La Quinta Organic Market

La Quinta Old Town on Calle Tampico hosts a small but nice Farmers Market on Sundays from 8:00-noon.
Bring your dog, your kids and friends to enjoy a cup of coffee and listen to the music of the day.  Today there were two musicians one playing Calyspo type music and the was Joe Baldino who plays Latin inspired Jazz.  Organic veggies including all kinds of greens, root vegetables a large selection of mushrooms, tomatoes and berries were beautifully displayed.  Also available were flats of wheat grass, honey, nuts, bakery items, and flowers at $5.00 a bunch.

Day Trip #3 -Dinosaurs near Palm Springs

A fun family trip about 25 minutes from Palm Springs is a visit to see the dinosaurs and visit the Rex Museum.  When you drive up you may recognize the two large dinosaurs as they have been featured in many commercials and movies, print ads and music videos.
Claude Bell, a Knott's Berry Farm artist who was looking for ways to attract diners to the Wheel Inn, his roadside restaurant.  So directly behind the Wheel Inn he built a 150 ton, 45' tall, 150' long Apatosaurus that he named "Dinny". 
In addition there are also over 15 real-looking robotic dinosaurs, an area where there is gemstone & fossil panning and a dino dig where kids who find a special stone get a free dinosaur souvenier.  The path with over 60 statues of dinosaurs and other creatures is great for photos. 

The Museum is located inside the 4 story T-Rex, climb up the dinosaur while finding out fun facts.

For More information: (951) 922-0076 for more information http://www.cabazondinosaurs.com/

Hadleys Date Garden

Practically right next door is Hadley's where you can sample and buy just about every type of dried fruit you can imagine.  If you like shakes, try the world famous Date Shake.

48980 Seminole Dr  Cabazon, CA 92230-2112
(951) 849-5255

If you still have energy left they outlet malls are right down the street, see my blog on Outlet
shopping for more information

The World's Biggest Dinosaurs are located in Cabazon California at Highway 10 and the Main Street exit, 13 miles west of Palm Springs.

High End Shopping in the Desert

                                                             El Paseo

By far the finest shopping in the desert is in Palm Desert on El Paseo.  Located in Palm Desert at Highway 74 & El Paseo, you will find stores such as Gucci, St. John Knits, Apple, Kate Spade and many more.

The center piece of the area is The Gardens, where you will find Tiffany's, Saks 5th Avenue, Coach, J. Crew, Cole Hahn, Louis Vuitton and many other high end shops.  If you like seafood be sure to stop by Pacifica, I love the Bass in Green Curry.  They also boast of having over 100 brands of vodka to choose from, all costing around $6 for any vodka drink in the bar.  I also like Sammy's they have wonderful salads, you can order half a salad which is for me the perfect size.  For the steak lovers try Sullivan's Steak house, they have a great quality of meat served in a high end steak house atmosphere.  From January to April there are jazz concerts on Saturday night, each week the approximately $10 donation, which includes wine and cheese helps out a different charity.

High Desert Day Trip #2

                                                                Pioneer Town

 A fun afternoon trip is to head up Hwy 62, you will drive through the fabulous Joshua Trees that are so prolific to this area.  Pioneertown is a fun stop, it was originally built as a set for the old westerns, according to the website:"Pioneertown was built in 1946 as a movie set for western movies, including the movies of Gene Autry, The Cisco Kid with Duncan Renaldo, Annie Oakley with Gail Davis, Judge Roy Bean with Edgar Buchanan, Range Rider withJock O. Mahoney, and Buffalo Bill Jr. with Dick Jones.  The movie set was to provide a place for the actors to live, and have their homes used as part of a movie set."  Whenever I have gone it was quiet so we just looked through windows and then headed to Pappy and Harriets.  The gunfight on Saturdays is supposed to be fun.
Saturdays at 2:30 the Pioneertown Posse; a re-enactment troupe performs an old west type show with a shoot out.

