Outdoors with Don Q: Having fun, again, in Southern California

Elaine and I spent March 28-April 07 on a fun-filled, springtime return to Southern California for several reasons:
1. To celebrate our 11th Wedding Anniversary (March 30).
2. To visit my cousin Lorraine Scholes and her husband Bob, who have a winter home in Indio.
3. To attend our first-ever "Palm Springs Follies" show in Palm Springs.
4. To fly from Indio to Big Bear (our first-ever visit there).

Here are some of the highlights of our return to Southern California:

Thursday, March 28:
That afternoon, we drove from Carson City to Lone Pine, California (the half-way point of our 498 mile trek to the south), and spent the night at the very comfortable Dow Villa Motel.
We stop at Lone Pine to avoid driving the entire distance in one day, and arriving in the Palm Springs-Indio-La Quinta area in the midst of the hair-raising, high speed, 4:00-6:00 rush hour traffic in that part of California.
Then, the next morning, we leisurely drive from Lone Pine to our destination in Indio, after the hair-raising, high speed, morning rush hour traffic.
In my less-than-humble-opinion, you have to be crazy to put up with that twice-a day, commuter, suicide-bent, bumper-to-bumper, freeway traffic.
If you think that Carson City-Reno traffic is bad, don't ever consider a trip to the Palm Springs-Indio-La Quinta area. It is insane down there!
Heck, in Indio on the main arterials, the speed limit is 50 MPH!

Saturday, March 30:
The four of us had advance reservations for the afternoon performance of the "Palm Springs Follies." This is a definite "Do Not Miss" singing/dancing event if you are ever in the Palm Springs Area, from November to May.
And, especially if you are of the "Older Generation" such as the four of us.
The performers all range in age from 56 to 83. It's true! 56 to 83!
And, each and every one of them is a superb singer and/or dancer.
They sing and dance to such songs as: "In The Mood," "Oh, Pretty Woman," "Light My Fire," "Hey, Good Looking," "Dance To The Music," etc.
The theater seats about 700 people, there are seven performances every week; and at our afternoon matinee, all the seats were full!
The featured performer was Leslie Gore, who was also superb.
She sang her gold record hits: "You Don't Own Me" and "Judy's Turn To Cry," plus her smash hit "It's My Party."
For info, call (760) 327-0225 or go to www.psfollies.com.

Thursday, April 04:
The Scholes picked us up at about 9:30, and we drove to the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Thermal.
Bob took his private plane (A-36 Bonanza) out of the hanger, filled it with aviation gasoline, and we took off for a tour of that general area.

We had a chance to see and photograph aerial views of Indio, La Quinta, Palm Springs, 29 Palms, vast expanses of all kinds of crop fields, the Salton Sea, the Joshua Tree National Park, etc.
Then, we turned north and slowly began to climb to an elevation of 9,000' for our trip into the Big Bear Airport.
On our way to the airport, we got an amazing, close-up view (and photos) of the Big Bear ski area and all of the springtime skiers on the slopes.

After lunch in the airport restaurant, we jumped back into the plane, took off, got a last look at the ski area and the skiers and flew back to a safe landing at the Thermal airport.
A great sightseeing trip for the two of us who had never been to Big Bear.

If you are interested in visiting Big Bear this year, here are some events:

June 08-09: Fishing for $50,000 on Big Bear Lake.
June 21-23: Big Bear cowboy gathering.
July 13: Old miners chili cook-off/outhouse races/bluegrass in the village.
Aug. 03: Tour de Big Bear amateur bike tour.
Sept. 14; Village autumn wine walk.
Oct. 05-06: Big Bear October Trout Fest.
For info, call (909) 866-2638 or go to www.BigBear.com.

Finally:
Elaine and I drove home on April 07, arriving late in the afternoon, but happy to be back home, safe and sound.
Then, we woke up to the high winds and snow on April 08.
Sigh, it had to be Carson City in the Springtime.

Bet Your Favorite Pigeon
Bet your pigeon that he can' t tell you about the oddest thing about coming home on Sunday, April 07.
If he grins and says, "When Don and Elaine woke up that morning in Indio, the A/C was running, and when they got home that afternoon in Carson City, the furnace was running," he could be someone they know.

— Don Quilci is the Outdoor editor for Carson Now and www.SouthTahoeNow.com. He can be reached at donquilici@hotmail.com