Today turned into just a perfect day as far as I am concerned… it was in the mid 60’s temp wise, however the sun was just a blazing… and there was nary a cloud in the sky all day!
With no wind up this morning of course it was time to head over to the Aerodrome at 8:00 and do some serious flying!
Conditions were just perfect for flying, and we had 7 guys out with planes today… just one picture, and that is Ray holding that big soaring plane over his head… it goes up and can stay up for 45 minutes on the battery, just soaring around catching the up drafts…
Took life easy working on the planes this morning after the flying, (regular maintenance you know…).
This afternoon Judy suggested we “take a hike”… why not! She bought this neat little book with a bunch of hikes in it for this area, so off we went. The Willis Palm Trail, is about 5 miles from our Resort, so we took it! What a day for a hike!
Just a quarter mile into the hike, you come across a great looking stand of Palm Trees… (don’t you just love the sky!)
As you move up a bit more up the trail this is what you see! Don’t these trees look a little funny???
Now you can see below, that this stand of Palm Trees actually burned just last year… I reported it in the blog… too bad! News reports had the trees set on fire due to people living below them… (campfires…)
Another 1/4 mile past the trees, there was this Ranch you see below, that seemed to be abandoned! Lots of properties start to get developed around here, and then for whatever reason, usually no money… they fail and are left!
Past the ranch, the trail headed into the Indio Hills, and this little ridge you see below, turned into a mountain!
We ended up climbing up about 750 feet of elevation, and you end up with quite a view of the Coachella Valley, and Palm Springs!
As we climbed up the dry wash, that little ridge got bigger…
We made it up to the top of the Indio Hills, and enjoyed a great view, and followed the trail back to the Jeep! (Ya, there is that sky again…)
Coming back along the high ridge, we got a bird’s eye view of the burned out Palm Trees… even though they burned, you can see they are still green and growing on top… also we found new growth on the ground… maybe it will all come back!
Two hours, and 4 1/2 miles later, we found the Jeep, and better news was it started, so we drove back to the Resort, and enjoyed a real nice time in the hot tubs! Love it!
Yes, it is starting to feel a lot like winter!
Till tomorrow…
Your making us Jealious back here in Ontario.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time.
We notice that sort of thing in a lot of places we travel too. Buildings or developments started but never finished. I always figure the money has run out as well and somebody's dream or some developers big money plans has crashed and burned.
ReplyDeleteNice morning for flying. I like watching those big battery planes fly. Looked like a fun hike. The hiking books you and Rick have purchased look like a good find.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great looking hike - and, it was a perfect day for it.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look that trail up so Paulette and I can give it a go!