What to do on a Rainy Day in Palm Springs...

Yesterday we still were in the gloom here with light overcast and the odd sprinkle. We decided it would be a good time to go visit the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens. Some of you might remember when last year we visited the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum near Tucson, Arizona. That museum/zoo was outstandingly beautiful in both location and execution of gardens, and so we were not surprised when this one in Palm Springs failed to meet the same high standard. It was interesting and a fun outing, but even at 9AM opening, the crowds were substantial and the walkways not ample enough to really give people the freedom to ramble around without being obstructed by other couples or families. We covered most of the gardens, and had a nice coffee break and visited the gift shop. And then we headed home, as we had left Molly snoozing under the table in the camper and were concerned about a long absence. After spending so much time in the open desert, we found the traffic in Palm Springs annoying. Or maybe it isn't the traffic, it is simply the long long distances of high speed residential streets which join all these spaced out desert communities together. The beautiful desert landscaping that lines each and every long boulevard for miles and miles somewhat mitigates the long drive with heavy traffic, but still, it is a trial to drive long distances to access any of the basic resources (restaurants, supermarkets, Home Depot?).  If the weather had been more conducive we woud have just stayed put at the campsite and enjoyed our stay from our camp chairs planted outside the door.

Since it currently is being a non-holiday kind of weather, I thought maybe I could digress a bit and tell those of you interested just why we like this kind of lifestyle, camping out with our small fifth wheel camper.

I wasn't at all sure that I would like it in the beginning 18 months ago. But I knew that Rick hankered for another truck and he had always wanted another camper, having fond memories of us in a much younger stage of life driving the Orange Pumpkin (our 1972 orange Chevie 3/4 ton) and the truck camper across much of western North America.  All I asked was that we get a smaller 5th wheel unit and second hand so we could at least test it out first to see how much we liked it without a huge outlay of money.

So nobody was more pleasantly surprised than me to discover that I did indeed like it, and that many of the reservations I had had were not significant.

In the beginning I had a fear of loss of privacy. I imagined living cheek to jowl in some camp ground with dogs yapping, kids screaming and folks bothering us all the time. It didn't happen. Other campers are extraordinarily respectful of privacy, never crossing your campsite or letting their dog use it for a bathroom and keeping the noise down and so forth.

On the other hand, everyone waves and sometimes you do meet others with whom you voluntarily engage in chat. Just yesterday we had another camping couple drop by the campsite and ask us where we were from. They were from Victoria, also retired, and had a truck with a quad in the back, pulling a small trailer. They like to camp for free out on the desert and use the quad to explore the canyons and washes with lots of space and freedom. When they found out that we like the more desolate parts of the desert too they told us of several really superb places to camp for a few days with interesting geological features and wildlife.  Later we waved them off as they departed to explore a bit of New Mexico for the first time, before returning to Victoria in mid-April.  So this balance of privacy and friendliness seems to suit us just fine.

What I really like the most is the time when we are set up camping, and we can just sit outside reading a book in lovely weather and then hop inside to grab a sandwich or a bottle of water, or make tea with Red Rose brought from home, and have an easy slow cooker stew for dinner, all just what we want to eat and drink and prepared by our own hand and when we want to eat it. That so much beats having to drive distances to eat in restaurants. It's amazing how fast that gets tiresome when on the road. And then, to have our own satellite TV system so we can watch our local news from back home and see the weather and so forth is also a treat. And our own bed for three (yes, Queen Molly sleeps between us). I was amazed at how comfortable a lifestyle this can be for us and Molly, while retaining most of the flavour of being on holiday and away from the cares of homelife.

Some photos of the gardens below.

I think this was for the kids. It was a giant model railroad layout with multiple trains covering several thousand square feet of space.

And the one below is for Neil and Kathy.