New Year Trip to Palm Springs

We spent January 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Palm Springs.  We opted to go to an early movie (American Hustle) on New Year's Eve, get up early, and drive to Palm Springs.  We had reserved a little apartment which was once part of the Gloria Swanson compound for a time.  There are six bungalows, each preserved in it's 1930's style.  Our hosts, Steve and Kass, maintain the beautiful gardens.  They were exceptionally warm and friendly folks.

This was the view from our front door.  We were treated to Costa's Hummingbirds bathing and drinking from the fountain.

We swam numerous times and found it hard to pry ourselves away from our lodging at Arenas Gardens.  The location was perfect - about three blocks from the stores and restaurants of Palm Drive, but quietly nestled up against the steep slope of the Santa Rosa Mountains.

At first we felt like we were staying at "Grandma's" house, but soon were captivated by the charm and feel of it all.

Our kitchen had a beautiful old Wedgewood oven.

We brought our bikes, shown here in our back patio.

We took a ride around our end of town, and saw many amazing homes and this rather tame roadrunner.

Bighorn sheep are found in the nearby hills and mountains.This one was some one's yard art.

We prepared for the trip by watching Sunset Boulevard, starring Gloria Swanson.  Gail also dug out color coordinated items of the period, including drinks, dishes, cigarette holder, robe, clothes, and more!  Fun!!!

We brought along this puzzle that Gail had from the "Rhode Island House".  This puzzle was hand sawed in 1934.  The pieces not only follow the outline of the picture, but they form separate figures themselves.  They were very popular in the early 1900's and then again in the Great Depression years.  Made by Parker Brothers, each puzzle was sawed by a woman, who developed her own figures and style.

 Looking back at our apartment behind the umbrella on the left.

 There were quiet sitting and barbecue areas around each little home.

 OK, we finally got out of the compound again and went for a hike up nearby Tahquitz Canyon on Indian lands.  A tribal park ranger pointed out a bighorn sheep that was at the top of a ridge.  They are very hard to spot unless they are on a ridge with the sky behind them, otherwise, they look just like the boulders around them.

 Our tribal ranger, Robert Hepburn, explains the medicinal use of some plant, I think.

 The trail ends at 60 foot Tahquitz Falls, site of the 1937 Frank Capra movie Lost Horizon.

Hiking back by ourselves, Gail and I were excited to spot more bighorn sheep.  I took this photo through my binoculars.

 We saw about five or six in this area.

 On our last day, we stopped at The Living Desert, a desert botanical garden and wildlife park.  They have rescued desert animals from North American deserts and African deserts.  There is also a state of the art wildlife hospital that the public can go into and even watch surgeries.  We liked the park's educational mission, lack of  "Disneyland" b.s., and the reasonable admission fees.

We were in awe of  two Mexican wolves that had a very large and interesting enclosure.  They seemed suspiciously like German shepherds, though.
Well, that's about it.  We had a very relaxing, pleasurable vacation and have vowed to "see in" 2015 in a similar manner.