In the early 1900s that Palm Springs began to establish itself as a world-class destination. Some of the early residents came here because the dry, hot climate was good to their health with diseases like tuberculosis and other repository issues. By the 1930s, Palm Springs became the number one desert getaway for Hollywood stars. This is evident driving around the desert with so many streets named after movie stars, singers, entertainers, even Gerald Ford Dr. With the population boom of the valley, it's really nice to see the historic district in downtown Palm Springs that beckons back to the golden age of Hollywood. There are a great many shops, restaurants, and bars along the one way Palm Canyon Dr. Downtown Palm Springs sits at the base of San Jacinto Mountains which for me just multiplies the magic of this place. I snapped a few shots of Palm Springs from Keys View in Joshua Tree from a distance of about 50 miles but there was a dust storm that morning and the shots showed mostly dust.

There are nine major cities in the Coachella Valley: Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella. Although the valley is often referred to as 'Greater Palm Springs', Indio is the largest city in the valley being twice the population of Palm Springs. As an outsider, all nine seem to be one contiguous city. According to RV Life, there are 54 RV Parks in the Coachella Valley. As an outsider, my previous knowledge of the Valley was the number and quality of golf courses. Across a 45-mile stretch of desert floor there are nearly 125 golf courses including PGA West Stadium and Mountain courses, Indian Wells Golf Resort, Desert Willow, Escena Golf Club, Shadow Ridge, Indian Canyons, Classic Club, La Quinta-Norman, and Mission Hills. I also took a walk around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden which is an amazing place with a total of 29 tennis courts. Stadium 1 has a seating capacity of 16,100 and is the second largest outdoor tennis stadium in the world behind Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open. Stadium 2 has 8,000 seats and other outdoor courts have seating of various sizes. I noticed a few of the courts were configured for Pickleball. As a matter of fact, The 2022 Margaritaville USA Pickleball National Championships were held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden last month. Lastly, I spent two weeks watching crews put the finishing touches on the brand new Acrisure Arena which has Chris Rock & Dave Chappelle as the first show on Dec. 14th.

This is the final blog for 2022. I put my trailer in storage in Southern California in mid December so that I could go back to central Alabama for Christmas without unnecessary wear and tear on the trailer, not to mention the difference in gas mileage. I will be returning to Southern California to continue my journey the third week of January 2023. I plan to move around the desert region until the snow line lifts and I can make my way north through Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and the Northwest coast. See you then!