Miracle Hill

Cabot Yerxa Pueblo Museum

Desert Hot Springs

The San Andreas fault runs right down the middle of the Coachella Valley.  Of the nine regional cities, Desert Hot Springs is the only one on the North American Tectonic Plate. Cities to the west like Palm Springs are on the the Pacific Plate. It is the largest plate on the planet, and stretches from the Arctic to the Antarctic.  In southern California, the plates are separated by the San Andreas Fault, a scar clearly visible in places.  The 1-10 freeway follows the approximate line where the plates meet.

It's best not to overthink this while you're here on a vacation.

On the bright side, Mother Nature's separation of these two plates is the reason for the abundant, medicinal hot mineral water in Desert Hot Springs.

When Cabot Yerxa dug a well on his remote homestead, he quickly hit 132 degree mineral water.  600 yards away, another well gave him sparkling cold mineral water.  With hot and hot water at the doorstep, he named his homestead Miracle Hill.  His crazy, sprawling hacienda was built over many years, and now it's a museum and trading post.

Other highlights yesterday included an incredibly indulgent lobster club sandwich at the tennis club in Palm Springs.  Yes, the onion rings were over-the-top, but hey, it's vacation.

And then a visit to the beautiful Palm Springs Art Museum.

On the way back to the motel, a stop at The Windmill for a date shake.