Travelling to Southern California soon?
Sunset magazine had a great article on places to visit in the area of Palm Springs and when we were there for the holidays recently we decided to take in one of the places – Thousand Palms Oasis. The picture in the magazine showed a dinosaur like group of monsters with shaggy fronds reaching the ground. It is the Washington filifera, California's only native palm in its natural habitat. Some of these palms could have actually been alive when George Washington was president. As we drew closer we could see the large grouping of the trees standing sentry in the desert surroundings as if they were plucked out of an old science fiction movie. The docents at the oasis explained that the palms sit on top of the San Andreas Fault and allow water to seep up from below and give them the ideal conditions they need to survive. Our daughter and her husband walked to the opposite side where McCallum Grove ends in an actual lake surrounded by the dense forest of palms. At that point we were standing on the continental plate and they were across the fault standing on the Pacific plate just a few yards away. Now, maybe this kind of thing doesn't blow your skirt up like it does mine, but you have to admit that it is worthy of the short drive from the golf courses and Gucci bags. The Cahuilla Indians lived here in ancient times and surviving off the wildlife it attracted as well as the fruit of the palm which was ground and provided some protein. There is no cost to visit and if you go early in the morning you will be amazed at the wildlife that still uses the palm skirts for refuge. Even in the hottest part of the summer it will be 10-20 degrees cooler in the grove. Google this great spot and give it a try. It will be less busy in a couple of months when people have forgotten about the Sunset article!! It has increased the visitors by about 10-fold.