                       For more information: http://www.pioneertown.com/f-index.htm

                                                                      Pappy & Harriets

When you are done checking out Pioneertown, head over to Pappy & Harriet's for great mesquite wood barbeque, a fun atmosphere.  There is always some type of music happening at night and the musicians are quite good, the people watching is fabulous and the decor one-of-a-kind.

For more information:  http://www.pappyandharriets.com/

Directions: From Palm Springs Take I-10 west to Route 62 (29 Palms Hwy - Joshua Tree Nat'l Park). Take Route 62 NE about 25 miles into Yucca Valley.At the second stop light (Pioneertown Road), make a left and take Pioneertown Roadabout 4 miles up. Pass the sign Pioneertown 1946" and just ahead on the right, you'll see the neon lights.
Reservations are not required but highly recommended 760 365-5956.

Palm Springs Cable Cars

 

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

                                                                     

The Tram opened to the public in 1963.  Presently there are two- 80 passenger cars that are enclosed and rotate. They ascend from the valley floor to an elevation of over 8,500 feet.  The weather there is always much cooler than the desert and even gets snow.  A great day includes a picnic lunch and hike along one of the many trails.  There is also a restaurant for those who are there purely for the view and a fun ride.  If you do hike bring water and follow a trail, every year we have several rescues of hikers that have lost their way.

http://www.palmsprings.com/active/tramway.html

One Tramway Road

Palm Springs, CA. 92262

Horseback Riding and the Indian Reservation

                                                                           Horseback Riding & the Indian Reservation

The weather in Palm Springs is great and the Indian Reservation provides the perfect setting for a ride.   There is also hiking with numerous trails and a Trading Post with some interesting things to buy.  Some of the trails have streams; a good little trail to start is the one right where the parking lot is; it takes you around a stream and ends up where there are a few picnic tables.  Bring lots of water and wear comfortable shoes.  Often times I have seen park rangers there that can help you pick a trail based on your stamina.  There is also a map by the parking lot that gives you an idea of how long each trail is and the difficulty level.

Try the Smoke Tree Stables they offer guided tours.

http://smoketreestables.com

Desert Hot Springs Day Trip

              A great Day Trip is just a short ride away to Desert Hot Springs

                                                                                        Cabot Museum

Start off by going to the Cabot Museum, it is a fun stop along the way to the mineral waters of Desert Hot Springs.

Built by Cabot Yerxa with reclaimed materials from the valley it was a work in progress for years.   He homesteaded the land in 1913, was lucky to find a water source.   I brought my mother, sister and her family;  we  took the guided tour and enjoyed it very much.  There are lots of tables and the staff welcomes picnickers which is what we did.  We were going to the mineral waters afterwards but the winds were too strong.

The website description:   “structure is hand-made, created from reclaimed and found objects. The Pueblo is four-stories, 5,000 square feet and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. Visitors will notice many unique features: including windows and doors collected and reassembled from abandoned homesteads, old telephone poles, buck board wagon parts and many other materials used creatively.”

http://www.cabotsmuseum.org/

                                                        The Mineral Hot Springs

                                                       The magic, healing waters of Desert Hot Springs

                                                       The Grotto in Two Bunch Palms

After visting Cabot Museum, head over to one of the many mineral springs.  Desert Hot Springs boasts of having  the only aquifer of thermal, mineral spring water in southern California.There are over 22 boutique spas; the most famous being Two Bunch Palms.  Desert Hot Springs Spa is not quite as refined as Two Bunch Palms but is quite inexpensive and has in the past had a day pass for $10.

Besides the waters each day spa of course offers all kinds of great spa treatments, be sure to ask if they are having any specials.

http://dhsspa.com  

According to the Two Bunch Palms web site “Two Bunch Palms was built by mobster Al Capone in 1923 as a base for his West Coast operation. Capone enjoyed partying with motion-picture stars of the day, and the place became a second home for guests including Charlie Chaplin and Rudolf Valentino, who enjoyed a desert oasis away from Hollywood’s bright lights.” 

http://www.twobunchpalms.com/the-grotto.htm

For a complete list of spas in Desert Hot Springs:

http://www.visitdeserthotsprings.com/index.php/dhs-spa-hotel