Joshua Tree & San Andreas Fault

Day 1 – Joshua Tree National Park (Monday, March 23)

From our departure points we’ll travel aboard a deluxe motorcoach to the Coachella Valley where we’ll be joined by a knowledgeable local guide who is well versed in geology, geography, history and local folklore, and will provide extensive guided sightseeing. No visit to the Coachella Valley is complete without a stop at Hadley Fruit Orchards. Founded in 1931, this southern California landmark has provided a friendly place to shop for premium quality Medjool dates, dried fruit, nuts, hand-mixed trail mixes, honey, preserves, freshly-ground peanut butter and a variety of gifts. At the snack bar is where you’ll find their famous date shakes! Later this morning we’ll visit the Joshua Tree Visitor & Cultural Center in Twentynine Palms. In addition to a beautiful bookstore, this visitor center features rotating exhibits celebrating the culture, history, and stories of the Native American communities in the Joshua Tree region. Upon entering Joshua Tree National Park, we are immediately greeted by a dynamic landscape that has been shaped by strong winds, unpredictable torrents of rain, and climatic extremes, offering far more than the starkness glimpsed from the road. Closer examination reveals a remarkable vitality and a fascinating variety of over 700 species of plants – a diversity so rich that when the area was initially proposed for preservation in the early 1930s, the name suggested was “Desert Plants National Park” – along with animals that thrive among the bizarre geologic formations and culturally significant history. We’ll enjoy an included boxed lunch picnic and make several stops to explore this unique landscape created by the convergence of two distinct desert ecosystems. Admire strange rock formations, rugged mountains and desert plains dotted with the park’s wacky namesake trees (actually a type of yucca). We’ll visit Hidden Valley, famous for massive, bizarre rock piles surrounded by a healthy population of Joshua Tree, pinyon, juniper and oak along with mesquite, yucca, nolina and various cacti. We’ll visit Key’s View (elevation 5,152’) which, on a clear day, provides a sweeping panorama of the Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea, the San Andreas Fault, and two of Southern California’s tallest summits, Mount San Jacinto and Mount Gorgonio. We’ll continue past Skull Rock to the renowned Cholla Cactus Garden, providing the perfect opportunity to take a leisurely walk through thousands of densely concentrated, naturally growing cholla cacti, all while keeping our fingers crossed for the unpredictable, yet stunning, springtime wildflower bloom. This evening we’ll arrive at our oasis in the desert, the upscale and stylish Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. This award-winning, smoke-free resort features luxurious hotel rooms, a variety of restaurants, pool area and exciting Vegas-style gambling. (Lunch)

Day 2 – San Andreas Fault, Palm Springs, Journey Home (Tuesday, March 24)

Following an included breakfast at the resort, this morning we’ll begin our exploration of the famous and perhaps most accessible earthquake fault in the world, the legendary San Andreas Fault. Our local guide will tell the story of California’s seismic activity, separate earthquake fact from fiction, and share a wealth of knowledge about fault activity. After this introduction to plate tectonics, we’ll journey into the dramatic, uplifted landscape of the Mecca Hills, created by the continuous, destructive movement and compression between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. The dramatic folds, upturned rock layers and rugged terrain we’ll encounter are the direct results of this intense tectonic activity. Your local guide will point out incredible features like sculpted synclines, towering anticlines, and palpable evidence of past and ongoing tectonic movement, as we stand on the edge of two continents! This afternoon we’ll arrive in downtown Palm Springs and enjoy time at leisure for browsing and lunch on your own. Palm Springs’ core shopping district along Palm Canyon Drive features mom and pop shops, vintage boutiques and name brand stores mixed in with a variety of restaurants. The redesigned downtown plaza captures the city’s energetic pulse point and offers a welcoming pedestrian-friendly experience. The Palm Springs Historical Society’s compound at The Village Green features Palm Springs’ earliest historic buildings. We return to our drop-off points this evening with many fond memories of our time exploring Joshua Tree, the San Andreas Fault and the Coachella Valley. (Breakfast)

While we make every effort to operate our tours as outlined in the itinerary, we ask for your patience, understanding and flexibility and to retain a sense of adventure while traveling with us. Situations may arise that necessitate changes to the itinerary. Should we need to adjust the itinerary either prior to or while on tour, these changes will be communicated to you and only done when absolutely necessary.