The Dunes @ La Quinta, Hosting Dinner, a Hike & Another Dinner!

The starter @ La Quinta Dunes Golf Resort took this photo prior to our final round of golf.

Hector and I joined Rick and Chris for our Wednesday final round.  What a golf course?  This was the best of the three we played.

Superbly manicured, with level tees and true greens.

This course is the epitome of what a great golf course should look like and play.  The surrounding mountains envelope this awesome landscape and it's a treat to view while waiting to strike a ball.It's challenging....but what a fun challenge!

Several holes - with lateral water hazards - makes for some interesting challenges.

Stunning!

The final hole (#18) in the waning afternoon sun.

We hosted a barbecue for our Vancouver golfing friends at our RV site in Desert Hot Springs.  As luck would it, it proved to be the coldest night these past six weeks of our travel.  Hector and Diane were quick to host us all inside their coach.  Thanks guys!

L-R  Me, Rick, Hector and Lucky braved the night chill to join me at the barbecue.  Chris stayed indoors to enjoy the many hors d'oevres.

Hard to beat a great meal following a tough day on the course!

Jeanette, Diane and Trena were great hosts.  While we toiled on the golf course, they toiled with food preparation and it was sooooooo good!  Thanks!

We shared in plenty of banter and laughs before calling it a night.

Chris and Rick headed back to their hotel in Palm Springs to rest up for their fourth round at the TPC PGA West Greg Norman Course.  I'm sure that was a treat to play.

Jeanette had opted for a long hike with our RV friends while I worked the telephone and emails to manage some business dealings.

A knock on the RV door brought me in direct contact with long time RVers/bloggers, Judy and John, RV Life On Wheels who dropped by for a quick hello and brief introductions.  We look forward to meeting again in the days ahead.
 
The following photos tell their story.

L-R  Hikers (Lucky, Trena, Hector and Diane)

Good workout.

Not sure what Jeanette is pointing out...but I'm sure it was relevant.

Jeanette and Lucky

Most would think there are no streams in the desert and local mountains...but, here's the proof!

Tree hugger.....or is she having a nap?  Not sure.  I'll have to asked her.

After her return from the hike, and a shower to freshen up, we drove to Palm Desert to spend the balance of the afternoon with my cousin, Madeleine, with a dinner out to close the evening.

Madeleine and I

Beautifully groomed grounds at Madeleine's resort.

There is a swimming pool nestled in behind the flowers.

A 5 Star dinner @  Chez Pierre's in Palm Desert.

Dinner out was a fitting end to a busy and rewarding day.

Today calls for some down time before heading out for some surprise entertainment this evening with our RV friends.

With the nice warm temperatures back, and the winds long blown away, the coming days offer up some new experiences.  Always something to look forward to!

Thanks for dropping by.

Golf, Cold Winds and Babe's!

Our golfing visitors arrived from Vancouver, BC, this past Monday.  Two hours after their arrival, we met on the Escana Golf and Country Club in Palm Springs.  No Wind, nice temperatures, good friends, and an awesome golf course, made for a perfect afternoon.

Very forgiving Escana Golf Course.

With wide fairways, this course favours our collective golf game. T-shots easily find green grass and the greens are large and soft.  They hold high flying balls.  That's just the way a good golf course should be.

Water is in play on several holes but it's easy to golf around them. We always shoot for greens though!

L-R  Rick, Chris and Hector

By booking in advance, we were able to get preferred T-times and preferred discounted rates.

Beautiful....with the smell of sage wherever we were on the course.

Nice clubhouse in the background.  The #18 finishing hole.

Back at in Desert Hot Springs, we were invited to the site of RV friends, in a neighbouring RV park.  Trena and Lucky prepared a scrumptious outdoor barbecue.  Awesome food!

At Trena  and Lucky's site.

A relaxed Hector and Lucky following a great meal.

Back at our RV park, Jeanette and I headed for the natural hot springs pools at the resort clubhouse.  It's a great way to end a great day.

Aside from a large swimming pool, there are four large hot pools too.  Very inviting!

Golf course in Indio, CA - Tuesday afternoon.

Hector and I met up with Rick and Chris in Indio for our second of three golf rounds.  It started out as a perfect golf day till the mean spirited wind reared  its ugly head.  It cooled off quickly and playing conditions changed too.  It proved tough to stand on the Tee box to strike a ball.

Rick is judging a putt.

Too bad this was not on video.  Hector hit a perfect sand wedge out of the sand.

Immediately following our golf round, we headed east on Highway 111 to Rancho Mirage,CA.  We were meeting our spouses and friends for dinner at Babe's.  It a wonderful restaurant with great food fare.

L-R  Diane, Trena and Chris.

This was the meal Chris chose.....and he cleaned the plate.

L-R  Group shot  -  Me, Diane, Trena, Chris, Hector, Lucky Jeanette and Rick.

Good food, good fun, plenty of laughs made for a fun evening.  We left with the promise to meet Chris and Rick for our third and final golf round today in La Quinta.  We're playing 'The Dunes'.

As I write this blog, this morning, the winds have not abated as promised by the weather girl.  Not sure what to make of our golf round today.  Wind plays havoc with golf (golfers too). We'll be ready for all conditions though.

Lucky is enjoying a special desert - served on a pig plate. 

What great fun we've had.....and continue to have...this snow birding winter, away from the west coast.

Here's Chris posing with Babe!!!

Well, it's time to get the clubs shined up for our golf round today.  Sure hope these winds go away as we approach our T-time.  Rick and Chris will be joining our RV group for dinner, at our RV site, following our golf round today.  More on that later.

