It's a DATE!

One of my most recent trips included a 36-hour layover in Palm Springs. Melissa drove out to join me! I had read about touring date farms in Sunset Magazine, and I've wanted to see the Salton Sea, so we planned our day accordingly.

We headed out to Shields Date Farm, in Indio. Shields has been in business since the early 1900's. Mr. Shields created a very risque film in the 1950's called "The Romance & Sex Life of the Date." It's still showing in the movie room! We tasted dates--every kind of date, from Blonde, to Marjool, to Deglet and Barhi.Melissa found jars of coconut oil, which is good for your skin, hair, nails and to eat on salads! Really! We each bought a jar. Then we tried Shields' legendary date shakes. These ladies are making our shakes--and OMG, were they DELICIOUS! The shakes alone are worth the trip to the Shields Date Farm!

After touring the store, we decided to see the date groves. The ladders are permanently mounted on the trees. Growing dates is a very labour-intensive business--each palm has to be individually watered by flooding a moat around it several times a week. Each frond has to be pruned of its thorns, because people have to climb up into the tree frequently. Every flower has to be hand-pollinated. Each stem of a bunch of dates must be hand-tied to a strong frond to keep the stem from breaking in the wind. Every bunch of dates must be hand-thinned, then covered with water-proof fabric to protect it from rain, then hand-picked as each date ripens.

We found this old truck behind the store, near the groves. It's seen better days, but it once carried the men and water to each tree, every day. Mel is still holding the remains of her date shake. I sucked mine down in minutes, then wanted another one!Then it was off to the Salton Sea, which was created in an old, dry lakebed when the dike at the Colorado River failed in 1905. The dike was restored by 1907, but the sea had been created. It's 7 miles wide by 35 miles long, and saltier than the ocean. There are a lot of birds, including terns, seagulls, crested and common egrets, and huge flocks of pelicans.

There are also fish in the Sea--tilapia, which are really sweet, mild fish. Everything else has died, as far as the park management knows. This man was fishing earnestly. Don't know if he caught anything...We discovered, though, that the tilapia are dying by the millions. There were SWATHS of carcasses on the beach.

There was also the salt-petrified tire, held permanent hostage by the petrified mud, atop the petrified barnacles. It was really pretty wierd.So, the Salton Sea has been crossed off of my to-do list. Even though it's one of the lowest places in the US, and even though it's the place on Earth where the Earth's crust is the thinnest, you probably don't need to go to see it.

Next fun plan on my to-do list--the Olympics! Yes, I've got tickets for short-track and hockey--anyone want to go with me?

Hope you are having fun shopping for Christmas. I'd like a nice chess set if anyone needs an idea! Or a copy of the book Half Broke Horses. What's on your list?