Okay – wipe your dirty minds. I’m not giving you details of that activity but instead tell you about the hike we did today, here in Rancho Mirage, called the Bump and Grind. At first, after I had slept late, we thought we’d bag it for another day of sitting by the pool but feeling like slugs, we changed out of our bathing suits, and hit the road (with a stop first at Starbucks for breakfast) before beginning our climb up some stark but beautiful hills.
bump_and_grind_1.jpg The documentation we had on this one said it’s about 1.8 miles but I clocked it at over 2 miles each way. It’s not like hiking in Vermont – no trees, no shade, no streams to cross, no wet rocks, just a dry, sandy winding path, up, up, and up, until you eventually reach a flat hilltop, turnaround and come down.

You got a good view of the snow-capped mountains that surround the dessert.
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And of the valley too.
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On the way down, we finally got some pictures of the wildlife (missed a picture of a desert rat – maybe a marmot – who knows earlier) but did snag this big lizard.
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While hiking up we saw other walkers, hikers, joggers, runners, and two mountain bikers – give them a lot of credit. No pictures of them though, but how about some cacti.
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When I get home, I’ll upload the rest of the shots, totally a stark contrast to the hiking pictures from NJ and Vermont.