Thanks for dropping by.

Desert Hot Springs - Caliente RV Resort

Desert Hot Springs, CA.

Caliente RV Resort

We presently ensconced at the Caliente RV (Hot Springs) Resort in Desert Hot Springs, CA, just north of Palm Springs/Palm Desert.

This RV park is quite nice. The natural hot springs pools are numerous and inviting at any time of the day.  We've been in the pools a few times.  The park is a mix of park models and RVs.  It's a bit tight for big rigs but it's doable.....albeit with a lot of patience.

One of the many pools in the club house area.

We're here till the 9th (or longer if deemed necessary).  Two of our friends fly in today for five days of golf.  We are really looking forward to that.  Rick and Chris arrive this morning and we're golfing in Palm Springs at noon today.

This park is beautifully landscaped.

Other than meeting with a few RV friends who are in the area, we've been kind of lazy. 

Jeanette joined in on a hike with good RV friends this morning - while I write this blog and get my clubs shined up for our round today. 

Caliente RV Park has a 9 hole short course.  It's ideal to practice one's short game.

No more than three clubs would be required to play the short course here.  We walked the course the other day and it's clear that one need only carry a sand wedge, standard wedge and a putter.  It's well kept though!

Jeanette is having a good time.

We held a burger barbecue, the evening before last.  We were three couples who all contributed to throwing an impromptu dinner together.  That's often a fun thing to do.

Everyone is digging in to the food.

It was beautifully hot here, yesterday. That called for a motorcycle ride and we quickly headed for the Sands RV and Golf Resort, a few miles west from our park.  We were in the the Sands last year and we returned to say hello to Rick and Paulette  Rick & Paulette's RV Travels

Always the congenial hosts.

When we arrived, Paulette was busy with her favourite hobby.  She was quilting!  Rick was on the golf  course working on lowering his handicap. 

Paulette invited us in to their air conditioned coach where we quickly got caught up on things. Within minutes, Rick returned from his golf round.  Following an hour (or so) of chat, we rode off to visit some other spots we had in mind before returning to our site.

It's somewhat cloudy here today but it's very mild and warm....ideal temperatures for our golf round.  Speaking of golf, I have to sign off and get ready to leave for our first round.  More on that later.

Thanks for dropping by.

Now in Palm Springs Country

We left Rio Bend RV & Golf Resort, in El Centro, CA, one day later than expected.  We had a very good reason.  That story later in this blog.

Plenty of helicopters fly over the Rio Bend resort.

El Centro is the home of a major US air base. Naval Air Facility El Centro - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia As a result, there is plenty of daytime activity in the skies above.  It's also the home of the Blue Angels.    Blue Angels : Official Website

It got a bit breezy one evening so we dined indoors in our fiver.

If you are a fan of aerobatics, or plenty of flight activities, this El Centro area is a good place to park yourself on an outdoor easy chair and keep focused on the skies above.

Farming dots this area and alfalfa is a prized crop too.

A large troop carrier helicopter.

The winds did abate but few RVers were interested in the pool.

This covered wagon is the signature photo for this RV site.

It's an OK 9 hole golf course.

We got to play the resort course here on three occasions.  Although it is a short course, there is one par 5, several par 4's and par 3's make up the balance.  The course appeals to RVers.  It is busy....but I've played much nicer layouts - with nicer (level) T-boxes and better greens.

The Blue Angels, working their magic.  Thrilling to watch.

We had planned to spend only three nights at the Rio Bend RV park.  While registering a few days earlier, we saw a sign promoting a special concert by a favoured performing artist.  Kenny Hess was to put on a show on Monday, March 1.  We opted to stay one more night.  And what a show it was.  Kenny Hess

He is a gifted singer, songwriter and a really good stage showman.

We know Kenny.  In fact, he wrote one song that our daughter Ginette recorded a few years back.   He is a very good friend of our daughter's music producer, Ron Irving, also a gifted song writer and singer. Boutique Records - Home Template

A nice photo taken with Kenny Hess.

Kenny was good enough to sign a CD and to meet our friends, Diane and Hector, below.  We all agreed that he is a wonderful Canadian talent - who like many Canadian talent - go unrecognized in our country but are better recognized in the US. That is a sorry statement but it's true.

Kenny raised the roof and he received a standing ovation.  This guy has what it takes to put on a great show.

Diane, Kenny Hess and Hector (L-R)

After the fun evening, we packed up, closed the slides, hitched up and began the 90 mile drive up to Desert Hot Springs.  This area (in the Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, etc) will be our home for the next seven days or more.

Hector and I will be joining two of my regular golfing friends, who are flying in from Vancouver, for five days of golfing.  Yeah!  Can't wait to play some of the great golf courses in this area.  By booking early, we got really good rates on high quality golf courses.

Ready to leave Rio Bend RV & Golf Resort.

We lost count of the number of trucks that were transporting carrots to market.

Seen at the turn off to the Borrego Springs Highway.  Boon-docking and four wheeling is a huge draw here.

We knew we were near Desert Hot Springs when we saw these big whirly birds turning in the wind.

The windmills were busy generating electricity.

As I write this blog, there is no wind as I look out our picture window in the fiver - at least not yet.  Some locals mentioned that the winds were to die off in the next day or so.  Yeah to that!  We meet our Vancouver golfing friends on the first golf course this coming Monday morning.  We're told the winds will be parked and the nice temps will return. Our fingers are crossed!

More in the days ahead.

Thanks for dropping by.