Indio, California
The Coachella (co-chell-a) Valley is 300 square miles and includes multiple cities including Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, and Indio.
The valley population is just below 500,000 which grows by 100,000 during the winter months with ‘snow birds’.
From Wikipedia:
The area is surrounded by three mountain ranges (Santa Rosa Mountains, San Jacinto Mountains, and Little San Bernardino Mountains) and the San Gorgonio Mountain. These mountains peak at around 11,000 feet and tend to average between 5,000 to 7,000 feet.
Elevations on the Valley floor range from 1600 ft above sea level at the north end of the Valley to 250 ft below sea level around Mecca.
In the summer months daytime temperatures range from 104 to 112 °F and nighttime lows from 75 to 86 °F. During winter, the daytime temperatures range from 68 to 88 °F and corresponding nights range from 46 to 65 °F making it a popular winter resort destination.
Due to its warm year-round climate the region’s agricultural sector produces fruits such as mangoes, figs and dates.
We went for a walk in the nearby city of La Quinta along a paved trail.
This tree’s flowers look like super-buttered popcorn.
While much of the vegetation was similar to that we saw in the Phoenix area, we didn’t see any cacti here.
Believe it or not, we actually saw a bit of snow on the top of this mountain. What a surprise! Later in the day it snowed even more up in the mountain ranges.
On the other side of the valley we drove along the south side of the Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
The refuge contains the majority of critical habitat for the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard. This threatened species is restricted to the refuge dune system and a few other small areas.
The refuge is almost entirely closed to the public to protect the lizard. However, there is a trail that runs through a section of the refuge available for horseback riders.
The Coachella Fringe-toed Lizard escapes the heat by “swimming” or burrowing beneath the sand. That’s one awesome looking lizard!
The refuge, at least the part of it we saw, was sand dune upon sand dune upon sand dune…
I have to admit that the sand reminded me of Fallon, and that’s one part of living in Fallon I don’t miss.
The sand is about to overtake the fence and cross the road…
We had a great day exploring these two parts of the valley. And we’re looking forward to exploring even more in the days to follow. 🙂
Awesome photos! Looks like a great place.
It is a nice place, Lorraine, but it definitely has a ‘California’ feel for lack of a better way to put it. People aren’t as open and friendly as they were in Phoenix. They are on the pickleball courts, but very few wave or say hello as we’re all walking around the park. In Phoenix, I almost developed tennis elbow from waving so much. 🙂
You are so lucky to see the snow there!
We are lucky, Joanne, and there was even more snow this morning. 🙂
Got hummingbirds?
I’ve heard them, Carol, but I haven’t seen any yet. 🙁
Kathy, you will see them when you are in San Diego.
Great! 🙂