On the way back from the Salton Sea, I stopped at a Hunter Jumper horse show. The show was being held at the HITS (Horseshows In The Sun) facility in Thermal, CA. This is quite the facility, with many arenas, over 1,200 horse stalls, and rv sites. HITS also has facilities in Florida, Virginia and New York.
Geologicallly, the Salton Sea is a landlocked extension of the Gulf of California. In recent history, it was a dry salt bed until 1905 when a levee along the Colorado River in Mexico was breeched (This was before "Hoover" and others dams were built) and flooded the basin. A lake 15 miles wide and 25 miles long formed, making it the largest lake in California. The surface of the lake is 227 feet below sea level. Since there is no outlet from the lake, any water that flows into it simply evaorates. Currently the lake is 30 percent saltier than the Pacific Ocean and threatens over 400 species of birds that migrate to the lake. There are still various species of fish in the lake, but Tilapia are the most abudant and have no legal limits.
Here is another shot of Mt. San Jacinto. To give some perspective, the truck traffic in the lower portion of the photo (enlarged) is on I-10 at 6:30 A.M. There seems to be much more truck traffic than last year. I hope that means the economy is improving.
I have not had a chance to do much this past week, as cousins Jim and Pat spent most of the week attending the Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament. Since cameras are not allowed on the golf course, I stayed home. The weather was ideal for the tournament, with temperatures in the mid-70s and no wind.
Last week, Betty and I sat at the table for the Full Timers chapter of the FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) while attending the Western Region Rally in Indio, CA. We got to meet lots of people and let them know how much fun it is to be full-timing in a motor home. We sure have made lots of new friends at the rallies.
Yesterday I visited the Living Desert, a wildlife adventure through the deserts of the world. I got to see wildlife from deserts around the world as well as many plants. There was an endangered species carolisel to ride and a large model train layout covering almost an acre. There are camel rides, too, but I didn't ride one. For more information about the Living Desert, you can visit: www.LivingDesert.org.
Here are some other pictures from the Palm Springs Kennel Club Dog Show. As you can tell, I like the large breeds--Newfies, Irish Wolf Hounds and Great Danes.
Over the weekend, I went to the Palm Springs Kennel Club Dog Show. There were over 7,000 dogs being shown, but the best dog is the one being loved by a little girl. This Great Dane is being loved by the owner's granddaughter. Some of the dogs in this show will go on to compete next in New York at the Westminster Kennel Club Show. The Best in Show winner was Brighton Lakeridge Encore, a standard poodle.
