Today we head to LA for our flight to Sydney. The last week we have been in and around Palm Springs. A lovely spot to relax before our next adventure down under.
We did a few things in and around Palm Springs including visit College of the Desert a weekend market, the night market held on a Thursday night in Palm Springs, Coachella Valley Preserve and we did a walk at a place called Ladder Canyon.
I am going to write a three-part overview of our trip through North America in the next week looking at the highlights of our North America trip.
College of the Desert
The COD market as it is known is open on weekends. It is on a college campus car park. We got there early and paid nothing for parking but when we left they had a sign out for $4 parking. There is also a shuttle that takes you to the market.
Lots of different stalls ranging from food, clothes to arts and crafts. There is also a food court where we had some delicious tamales. My wife knew what she wanted so we were there only a couple of hours. When we left at 11am the empty car park was full. My advice is go early. Prices were good and better than the night market we visited in Palm Springs on Thursday night.
Coachella Valley Preserve
We stopped off here on the way back from Desert Hot Springs. There are some lovely hikes and we did one out to the oasis. The visitor centre was closed so had to rely on some well signed trails. There are some huge palm trees with the desert backdrop and mountains in the background. There also are signs along the trail explaining what different plants were which I found useful.
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- Lovely palms
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- Debbie at the oasis
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- Palms at sunset
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- Coachella Valley Preserve walk
Ladder Canyon
We did a hike at Ladder Canyon near Mecca. To access it you have to drive down an unpaved road for five miles. From the carpark you enter the canyon and around half a mile you see an arrow which you follow into a side canyon. From there you climb a few ladders, one is missing but it is not to difficult to scramble up the rocks. It is great walking through the narrow gorge and then up on to the rim of the canyon. After a mile or so you return to the canyon floor and walk back. It takes between 2-3 hours. It is free and not that many people go there.
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- Walk along canyon floor
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- Ladder scrambling
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- Along the track
I hope people are enjoying our blog and feel free to send any feedback.
Hi Debbie and John: Don has asked me to ask you to please add him to your mailing list….I have been forwarding your emails onto to Don…and he just loves reading all about your travels. Don’s email address is: goodhealthtoyou@telus.net …hmmm What a show off with his email address name…ha ha. Hugs, Carol