Desert Storm / Ride has returned!

Night before last - Stormy skies over Palm Springs.

The winds have been very strong of late. RV neighbours had been busy with folding chairs, storing outdoor stuff and closing windows.  The winds were fierce.

Wednesday morning started out looking like this.

With gusting winds, we chose to tour more of these desert communities.  Of particular interest was a drive into and around La Quinta, CA.  The sun was out - the winds were strong - we were protected in the truck, so all was well to cruise into old town, La Quinta.  What a gem.

Beautiful area.

Nice topography.

Numerous hiking trails in the area.

We drove around - with a view to find hiking trails.  We found several.  We'll plan hikes in the coming days, for sure.  Heading south, off Highway 111, toward Old Town La Quinta, reveals a well organized community.

Very nice.

One potential hiking area.

Another hiking area.

Downtown, Old Town La Quinta.

Our photos do not show the sand blowing but that's exactly what was happening.  Sand was blowing every which way. Wind gusts would come and go.  For the unaccustomed, this is quite a sight to see. 

Back at our 5'er, @ the Sand's RV & Golf Resort, the skies grew darker and the winds were fierce.

We closed all windows and settled in for what we thought would be a rain storm.  It never happened.  The winds gusted all night but the ground was dry when we awoke the next morning.

Cathedral City Motorcycle shop....where our Nomad was repaired.

 Yesterday morning we received a telephone call with the news that our motorcycle was ready to ride again.  Great news indeed.  We really missed having it these past 9 days.  Yippee!!!

Jeanette is following me back to Desert Hot Springs.

Rides like a brand new bike.

Arriving @ our home RV park.

The motorcycle runs great.  Marc, the motorcycle mechanic, showed us the old drive shaft.  It was clearly on its last legs.  With the new shaft and bearings, the motorcycle is butter smooth.  Shifting gears is smooth too.  The clunky sound is gone.  Yeah!!!!

Needed a good wash.

Back at our RV site, the bike was due for a good cleaning.  I got busy with that...while Jeanette took these shots from the galley window, inside the 5th wheel.

All shined up and ready for a good long ride.

Once dry, we geared up and took off on a long ride along the back roads from Desert Hot Springs to Indio.  The undulated roads made for a great tour and the bike performed really well.  Felt good to get the wind back in our faces - wind we create over wind generated by nature.

With our ride back, we plan to tour Joshua Tree today.   http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

We woke up to light clouds this morning but the clear blue skies are beginning to show from the west.  Should be a good day for touring.

Thanks for dropping in.