How 'bout that.

[in_the_blue]

First things first: it seems almost too stupid to wish a happy birthday to my #1 alter ego, my internal partner-in-crime, but it's June 26 and it's Spike's official birthday, so I have to wish him a happy birthday. He deserves it. I can't believe I've been playing him for almost three years. I could get all maudlin and thank the people who created Bebop for giving me such a beautiful character to work with, but... enough's enough.

HI HONEY I'M HOME! We got back this afternoon and while it was hot here -- about 85 degrees -- that's still 25 degrees cooler than where we were in the desert. Desert, desert, Mojave desert: it's beautiful there. Spectacularly beautiful.

But it's too hot, and that means we didn't buy the timeshare, which was how we ended up there to start with. It was one of those come-stay-with-us-four-days-for-the-price-of-one deals, and all we had to do was sit through the (very low-key) timeshare presentation. That was all. But I already gave a pretty thorough trip report for the first couple of days. Missed last night because packing and catching up on threads and all that stuff, so.

SUNDAY

Ta-daa. We woke up kind of early because man, it gets hot in the desert, and went to the Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park (sorry, the site is noisy!) before it got too hot. In fact, this time of year they close at 1:30. Already, by the time we got there around 10, most of the big animals were in hiding but I did see a roadrunner skulking behind the red-tail hawk exhibit (all their birds are rescue birds and can't be released due to the extent of the injuries that brought them there, much like the Oregon Zoo where I used to volunteer). Oh, and also, this might bore the pants off those of you who aren't birders, but cactus wrens are so lovely! They really are! The Living Desert is a very cool place; if I lived there, I'd be a member in a heartbeat. Probably volunteer there too.

Anyway. It was hot. The cheetahs were running around, though, and of course, cheetahs are such breathtaking animals, I could have watched them for hours. But I didn't; we went back and did our little timeshare duty and then, since it was (did I mention yet) hot, we did take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of Mount San Jacinto which is... oh, man... so beautiful (not to mention about 30 degrees cooler). The tram ride up was wild: you go from the desert floor to 8400 feet in ten minutes, and the tram has a rotating floor so you get to see the view before you and behind you and to either side twice on the way up and on the way down. It looks a lot scarier than it is, but it's still an amazing engineering feat. But up at the top was the real payoff; we did one of the self-guided nature hikes. Saw ourselves some usual suspects, but also a first for me in a white-headed woodpecker. The trail up there was gorgeous. Hannah was a total trooper, doing everything with us without a single complaint. Well, all right, there was maybe one complaint. But who cares?

After we got back (and the ride down the tram was as fun as the ride up), we played "confuse the hell out of Mitch's GPS system" by taking our own route back to Palm Desert, where we decided a swim would be a wonderful thing. The property was absolutely littered with desert cottontails, all alive and kicking, of course. We stayed at the pool as the sun set, then meandered back and packed and voila, here we are. Oh, by the way, one of the more impressive sights on the drive is the Palm Springs Wind Farm. It really is pretty amazing.

The ride to LAX was... a ride to LAX, and I wasn't looking for celebs in the airport (sorry guys). We made our flight in plenty of time and now we're home, and that's the update and that's that! Now, to see if we have anything to eat around here.

Catch you later.

Comments

[livii.livejournal.com]

Eee, I wanted to go on the tram so bad when we were in Palm Springs, but we didn't have time (opting for Joshua Tree instead, which was well worth it).

The wind farm is indeed fascinating as well.

Glad to hear you had a great trip!

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

So... where was the Coachella festival held there? I was trying to figure it out, but I didn't opt for the easy thing and actually ask anyone. But I did think about you!

[livii.livejournal.com]

In Indio, 'bout 15 miles I think from Palm Springs? The venue's called the Empire Polo Fields, if I remember correctly. HOT. I can't imagine you were there later in the year. HOT.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh, I went through Indio the day we did that tour to Joshua Tree; we came up that way and got to the edge of the national park through back not-roads. I kept thinking about how Coachella was only what, a month or so ago? Or maybe six weeks? I would really think they'd want to have a big music festival like that in the winter, or maybe the really early spring. I would have gone, too, if I'd a) known about it in time and b) had the tickets. It sold out pretty quickly, from what people up here were saying.

It's been a while since I followed the concert scene, though with Hannah turning teenaged in another year I'm sure it will become a much more important part of our mutual lives again soon enough.

[h311ybean]

Welcome baaaaack!

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Thaaaaaaanks!

[dopplegl.livejournal.com]

Glad to see you are back safe and sound and had a good time. Only a few more days until I invade your humble abode! I'm stoked.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

I know! I have your travel information tucked away right here where I can get to it easily. So I'll be at the airport Monday at 4:15 and... did you ever figure out about the cousins bit? But we can talk about it when you get here. Either way is great. ♥

[dopplegl.livejournal.com]

My cousin would pick me up after work on Thursday in Portland, probably around 4-5. That's about an equal distance between your place and theirs. Does that sound doable?

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

It sounds perfect. In fact, we can go to the zoo that day and we'll already be in Portland, and the zoo parking lot is a really easy place to meet up with your cousin, if that works out. Have your stuff in the back of the car, all ready to go.

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

But it's a dry heat! *ducks*

Your wind farm makes me wonder once again about the one I swear I saw one time flying in; I'm fairly sure, given time and terrain and such, that it was SE Oregon or very close to it. I haven't found anything that would fit the bill, though. I could see blades turning! From 20-angels, at least! I'm sure I wasn't hallucinating!

I kinda like LAX, or at least my part of it - except for the TSA setup, unless that's changed. Considering how busy it is, it still moves along pretty well.

Nice cool mountain sounds so good right now. Was it high enough for snow pockets, or does the dead of summer manage to melt it all off? (No deer?)

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

It's easy enough to find info on Oregon wind farms on the web. Not knowing where you were and all that, it's kind of pointless for me to do the search.

LAX was a nightmare. If we hadn't been flying with a United premier member, it would have taken a couple hours just to get the e-tickets and make it through security. Other than that, it was fine. There's so much airport overcrowding these days, I wonder how any of it gets done. All I know is if I lived there and depended on LAX for my flights, I'd have to get there the day before to feel like I was going to make it through on time.

And no, no snow up top. It was 75 degrees up there! I didn't see deer, but there were a lot of people around and deer usually prefer it where it's quiet. So do the rest of the mammals who live up there except the squirrels, who are pretty shameless no matter where they are or how many people are around.

Hannah also made the joke about the dry heat. It's true, of course: if I had to live somewhere that hot, I'd pick the desert over someplace like, say, Miami any day, because the humidity is really disabling. With the desert heat you can jump in the pool, get out, be dry in a few minutes, jump in again. Where it's humid you never really get dry. It was nice getting back to the northwest, I tell you. Even though it was 85 here, it didn't feel like it at all. I guess it's all relative.

[prplhez8.livejournal.com]

*HUGS, HUGS, HUGS*

I miss you. Can you tell?

And huh. Spike and I are the same sign. Go figure. :P

Miss you, twinnie.

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Actually, Spike's a Gemini by Martian astrology. That's what the official word is and everything.

'Cause... he's not quite as loony as you, amiga!

[jules1278.livejournal.com]

*loves G*

Did I tell you that I get to see the Red Sox play in a little over a week?! *is dying with excitement*

:)

[in-the-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh really? Where? That should be great. We decided not to drive to San Diego because it was too far, and it's just as well because the Sox lost. *shrug* They're a really fun team. Have fun!