Thursday, November 17, 2011

the wonders of the Indian Canyons...

Since it feels like winter here today...
I'll take you back to the desert canyons in Palm Springs...
where one can warm up quite nicely while hiking some of the trails.


We drove to the Trading Post at Palm Canyon...
where a ranger met us and told us all we needed to know about hiking in the area. 
He looked us over and decided we were good to go. 
As for the couple from London that arrived at the same time as we did...
he suggested they might just want to stay at the viewpoint. 
She was wearing high-heeled sandals...
not so good for trekking the trail or warding off rattlesnakes!


Palm Canyon is a fifteen mile long gorge...


...with an abundant water supply that gives life to lush green undergrowth growth and healthy palms trees within a barren desert.

We chose the easy trail down into the canyon...
one the high heels could have almost negotiated.

We met another couple along the trail...
fellow Canadians.
They were from Alberta...
and it never took us long to connect the dots. 
Our former neighbours were their current neighbours...
and his uncle was well-known in the dairy industry in BC.
A business associate of ours...
was a former associate of theirs.
By the time we were done chatting...
we were 'almost' related.
It's surprising what you learn when you talk to the strangers you meet along the way!


From the bottom of the canyon we worked our way up...
and returned along the ridge trail (the Victor Trail).


Sunny and warm...with magnificent views.
Secluded beauty!


We kept an eye out for prickly things and rattlesnakes...
and never had any close encounters.


We saw butterflies galore...
who seemed to be having their lunch while we had ours.

The loop was about 3 miles in total...
and more like a walk than a hike.


Before leaving Palm Canyon...
I observed the hummingbirds next to the Trading Post.
They were in a feeding frenzy!
Sweet.


A short distance from Palm Canyon...
is Andreas Canyon...
another lush oasis in the desert.

We followed the scenic foot trail along Andreas Creek...


...and spotted a few abandoned stone buildings on the hill overlooking the canyon. 
They belong to the 'Andreas Canyon Club' and are situated on property purchased from the the Southern Pacific Railway in 1923...
and still owned by the original family. 

We passed the bedrock mortars and mestates used by the Agua Caliente Cahuilla peoples to prepare their food centuries ago.

We gathered the Cahuilla Indians were not into inukshuks...


...so we left them one down by the river.

We enjoyed walking in the footsteps of the 'Kaw-we-ah'...
if only for a few hours.

If you are ever in Palm Springs...
check out the Indian Canyons.
Oh...and leave the high heels at home!


 

17 comments:

  1. Oh thanks for the tip! I'll remember to have a pair with me every time anyone suggests a hike. =)

    That's wild about meeting fellow Canadians and discovering that you're "related." It just goes to prove that everyone in Canada knows each other.

    Beautiful photos, beautiful hike. I'm so glad that I get to tag along with hikers.

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  2. What a lovely adventure for YOU and a great arm chair travel for ME! I have never been to Palm Springs. I NEVER thought about how beautiful it is! I had no clue!

    Thanks for the tour.....I definitely learned a few things as well as enjoying the scenery!

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  3. OH I so enjoyed this walk with you! It really is very pretty even in the dessert.
    I loved that inukshuk at the end. You really are very good at them. How long did it take you to put it together?

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  4. Been there, done that, enjoyed it very much! Great experience! Lovely to have the memory revisited by your post. To be honest though, I love the warmth of that region, but I NEED the green spaces and can't appreciate the desert for too long. Too cool about being almost related to fellow Canadians!!

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  5. I enjoyed the tour. Looks like an interesting place to hike!

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  6. High heel sandals for a trip to the canyons...
    I'm glad you had your sensible shoes on. That is hilarious that you found your long lost cousins on the trail. Loved all your photos!

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  7. I love it - a walk in a truly exotic place and a meet-up that was like Homecoming Weekend! You have a way to take us right along with you, Judy. I really enjoyed this!

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  8. What fun! I love the butterflies having lunch together, and the inukshuk at the end - a Canadian souvenir.

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  9. What a pretty place for a hike --very exotic and it did look nice and warm. The palm tress look so different when they are full and untamed like that.

    It must have been fun to meet distant relatives you didn't know you had from home! :)

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  10. Lovely Photos....I feel I've seen a part of California for the first time...How wonderful the two of you are making everyday count!

    Hugs!

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  11. One always wonders..about all these spots...but I can't every believe that someone would actually wear heels on a hike. I only have one pair and they will take 10 years to wear out.
    Your photos are magnificent against those blue skies and how much more fun than to share it with your best friend.

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  12. Awesome photos and a great post - thanks for sharing!

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  13. This brought back a great memory of our time there. We only did the Murray Trail to the falls. I could not get over those palm trees! They looked like hey had beards. Your pictures are great!

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  14. Of course you meet someone in the middle of the desert on a remote hike that just happens to be current neighbors of your former neighbors etc, etc. LOL. I'm loving the trip pics! It's helping me to warm up after I shoveled the 2 inches of fresh snow off the driveway!

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  15. We've enjoyed the Indian and Andreas canyons several times. (not in High heels though!) Definitely worth a visit.

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  16. You captured the beauty of this hike and it's wonders in a way that I feel like I was there. It is definitely beauty that I have never seen personally and I really enjoyed it. The butterfly picture and the hummingbird pictures were amazing.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson