January 20-22: Adventures with Mike

January 20
Indio, California
   Our son, Mike showed up from Jackson, Wyoming late in the afternoon at the Shadow Hills Resort RV park where we were staying.  He drove about a 1000 miles and we are really glad to be able to spend some time with him.  We spent the next day touring the town of Palm Springs.  The downtown area was filled with shops and Mexican restaurants.  I think I was expecting more of a Hollywood atmosphere but that was not the case.  It was low key town with outside seating at most of the restaurants.  It seemed to be a livable area with homes off the Main Street that were not austentatious.  I am sure that there were homes up in the hills that were much more elegant but we stayed in town.  Las Casuelas was an outdoor Mexican restaurant where we had lunch.  They had a live band that played some Mexican music and some music from the 50’s; quite the variety.
   After lunch we tried to drive up to the San Bernardino National Forest and check out Mt San Jacinto Park. The drive up the mountain proved to be a bit too windy with some icy spots so we did not make it all the way to the top.  We had decided early on that our excursion would not include high mountain roads with ice or snow.  We found a place to turn around and head back to the park for our last night there.
  Mike wanted to return to Joshua Tree and camp there for a night.  Even though the government is shut down the park was accessible but with no services.  It was on  a first come-first-serve basis to find a campsite.  We found one at Cottonwood Springs located at the southern end of the park.  Mike set up his tent which claimed our spot.  We then drove to the more northern part of park where the giant boulders are located.  Mike climbed  “skull rock” which as its name implies is a giant boulder that from a bit of a distance looks like a giant skull.  Mike, an experienced climber, skier and all around extreme character, saw no problem fitting into the small crevices up to the top of the skull. Neither Mark nor I attempted to make that climb, even after Mike offered his assistance.
  As we were returning to our campsite, the early evening sun was casting shades of pinks, tourquois, blues and yellows.  We were watching a water color in the making, soft tones that blended into one another creating a sense of quiet peacefulness. Once at the campsite we prepared a steak dinner for the three of us and shared good memories.  The desert night sky, lacking any light pollution, was bright with a magnificent star-light show, the Milkyway, the Little Dipper, Orion’s Belt and many others that I can’t name were all distinct and seemed close enough to touch.  Although cold and windy, it was a beautiful night.
    Mike planned to spend one more night in the park up in the northern area where the giant boulders are.  We had previous plans to meet our former Florida neighbors who recently moved to Temecula.  Before leaving, Mark and Mike had fun trying to fly kites in the high winds.  Mark was a bit more successful than Mike but they both had a frustratingly good time.
   Temecula was about a two and half hour drive west from Joshua Tree.  We arrived around 3:00 and were served a lovely lunch on their patio.  Boog and Suzanne’s home is beautifully located on a high hill overlooking snow-capped mountains to the east and white picketed fence horse-farms to the west.   The neighborhood is a quiet one with palm trees, redwoods, and eucalyptus trees.  They have a lovely fenced in back yard with plenty of room for the dogs. Their home is much larger than their Florida one with 3 bedrooms on the second floor.  They were able to update their kitchen and bathrooms prior to moving in with state of the art quartz counter tops, new appliances with a soft blue-grey toned cabinets.  Their antique furniture is a perfect fit for all of the rooms.  They are expecting their first grandchild in July so they are especially happy to be here near their sons.
  In a day or so we will meet up with Mike again and camp at bit north of Los Angeles, hoping to stay warm for awhile then head to the wine country in Napa.