Cathedral City, California

Today's trip was far shorter than normal: about five miles, most of which was heading west to cross I-10 and then coming back to meet an old school mate from high school and college who now lives in Fairbanks. The drive was highlighted by last night's new snow on the mountains and a crisp clear desert's winter day. The wind farm was an amazing sight, especially how close to the road they were sited. They all seem to rotate in the same direction. I would have thought that alternating the direction of turning would have increased efficiency like in a turbine.

The Alaskan spends February in the Palm Springs' Cathedral City suburb. When we met at an impromptu reunion in September, we said we would try to make the connection again in February, and so we did. We drove to Mimi's Cafe for lunch. Lynne and I both had the $10 two-course lunch which was wonderful. She had the spinach dip appetizer and salmon hibachi. I had the zucchini spears starter and shrimp po' boy wrap which was outstanding -- highly recommended.



Along about three, we said our goodbyes and headed for the closest AAA campground: Outdoor Resorts - Palm Springs. Imagine our surprise when the lady at the desk quoted us a price of $76 per night. She asked if we wanted the list of other RV parks, but I declined -- I had to see what made a campsite so valuable. A few items of note: thick lush grass everywhere you don't drive, everywhere you do drive is paved with concrete or asphalt,  upper-class clientele who invite you to their wine and pizza party as soon as you back in, huge pool and whirlpool, tennis courts which are reserved in advance, no working cable TV, ridiculously early check-out of 11AM, perfectly manicured grounds with lights wrapped around every tree trunk. A very skewed value proposition which undoubtedly works well to keep out the riff-raff -- just sayin'.