Mecca Hills/Painted Canyon Hike

One consistent theme from much of our CA trip is our getting in as many hikes as we could. This is going to come as a shock to anyone who knows how we travel: We even CHECKED A BAG to be able to carry our gear with us. We haven't checked a bag since we moved back from Hawaii and had to carry everything with us. Our ever fantastic hosts recommended the Painted Hills as a day trip and it definitely did NOT disappoint.

Grapefruit trees

Serious "old vine" grapes

Here come the Mecca Hills 

The terra is fascinating

Entry into Painted Canyon

Wild (and incredibly fragrant) lavendar

The trail goes down into the crevice

Adam ventures down first

Looking straight up from the bottom of the crevice

Note the ladder that we have to crawl down to, to then go down

This place is incredible

Note the rock arrow? We somehow missed this going in..still figured it out though

The sky SO blue

Fresh lemons anyone?

Authentic Mexcian? Oh HELL YES! His....

When in Southern California what better cuisine to indulge in than Mexican? I may be an incredibly healthy eater and health conscious, but all of that goes out the window when authentic Mexican food is a possibility. If you are ever in the Palm Springs area, check out El Ranchito. Oh dear God, I am sitting here salivating just thinking about it. It's amazing and wicked cheap. Also, make sure to get a big ol' cup of horchata. We ate here twice.

....and hers. We ate every bite.