Rancho Mirage, CA

Chris is on a 10-day work assignment just south of Palm Springs, and the boys and I joined him for a few days in the desert town of Rancho Mirage.  I had never been to "the desert" before and had debated whether it would be worth the 2-hour trek. I am so glad we went!  It was beautiful and so different than any other place I had ever been. Everything was sandy and dry, with very little green foliage, and even the architecture was different.

The highlight of our trip was a hike in Indian Canyons, which was about 30 minutes from our hotel.  In Andreas Canyon, there is a stream that never dries up.  Next to the stream are beautiful, tall palm trees--in the middle of the desert!  I took so many photos.  This place really took my breath away and was one of the top 5 most beautiful places I have ever been (also on my list of most beautiful places I have visited are the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and Ancient Rome).  Unfortunately, Chris had to work the whole time, so he couldn't come with us.  I must give credit to our friend Katie who told me about this hike.

Here are some of my favorite photos from our hike.

The road that leads into the canyons

The ranger said this stream never dries up.

keeping my promise to include myself in more photos :)

For most of the hike, John ran ahead of me and Luke.  

Luke never turned around while climbing this high.
He slid down on his belly.
Some women passing by thought I was completely nuts, I'm sure, for letting him do this.

Luke wanted so badly to climb that rock, too.

Luke had a lot of fun playing in the sand along the way.

They just played and played in their own worlds.

Called on my time in Girl Scouts to use a stick because I forgot to pack spoons.

Looking down from the canyons