Desert Dunes Golf Club
 Monday | 30 April
2007 | Indio, California: Today we drove out to
Desert Hot Springs, over 20 miles away, to play a
coupon-discounted round of golf ($39 is
unheard-of-cheap-nearly-free in these parts) at
Desert Dunes Golf Club. It is a links-style course,
designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Not overly-challenging,
though we still managed to lose a few balls on our round. We
were joined by Rolf, a local retiree. He had played the
course before, so helped us around the holes.
Yes,
we love to golf, but we also really enjoy "nature", and it
is unreal how much wildlife lives around desert golf courses
- especially a course such as Desert Dunes Golf Club
that is literally carved into the dunes. We must have seen
two hundred jack rabbits - and so many babies. (Could there
be anything cuter than a bunny?) We saw several Mommy
Bunnies with three or four off-spring happily munching away
on the green grass on the golf course. Later, after seeing
so many bunnies, we wondered why Desert Dunes bothered to
employee mowers at all. The rabbits chew away at the grass
and leave all sorts of "natural" fertilizers. (DT wondered
if maybe someone shouldn't open a French lapin restaurant?)
On our Wild Kingdom golf round today we also saw ibis,
ducks, squirrels, road runners, quail, doves, ravens and
many song birds.
It is road runner mating season. The overly-anxious boy
birds are oblivious to golfers, golf carts, flying golf
balls, walking golfers, RV campers, traffic or noise. They
are focused on lady road runners and are busy flashing their
tails, trying to impress the future Mrs. Road Runner. (I can
only think of one species that makes more of a fool of
themselves in order to mate.) Around our RV park, the road
runners are busy gathering nesting materials. The fact there
are zillions of baby road runners around this country is
proof some ladies find these efforts irresistible.
#16: the signature hole at Desert Dunes Golf Club
More photos of the signature hole at Desert Dunes Golf Club
After golf, we just had a
little time to rest and shower before meeting friends at one
of our favorite restaurants in the area - the
Fisherman's Market & Grill. Fisherman's Market &
Grill is an actual fish market (but I will admit to
never ever ever seeing anyone buy fish to take home and cook
themselves). Patrons line-up in front of the seafood counter
(ala the fishmonger) and read the daily specials from a
wall-sized chalk board. You order at the counter, get your
own condiments from a sidebar and the wait staff delivers
your dinner to your table. Of course, since we were with
such good and old friends - the food can be inconsequential
- but at the Fisherman's Market - the food is the thing.
Simple. Pure. Unadorned. Super-fresh fish in the middle of
desert. Can't be an easy thing to pull-off, yet they do it.
Every time we eat at the Fisherman's Market & Grill, it is
good.
On the way home, we stopped to fill-up the Honda. Ouch. It
is only the second time we have put gasoline in the new
beast, but... still... $3.47 per gallon? (Wow, I hope my
future great grandchildren laugh at this post one day.)
RV Park:
Outdoor Resorts Motorcoach Country Club
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