A Date Shake, a Salty Sea and Patton's Tanks

Highlights:

Trips: From Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert with 100+ temps, to the Salton Sea, across Souther California to Arizona (more record temps north of 100 degrees to Flagstaff, Arizona and 50 degree temps. Or from sea level to 7,000 feet. Had hoped to overnight in Sedona, but once again we were foiled on a Saturday evening.

Bites:

Shield's Date Garden, Indio, California - the date capital of the world and home of the movie "The Romance and Sex Life of the Date", the least understood of all fruits. Shield's is known for its classic date shake, a mixture of chopped dates and ice cream.

Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar, Flagstaff, Arizona - one of Conde Nast Traveler's top new 100 restaurants in the world 2007. After a long day of driving, we ended up in Flagstaff which turned out to be a really neat town with a very historically preserved downtown. What a find to dine at this great restaurant - a delicious cheese sampler, Barramundi and Osso Buco!!!

Sights:

Salton Sea, southern California - created by a flood of the Colorado River this large lake in the middle of the desert was once a resort area for southern Californians. However, wtih no outflow of water, the salinity has only increased and now the lake is only home to some pelicans and the hardiest of fish. The towns along the shore are mostly deserted. It is just so strange to see a vast lake in the middle of the desert.

General George S. Patton Memorial Museum, Chiriaco Summit, California - we saw this museum off of I-10. Since the General is actually a relative of Karen's, we had to stop. It is one of the best military museums! The museum is located in the desert where Patton established the Desert Training Center to train US troops for combat in North Africa in WWII. More than 1 million troops trained at the Center. Almost purchased the book "Patton's Principles of War Applied to Business."

Western Arizona - beautiful country. As the desert turns into forest, the change in scenery is just dramatic as are the changes in temperature. In a span of several hours, we traveled through the Sonoran Desert through two national forests and the red rock canyons of the Sedona area.

Next stop.....Grand Canyon