Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade

Sunday | 14 January 2007 | Indio, California: Another frozen night, but we were toasty-warm under our duvet with the floor tile warmer set to 100-degrees. We both waited to work-out until it was a little warmer and later we headed into Palm Desert to the Annual Golf Cart Parade. (We had never seen a Golf Cart Parade before - so why not?) The parade started years ago to publicize Palm Springs being the first area to make driving a golf cart on the street legal, and to let the world know Palm Springs is the golf capital of the world. It grew from a sometimes-annual event to a huge parade now with 70-plus entrants and 25,000 spectators lining the exclusive shopping street of El Paseo in Palm Desert. It was a hoot.

In Palm Desert, even the cops ride around in golf carts

The theme this year was "A Ride on the Wild Side" so many of the entrants used wild animals in their decor. Football hall-of-famer/Little House on the Prairie actor Merlin Olson was the Grand Marshall of the parade today. It was still quite cold, but if we were in the sun - it wasn't too bad. I don't think the temperature rose over 55 degrees all day.

We are not sure what this was... but it was incredibly interesting.

 
One cool dog and the Braille Institute float featured a blind spacewoman
with a precision team of blind marchers following.

   
Two vintage golf carts

I think today's event could have been called "Dogs on Parade". I have never seen so many dogs in one place outside a dog show. One entrant was the Palm Springs Standard Poodle Club - about thirty huge dogs walking their owners in the parade, and then a group of assorted pooches marching with another float. Hundreds of people brought their dogs to watch the parade and we saw everything from a miniature Chihuahua to a Great Dane.

RV Park: Motorcoach Country Club in Indio