Unplanned Hike

We decided to take a different way to the post office in Thousand Palms yesterday to see if it would be faster and to see some new areas. We turned onto a connecting road and stumbled onto the Coachella Valley Preserve, which we didn't know existed.






The Preserve straddles the San Andreas Fault in this area and there are palm trees everywhere that grow wild as a result of the underground water that seeps through to the surface along the Fault. There are several trails that you can take through the Preserve so we chose one that was a 2 mile round trip, the McCallum Trail:

Of course, we did the hike without any hiking shoes and did OK. It was a fascinating hike that took us through unbelievable palm tree clusters:

You actually walk along the San Andreas Fault throughout the hike -

until you finally reach the Grove above that contains the McCallum Pond, which is a pond created by this seeping water:

It was also fascinating since it contained tiny fish - pupfish - that are an endangered species and can be found only in this area and a couple tributaries that feed the Salton Sea. They cannot survive with other fish since they are so small and become food for the larger fish.

We plan to make another trip to the Preserve sometime to see more and take one of the trails that would require hiking boots. A side note: there were two earthquakes yesterday in the afternoon near Banning, CA, about 20 miles away, with magnitudes of 3.5 and 4.3. We didn't feel either one.

Today it's back to work. I start at 7 AM and I am meeting the maintenance crew at the pool. Josie starts at 8:30 and will go to the office. We'll report on our first day tomorrow...