Leaving St George on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, I headed to the Coachella Valley to escape the upcoming cold snap sweeping in from the Pacific.  I had not stayed at Gail’s place in Palm Desert for several years, but it still offers the best value in the area.  Indeed, her private casita (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/84061) with a full kitchen, small pool and numerous pets (dogs, cats, chickens, ducks) was the first place I had stayed back in 2011 using Airbnb.  I can highly recommend it, though book early for the winter high season.

Hiking in the desert around Palm Springs is a wonderful way to de-stress after the frenzy of condensing all one’s belongings into a 5×15 foot storage unit.  I spent four days exploring some nearby canyons, hiking the Panorama Loop trail in Joshua Tree National Park, one of my favorites with its view of San Jacinto Mountain, and discovering the gem known as the Coachella Valley Preserve (https://coachellavalleypreserve.org/)

Located in the Indio Hills to the east of the busy I-10 artery, the preserve is centered on a seep from the San Andreas fault in southern California.  This seep provides a rare riparian habitat in one of the driest areas of the United States.  Several oases of California fan palms — the only palm tree native to California — provide habitat for desert-dwelling birds, mammals, and the endemic and endangered Coachella Valley fringed-toed lizard. Hiking on boardwalks through two of these oases and then up to the summit of a local hill provided a great overview of what this preserve has to offer, though numerous other trails were left unexplored for a future visit.