First direction, south towards the town of Mecca which is at the north end of the Salton Sea. Weleft civilation behind after going about 10 or so miles down the highway and drove into the wide open agricultural center of this area. There were miles and miles of date palm trees, citrus groves, grape vines and some low to the ground green growing vegetable that I guess was spinach. On the way back from the Salton Sea we detoured briefly through Mecca which is a well maintained little town isolated by itself and we assume the home of many of the farm workers.
As we drove south past Mecca we entered the Salton Sea State Park Recreational Area. We saw a lot of "sand", a large body of water, and mountains rising behind it. there were a few small campgrounds dotting the shore but in general the area has an abandoned feel to it.
The Salton Sea was formed when the Colorado River broke thru and flooded that area many years ago. But the Colorado receded and there is no other natural water source feeding this body of water. So at one point when it was "new" it may have been a desirable place to swim and fish and go boating, but no more. However it does attract hundreds if not thousands of migratory sea birds and indeed we saw many clusters of white pelican sitting along the shore.
Salton Sea View
Deserted Recreational Beach Town of Bombay Beach
Abandoned Cafe along the road
Train heading towards Mexico
After viewing the 14 miles of sea coast that can easily be seen from the road, we reversed direction and headed toward the northern end of the valley. The destination being Indian Canyons just outside of Palm Springs proper.
We drove down the narrow, winding entry road and were immediately immersed in a much different landscape. Desert scrub giving way to colorful cliffs and in the distance clusters of Palm Trees that signify the presence of water, an oasis. We had a chance to enjoy our picnic lunch among the palm trees with the sandstone cliffs towering above us in Palm Canyon. Then we went back down the road a bit to the San Andreas Canyon and hiked a mile long loop next to the San Andreas Creek, gently climbing until we reached the hig point and were treated to a magnificent panaromic view.
New Growth in the Oasis
Native American Mortar hole carved into the granite rock surface
San Andreas Creek
Such a View
Driving "home" we felt like we are getting to know our way around a bit more and seeing how it all fits together. Tomorrow we will do some more exploring to the west going up into the Santa Rosa mountains. But tonight we are looking forward to an evening with Frankie Valli and maybe a few pulls of the slot machine at one of the local casinos.
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