Tuesday October 1

Today the US Government shut down all of the National Parks, Monuments and Recreation Areas. We still had five or six of these on our agenda for this trip so hopefully they get their federal funding sorted out in the next few days. We will be working on a Plan B that will have to be limited to State Parks and other attractions.

The next surprise was when we looked at the bathing suits we had worn in the spa last night and noticed the dye had been bleached out of them. My black swimsuit was now light grey! A trip to the front desk and we were quickly compensated for new swimsuits. So far, no adverse effects on us. I wonder if they overdosed the chlorine due to this?

Joshua Tree National Park was shutdown so we did a quick internet search for some short hikes in the area. We picked the Garstin Trail which climbed Smoke Tree Mountain in Palm Springs.

It was steep with an elevation gain of 760' in less than 2 miles. A tough climb on a hot day (93F when we finished).

We had panoramic views of the Canyon Country Club, San Jacinto and Little San Bernandino Mountains, Palm Canyon, Palm Springs, Cathedral City and the Eastern Coachella Valley.

There were some fantastic homes in the area.

This is one home! A perfect Mormon layout!

We returned to the hotel to cool off and have lunch.

Later in the afternoon, we went out exploring in the car. It was hot.

We stopped for supper at Jackalope Ranch. A really unique restaurant. We made it in time for happy hour and had a couple of drinks and some appetizers.

We returned to our hotel to relax and get ready for our trip to San Tan Valley AZ tomorrow.