Wildflowers, dramatic views, snow and Desert X!

The View from our 11th floor room at the Aqua Caliente in Rancho Mirage was spectacular and changed every few minutes. The storm brought wind, rain and even snow to the desert.

ABOVE FLOWER PHOTOS WERE TAKEN JUST OFF I-10 AT THE COTTONWOOD EXIT.  WE STOPPED JUST OUTSIDE THE PARK BOUNDARY TO SNIP A FEW FLOWERS TO PRESS. DRIVING THROUGH THE PARK WE WERE AWED AT THE PATCHES OF SNOW AND THE BEAUTY OF THE DESERT UNDER THE BLUEST OF SKIES AND PUFFY WHITE CLOUDS.  PASSING THE CHOLLA GARDEN, OCOTILLO PATCHES, JOSHUA TREE FORESTS AND BOULDER STREWN CAMPGROUNDS, PATCHY SNOW WAS LIKE FROSTING.

A LITTLE SNOW IN YUCCA VALLEY, BUT PIONEER TOWN WAS IMPASSABLE FOR A WHILE AND APPEARED AS A WONDERLAND.

DINNER WITH WENDY & MARK AT BABE’S BBQ AT RIVER MALL IN RANCHO MIRAGE. ALAN TRIES TO PICK UP A PIG.

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FABULOUS DESERT X!

It has been an unusually wet winter in the Coachella Valley. Nearly a year’s worth of rain fell in the first six weeks of 2019, while a mega-storm crashed through on Valentine’s Day — the wettest desert day recorded in 76 years.
Apocalyptic flooding closed roads, blocked freeway exit ramps, shut down the aerial tram, clogged the washes with mud and shuttered businesses. The desert and foothills are now startlingly green, the mountain tops blanketed in lovely white snow.

Near the Palm Springs Visitors Center at the city’s entrance, a massive digital screen erected in the desert melds fossil fuels with state and national emblems as part of the second installment of Desert X, a valley-wide biennial exhibition of preexisting and commissioned public art.  WE VISITED TWO DESERT X SITES IN DESERT HOT SPRINGS: