Monday, April 13, 2015

Palm Desert Trip 2015

Palm Desert California, Desert Falls Country Club, Aunie Sauce Travels

During the first week of April, Daniel and I packed our things and headed south for a road trip to Palm Desert, California. It's hard to believe it had been two years since we'd been there! I was attending Air Force Basic Training last year during our normal PD trip timeline, so we had to skip a year. Bummer! Thankfully, this trip made the wait well worth it.

We, as we always do, spent out trip being super-active and enjoyed each day by fitting as much in as we possibly could. On our past trips, we've done several hikes like Joshua Tree National Park, Indian Canyon, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the Living Desert and The Valley of Fire. Wanting to take in as much as we could, this year we tried new hikes and visited places we'd never been before.

Our first hiking spot was the Coachella Valley Preserve, where we hiked three hours on the Pushwalla Canyon Trail one day and then three more hours on the Moon Canyon Trail the next day. Both hikes were incredibly scenic (and so vastly different!) and we found lots of wildlife on the way. We caught—and released, of course—several chuckwallas, a desert iguana and even a sidewinder rattlesnake! I'd never seen a rattlesnake in person before, so to have Daniel catch it right in front of me was quite a thrill. And don't worry—we were safe! Daniel has been catching reptiles since he was a kid.

In addition to the Coachella Valley Preserve hikes, we also did a two-hour night hike in Joshua Tree National Park (with flashlights! It was so cool!) looking for fun night-time creatures. All we found were black widow spiders... not the thrill we were hoping for, though the hike was wonderful. We also ventured to Whitewater Preserve where we hiked four hours on the Painted Canyon Trail—which ended at a "hidden" waterfall! That one was really neat and very unlike anything else we'd seen on our Palm Springs hikes.

Of course we didn't spend our entire trip hiking. We also got up early to go to the gym each day, spent lots of time with my Dad and his wife, ate lots of delicious food (Armando's is our favorite!) and even managed to get in a round of 18-holes at Desert Falls Country Club.

See more photos from the trip below.

Palm Desert California, Red Diamond Rattlesnake
We spotted a red diamond rattlesnake on Highway 247 going into Palm Springs. We pulled him off the road to save him from being hit by a semi. What a neat snake he was!
Palm Desert California, Pushwalla Canyon Hike at the Coachella Valley Preserve
The gorgeous view of the valley on the Pushwalla Canyon Trail at the Coachella Valley Preserve.
Palm Desert California, Pushwalla Canyon Hike at the Coachella Valley Preserve
We found a chuckwalla on the ridge of the Pushwalla Canyon Trail at the Coachella Valley Preserve.
Palm Desert California, Moon Canyon Hike at the Coachella Valley Preserve, Sidewinder Snake
One of our more thrilling finds, a sidewinder rattlesnake, which we stumbled upon during our Moon Canyon Hike at the Coachella Valley Preserve. Daniel is fearless, I tell you!
Palm Desert California, Sidewinder Snake at  Pushwalla Canyon Hike at the Coachella Valley Preserve
My favorite shot of the sidewinder rattlesnake. He was small but aggressive!
Palm Desert California, Desert Falls Country Club, Aunie Sauce Travels
Playing a round of best ball golf with my dad and his wife. They are the most generous people and we wish we could get down to PD to visit them more!
Idyllwild California, Aunie Sauce Travels
We took a day-trip up to Idyllwild, California. What a neat little mountain town. We ate lunch at the Gastrognome and it was delicious!
Palm Desert California, Whitewater Canyon Painted Trail Hike at Whitewater Preserve, Aunie Sauce Travels
We passed a giant flowering yucca on our hike up the Painted Canyon trail at the Whitewater Preserve. That hike was so beautiful and scenic.
Palm Springs California, Whitewater Canyon Painted Trail Hike, Aunie Sauce Travels
Climbing the small "hidden" waterfall at the Painted Canyon trail at the Whitewater Preserve. That four-hour hike was my favorite of the trip.

Our vacations to Palm Desert, though usually a week long, never feel long enough. I love the hikes on those trips—it's so good to be active and enjoy the outdoors—but I love catching up with my dad and his wife most of all. Now that they spend half the year down there, we don't get to see them as often so it's truly nice to be able to vacation to such a beautiful place and spend time with such great people.

Watch the video diary of our Palm Desert trip here!

12 comments:

Aunie said...

I husband and I made a trip to Palm Springs on our honeymoon! We flew in to San Fran, drove the coast to LA and then one day, drove all the way to Palm Springs! We did the aerial tramway and hiked around the park at the top! It was gorgeous! I still remember the "caramel" smelling trees! :)

Aunie said...

You guys are brave picking up that rattle snake! I live in NM and we all stay far away from rattlesnakes. That hike you went on looked like a blast!

Aspen Kelty Marie

Aunie said...

Looks like such a great time - especially the golf {I am a total golf addict and that green looks fabulous!}! And I love the shots with the rattlesnake - you married yourself a Crocodile Hunter!

Aunie said...

You guys! Its like Indiana Jones! ;) Looks like a fab trip.

Aunie said...

Oh, that's such a visual memory... it takes me right back there! I love it, Shannon!

Aunie said...

Thanks so much, Aspen! Haha, my husband sure was brave. I couldn't do it... I don't know enough about them to be safe :)

Aunie said...

Teach me your golfing ways! I'm still so terrible :) Haha, I know... he's like a Steve Irwin!

Aunie said...

Thanks Laura! We actually joked about how EXCITED we would be during our night hike if a snake dropped on us like they do in Indiana Jones. Funny!

Aunie said...

Thanks so much, Vicki!

Aunie said...

What a bonus! That's awesome. I know we have courses around here with discounted fees for military members, but I should look into lessons. That would help a lot. My swing is AWFUL.

Aunie said...

Your hair is so cute that short! I want to chop mine all off again and start fresh. Your trip looks like it was a lot of fun! I would go on trips but I am too terrified to fly :/

Aunie said...

Oh no! We do a lot of road trips :) It's our favorite way to get around. And Thank you!

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