Vagabond Inn - Palm Springs

... also very very expensive!). Once at the top there is a limited amount of stuff to do as it is somewhere between summer and winter activities. No matter though the view down to the Coachella valley below – all the way to the Salton Sea was incredible.

I went for a gentle wander along the valley behind the tram station which was 5 inches deep in snow and delightfully crisp and calm. Had I been up early ...

... I could make from G6 but decided as my Mum reads this I better stick with the Gee-whiz which is now my chariot of fire until the end of Feb.

Getting on the freeway at 2pm was a relief as I was tiring fast from the journey. Unfortunately me and the ****-Nav had a few more problems. To be clear this was a different Sat Nav from the ones used previously but you know they all talk to each other. What I learnt from this trip was ...

After a long couple months of grueling school, it was nice to take a little vacay with the family to palm springs. The Marriott desert springs is a gorgeous hotel on the golf course with ample room space and stunning views of the mountains. It's the 5th day of our trip and so far it's been very nice and relaxing. We've gone shopping quite a bit that I'm a little worried about how I'm going to bring everything ...

... Peak at 10,834 feet. The sunrise has no sign of coming and the waning quarter moon is casting its silver light upon a slope of granite boulders. Mars is on the horizon adding an celestial element to the desert's potent stillness.
-So far this morning we shared the trail with three women hikers who started out ahead of us. We passed them (of course) because they were slow chatty ladies, but they passed us because we were men and got lost by taking a wrong ...

... medieval.

Topping it off were the multiple factions of friends we got to experience it with. It's always cool when worlds collide at such a fun event. The grounds were at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. It was beautiful, the best weather. The guy who does the lighting for their shows had 140 palm trees surrounding the venue lit up as well. He also rigged the first 20 or so out from each side of the stage ...

We have arrived in Palm Springs.

We spent the day shopping at the Desert Hills Outlet Center on the way here. It definitely lives up to its name of being a "premium" outlet. They had the standard designer fare, with great discounts. However, they just did not seem to have enough regular stuff. I was looking for some sports wear for ...

After touring San Diego, our last stop was
Palm Springs, CA. This city is in the middle of the desert surrounded
by mountains. As you drive through, there are high winds you can
encounter with sand blowing onto the road, so slow down and drive with
caution, especially at night watch out for nocturnal ...

Drove down to Palm Springs the scenic way through Mojave National Preserve covering some of the ground that we'd done before and some we hadn't, again mega scenery. Found the villa more by chance than knowing where to go. Once we'd worked out how to get into the place, relaxed for a bit then headed out to get groceries (since we managed to keep the Flor de Cana and Havana Club bottles that we'd bought in Tijuana we only needed a half a ...

Trip pics are at: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictu res.html?id=2101096903 We woke up early(ish) to hike the Grand Canyon today. The boys were NOT feeling so well, but they are troopers. We had yummy croissants and coffee from "Rendezvous" the hotel's coffee shop. The drive from Flag north to the Grand Canyon was gorgeous. The area around Flagstaff is very woodsy-piney, not necessarily what you'd expect in the southwest. We could see where all the forest fires had taken ...