121 A day off!



Pretty risqué!

Feb 1, 2015. The Sunday morning news was on at the ranch, we could hear it in background giving information about a hazardous winter storm in the north, yes Minnesota was in the news again.  The Don reminded us how lucky we were to be here and wondered how people could live like that. 
     We had a big day planned, a trip to the date garden and then some sightseeing.  It would be good to get away from the ranch for a few hours.  The work load, pressure and tension between The Don and Bobbie was starting to be a concern.
     Everyone had told us we needed to see Shields date garden and have a date shake.  A favorite tourist attraction since 1924 enticing the passersby from the highway with its racy in those times slide show "Romance and Sex life of the date". 
      It started with Mr Shields giving lectures and now the slide show has turned into a short movie with the same name.  
     From my farm background it seemed improbable that anyone would choose raising dates as a vocation.  It takes many years after planting to produce a crop, the trees have to be climbed to pollinate, tend and harvest the dates.   All this for a date shake.    When we lived in Austin MN whenever we had children and grandchildren visit they could count on a trip to the spam museum at Hormel.  Like the billboard reads on highway 90 by Austin "not all hogs make it to Sturgis".  On this visit we shared a shake as the free samples of the different varieties of dates had taken the edge off our appetites.  It turned out that Indio is one of the largest exporter of dates in the world and many of the date varieties had been developed right here in the Coachella Valley.   On this visit we visited with a fellow motorcyclist on his way to the West coast to visit his son.   Bob's ride today was a Moto Guzzi and as we bid our farewells in the parking lot I could see the Date shake tucked in

his riding bag ready to enjoy.   Seems this is a must stop for him for his date shake fix.  It is always a treat to visit with other motorcyclists at these stops.  From his gear and ride it appeared that he was a avid rider.  We had an encounter with Moto Guzzi riders a few years prior.  We had been asked to accompany them on a scenic ride by New Ulm Minnesota.  We don't often ride with groups however we wont turn down a chance to meet new people and ride.  We had rode with a few Gold Wing groups and were used to their casual riding pace.  Leaving as a group their pace was very methodical, almost slow as they accelerated.  Choosing to be in the rear with this new group we met at a café in South West Twin cities area.    At we entered the first road I was left in the dust as this group accelerated very quickly and hit the road.  This group were riders and we had better keep up.  Ride safe Bob!     

  It was great to get out on the road again, one of the nice things about this area is the fact that the city planners have made it easy to traverse the metropolitan areas with out crawling thru traffic and stop signs.  And with Interstate 10 running across the Northern edge it is very easy to access and be up to speed very shortly.  Our friends Dave

and Sandy had actually camped in our destination and sent us some photos of it.   Our goal was Joshua Tree National Park, we headed West on 10 accelerating quickly to keep up with traffic, our neighbors on the highway were heading for Los Angeles and you didn't want to get in their way.  We passed Desert Hot springs and turned right on #62, thru Morongo valley, Yucca Valley on the way to the park.  If time would not have been a factor our normal routine would have been to explore these areas.  At the park entrance we stopped for a little information on what we were about

to see.  A warning that there were no refreshment areas led us to arm ourselves with some sandwiches for a picnic lunch.  A little peaceful time would be a welcome break from the nonstop activities at the ranch. 
     I believe Dave had said the trees had been named by the Mormons thinking they looked like Joshua with his arms outstretched toward them.  I'm having a problem calling them trees, they look like misshapen mismatched cactus of every shape and size, definitely not a forest in my mind.    The terrain was very rough, the Joshua trees sprinkled though out the area and huge rock formations jutted out of the ground.   Instead of a hill or a traditional mountain they were more like one huge boulder that erupted out of the ground to a very impressive height and then cracked.   I'm sure my freind Paul could give you a lengthy and interesting explanation of their formative years.  However since he made fun of our rock collection from Big Bend I wont contact him.   
     At Hidden valley we found a picnic area in the shade of one of the boulders and we enjoyed our lunch.   It just felt nice to relax in the outdoors without a work related distraction, I think we felt like we were playing hooky from our ranch duties and it was oh so good!   
  The route we had chosen was taking us to Keys view, which at over 5000 feet we were told would give us an impressive view.  However the impressive rocks and the activities around them delayed our progress.  Just take a look at this rock.  

Impressive isn't it?

     But that's not it, take a closer look.  Can you see the climbers?  There at least 5 on the rock and 1 near the base.  This area has become a popular place for rock climbers.  No snow, no long hikes, easy access I guess its great if your into that thing.  Well the motherly instinct in Ruthie was running overtime, I thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown worrying about their safety.  At one point they noticed us and started waving.  As she waved back I mentioned "do you really want them to let go with one hand and wave?"   After taking several pictures and watching their progress we finally moved on. 

Most likely waving at my co-rider!

     We climbed the access trail to keys view and the entire Coachella Valley laid before us.  All the cites that made up the metropolitan area, the mountains surrounding it, the desert, (side note: it was Bobbie that taught me how to spell desert/dessert.  After all which do you want more of?  Of course she said that's why it has two ss in it. Good to know.) and way off to the South a large body of water.  The Salton sea, didn't even know there was a sea out here.  The trail marker even pointed out the San Andreas fault running across the desert floor.  Didn't the city planners know about this?  Hadn't they seen the trail marker?  What were they thinking?

     We left the area and made our way back to Pinto basin road and back to the interstate.  This was the kind of day we had in mind for our winter trips.  The day and the ride gave us a little time to think about our current situation.   However obediently we turned right and headed back toward the ranch. 



Here does this help?  5 climbers on the rock!