A couple of weeks ago I made a trip to San Diego to visit friends. During my stay , 3 of us went for a few days to Indio and Palm Springs , Ca.. I had picked up a few days at a timeshare place by doing one of the dreaded timeshare presentations awhile back in Seattle , Washington. So, we stayed at Indian palms intervals in Indio, Ca. A little aways from Palm Springs . Indio is an area where the workers of Palm desert live. Not so glitzy as Palm springs . However we enjoyed it. We had a nice place with 2 bedrooms , clean, abundant grapefruit trees on the property (Yummy!!) , hot tub out our back door and some good food nearby.
We went to a great deli, bakery called TKB on our first morning to pick up sandwiches. Looked like a working man’s deli as it was located in a warehouse district and was very crowded when we went in about 11 a.m for sandwiches . Wow! Fabulous baked goods and sandwiches. I had the veggie delight. Super !!
We ate that night at an Italian restaurant called Mario’s Italian Cafe in Indio .
Sorry to say that this was a disappointment. Started out good with the waiter brought us our wine in huge glasses filled to the brim !! Ha ha. But the food was a letdown. I had the pasta with Mushrooms and marinara sauce which was ok. But, Pam’s eggplant pasta was terrible. Marla’s scampi was pretty good. The salad we shared was great and huge ! This is the kind of place that you go for the size of the servings rather then the quality of the food.
Another place we ate which was next door to Marios and looked like a little dive restaurant was great !! Mexican food, filled with people the first night so we settled for Mario’s . Went back there for breakfast and had great Mexican breakfast. Very traditional style Mexican food.
On to the fun stuff we did !!!
First day , we visited Joshua tree National park, 2nd day went to Indian canyons, and 3rd day to Coachella preserve. Wow! I didn’t realize there was all this beauty so near to Palm Springs!
I’m not a desert person so to say. I mean I like the desert in the winter but it is not my favored place . I prefer the mountains and the ocean. However, I will say the desert does have its appeal at the right time of year.
Palm Springs itself is a town of shops, good restaurants, golf courses and golf course communities. Lots of glitter and glamour abound. Not really my type of place but enjoyed our excursions around the area.
We had pretty nice weather. Mostly in the low 80’s which to me is hot. But , when you get into these palm oasis areas like Indian Canyons and Coachella preserve you don’t even feel the heat .
Joshua Tree National park was beautiful and we did a hike up to top of Mt. Ryan. About 3 miles round trip with 1000 ft. elevation gain. Great , sweeping views of the area ! I think Joshua tree would be a fabulous place to camp for a few nights as the sunsets and sunrises on all the beautiful rock formations would be spectacular! I hope to go back one day to do just that.
Indian-canyons.com is an amazing palm oasis in the middle of the desert, just outside of Palm Springs. It is the ancestral land of the agua caliente band of Cahullia Indians. It is a beautiful area with many trails going into a few different canyons . A beautiful oasis to stroll thru on a hot day.
Coachella preserve was another beautiful oasis that I would recommend going to if you are in the Palm Springs area . Nice hikes as well and we did the 3 mile round trip hike to the oasis with spring water pond. This trail also runs along the San Andreas fault. Just another gorgeous spot to spend a hot desert day.
Overall, I realy enjoyed seeing this whole area. Maybe go back sometime in the winter, do some camping and more exploring.
Sues Wanderings 