Looking out at Boney Mountain and the green, green mountains fed by ample rain, I’m struck by how every vacation is usually a kaleidoscope of events—highs and lows, places and people. Right now, I am searching for that one magical vacation experience from our time in the desert that will be sealed in my memory […]
Read MoreToday, after our morning routine, which includes coffee, praying, catching up on world events, and taking care of the dogs, John said to me, “Do you think we could take the dogs on that hike in La Quinta?” Let me tell you about this hike. It covers a strip of desert between the La Quinta […]
Read MoreOne lovely thing about our annual January sojourn in the desert is the sense of being unplugged from all responsibilities, worries, and the sense that something must be accomplished. At the end of the day here, rather than looking for done tasks, I just think about the lovely and unusual experiences of the day. But […]
Read MoreI want to thank all of you for your support during 2020 and for all of your kind remarks. Sharing with you helped make the hard times more tolerable. I feel like we faced a grim and unsettled year together. I wonder how you celebrated Christmas. I daresay that those of you who were able to […]
Read MoreI’m trying to find a sunny spot to have my morning nap. But the sun is being capricious. I admit I did like basking in the sun in the desert—first, warming my back, then turning on my sides, and lastly, my belly. Heaven! When I was indoors, it seemed that at almost any time of […]
Read MoreI could go on and on about hiking in the desert. John and I discovered a gem this trip. Big Morongo Canyon Preserve is about half an hour from Palm Springs on Highway 62. It is nestled in the mountains above the tiny town of Morongo. Here, water runs year ’round, so there is more […]
Read MoreWe are in the last week of our month in the desert, and we have had so many experiences that they are swirling in my head like the images in the fancy kaleidoscopes sold at the art shows that dot the Coachella Valley most weekends … … Like the gentleman dressed in the navy cotton […]
Read MoreI want you to know that I am really adjusting to the desert life. I now have the horrid local Canada geese whipped into shape—no squawking before 8:00 a.m. How did I do this? See the description of my teeth below. Besides my new friend Hank, I have met and interviewed several local creatures, including […]
Read MoreI’m looking out at the snow-topped San Jacinto Mountains through a scattering of palm trees. We are in the Coachella Valley for a month of rest, relaxation, and restoration. For some reason, the clear horizons of the desert hold a healing power that drains away the accumulated baggage of the year, and everything takes on […]
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Kathleen Chamberlin 