At the foothills of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountains we are staying in a county park for 8 nights in site #42 (a good quiet spot by the wide open primitive camping area and beside a host trailer – near the end of the loop). The park is situated around man made Lake Cahuilla, a small trout stocked lake, and is not very busy. We are surrounded by desert, mountains, and golf courses. Every community here is gated (some with concierge) and fenced completely, with flowers and Christmas ornaments decorating the gates. Bougainvillea, fruit trees, palms, and Eucalyptus trees are common, and this region is the only place in the US where dates are grown and sold. We see date vendors everywhere.
A five minute walk from our site is a hike through the mountain to a small town. At the start of our hike we are treated to a herd of 12 bighorn sheep traversing the cliffs. Continuing along, we pass a golf course – we learned it is a very exclusive & expensive course. It looks it! A hot walk through desert, but luckily a few bits of shade here and there.
As was recently pointed out to me, the first Christams took place in a desert. There are no Reindeer in a desert, so I think it was these guys. There are 8 Bighorn Sheep. On Dasher, on Dancer,……………