Bobbi and I spent the last 5 months in Palm Desert, California, but it’s always great to get home.
California is our vacation time. We stay in one place because my mobility limits us. Many of our friends go on cruises and other excursions, but walking is typically required and that’s a problem for me.
Palm Desert is located in the Coachella Valley in southern California about 100 miles from Los Angles and San Diego near the Salton Sea. The famous San Andreas Fault crosses the valley which is surrounded by several mountain ranges including the Chocolate Mountains.
Population in the valley which contains resorts cities like Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Indio, La Quinta, Indian Wells, and Cathedral City ranges from 200,000 in the hot summer to over a million people in January!
Our fascination with Palm Desert has buoyed the people who come from all over the world. Many “snowbirds” like us spend 3 to six months in this beautiful area that supports about 125 golf courses.
Many of our friends are Canadians who typically spend six months in the U.S. As a side note they often tell us life in the U.S.A. is far superior to life in Canada with health care being a major factor. Bernie Sanders supporters might take note.
We lease a nice condo in a development which supports a beautiful golf course, extensive tennis facility, a gym and dozens of swimming pools. We see no reason to ever purchase property in California.
Weather is the desert’s biggest asset. I’d tell you about how this year’s weather was the worst we’ve experienced, but compared to the weather in Emporia over the past five months I’ll remain silent.
On Valentines Day the valley did receive nearly four inches of rain causing massive flooding in an area that typically gets about 5 inches of rain in a year. Six golf courses were literally washed away.
We found a wonderful Methodist church in the valley several years ago and enjoy that affiliation a great deal.
Traffic in the valley is amazingly efficient. With the giant influx of people in the winter, you’d think it would be awful, but my comparison is that the traffic is worse than Emporia’s but much better than Kansas City’s.
Hosting guests is one of our favorite things, but during our recent stay, we really outdid ourselves with no less than 40 friends and family spending time with us.
Bobbi and I were excited to get home Sunday despite both returning with colds. The California desert is really nice and we know we are blessed to be able to vacation there, but Emporia is our home and always will be.
I’m Steve Sauder
