00 per person. Real nice zoo with lots of animals, wish we had our grandbabies with us. We spent a few hours just walking around and checking everything out. Very enjoyable and the weather was perfect.

Leopard Tortoise

Common Chuckwalla

Big Horn Sheep

African Warthog

Camel rides for the kids

Mar 03   College of the Desert Street Fair

The Street Fair at the College of the Desert is considered one of the top things to do in this area, where locals and visitors alike can spend their day with an open-air shaded shopping experience second to none. They had everything you can imagine. It happens every Saturday and Sunday from 7am - 2pm. We got there at 9am and spent a little over 2 hours and bought a few things. It was pretty crowded and when we left there were still a whole bunch of people coming in.

After that we went to a shop called Glossy. I got a good tip about this store. All swimsuits $29.00. Of course I bought a suit! The suit I bought normally retails for $60-$70. It was hard to limit myself to just one.

Bob & Joe teaming up

Mar 05

We've been enjoying our time here at Caliente Springs. The past few days have been kind of chilly but we still manage to hit the pools everyday. The mineral waters are so relaxing, can't get enough.

We went to learn pickleball this morning and had so much fun. The people here are so friendly. The instructor Bob was so patient with the newbies. There's pickleball every morning so I think we'll get out there a lot this week.

Joe enjoying some pool time

Mar 06

We just love it here. Pickleball in the morning, then right after, I go to a water exercise class, then just relax in the hot tubs and pool for about an hour. By this time, it's time for lunch and some relaxation at home. We try to have an early dinner then back to the pool in the early evening. What a life, I could do this everyday!

Joe grilling our dinner

Mar 07     Joshua Tree National Park

This morning we drove to Joshua Tree National Park about 45 minutes away. We stopped at the visitors center to get some information and buy some souvenirs.

Our first stop was the Hidden Valley hike. A 1-mile trail that winds among massive boulders through this legendary cattle rustlers hideout.

Next, we did the Barker Dam hike. This dam was built around 1900 to hold water for cattle and mining use. The dam today forms a small rain fed reservoir used by park wildlife. Birds abound!

Barker Dam

Joshua Tree National Park is huge, over 792,000 acres. We just did the main loop through part of the park. We made a stop at Skull Rock, then had lunch at Split Rock. I wanted to do another hike but we were both exhausted. We came home and soaked in the hot tubs. What a great way to end the day.

Skull Rock

Split Rock

Mar 08

Another day of pickleball, water exercise, and pool time. This is our last night here. We enjoyed ourselves so much, we booked another week here. We have reservations at another park for two nights, then we'll be back on Sunday.

Desert sunrise