-An Oz-like Visitation in the Colorado Desert During the Christmas Holidays-
"Lions and tigers and bears," said Dorothy. "I won't find any of these in this silly old desert- or anything else worth bothering about,' smiling as she drove her hybrid SUV into the wiles of Coachella Valley- and piled out with the Tin Woodsman and Scarecrow into the parking lot of the Living Desert. The Cowardly Lion heard there weren't any lions and was handling a Munchkin revolt in the North of Oz anyway. Toto held the fort back at the Esmeralda Renaissance Resort at Indian Wells. Dorothy had told him that she didn't expect to see any lions, but now she regretted it. She had thought the Desert only had a few lizards and scorpions. But when Dorothy saw all the Living Desert animals on display in exhibits that highlighted their natural environment, her eyes were now opened. "Well, I guess I see a Mountain Lion, after all. No tigers but I do see a bobcat running around. Oops, there's a cheetah. I guess we're doing OK in the big cats area, but a bear would be so exciting! Well, come to think of it, the Mexican wolf and coyotes kind of make up for it."
Dorothy wasn't alone in her surprise. As she began to understand the amazing richness of the desert ecosystem, Dorothy began to fully participate in the stated mission of part of the Living Desert's agenda. After all the purpose of this part zoo/part conservation program/part botanical garden/part museum/part school for those who value wildlife and ecology was to waken people to the unexpected wealth of desert life. In fact, the Living Desert,set in the Colorado Desert in Coachella Valley, was really a celebration of the flora and fauna of all the amazing deserts of the world.
The Living Desert is an amazing, multi-faced celebration of wildlife set strategically close to the growing sophistication of the affluent Palm Desert shopping centers; art galleries and boutiques of El Paseo, prim parks and elegant real estate of a now bonified tourist destination. In all this, the Living Desert, situated off Portola in Palm Desert lives and breathes in charming contrast to the pomp and luxury of the Desert community. Of course, this is due to a sparkle of Beverly Hills' Rodeo Drive in its shopping choices and its leadership in the continuing spurt of opulent real estate opportunities. Call it what you like, Palm Springs Real Estate, Coachella Valley Real Estate was booming in Palm Desert.
The Tin Woodsman stood beside her while Scarecrow went off by himself, as he usually did. The two breathed deeply as they beheld the fabulous exhibitions, lectures and animal demonstrations. "Tin, isn't this just amazing?"
Dorothy and Woody found they had arrived in time to participate in one of the great events of the Christmas Season, the WildLights of the Living Desert. They had missed the shows that were kicked off on Thanksgiving weekend, but made it in time for some of the December frolics. If the Tin Woodsman ever popped the question and delivered everything else, she swore she would take her kids here every year. She crossed her fingers, twirled around in her happy thought- and nearly wound up back in Kansas. Poor thing, she had forgotten to take off her ruby slippers. But she stopped just in time.
When Dorothy saw all those lights, her eyes got as big as saucers. "I'm going to count them," said the Scarecrow. "One-two-three-" but he got tired after 125,000 and he felt stupid just standing there for almost three hours next to the Saharan born reticulated giraffe that was going to help him count, but lost interest after awhile. "Oh, well, scarecrows love to stand in places a long time so it's no big deal." "I understand there are 350,000 lights so, if you kept that up, you'd be here all night," the giraffe said matter-of-factly. "Oh, really?" said the Scarecrow, who decided immediately to finish the count.
Wow! Larger than life holiday lighted displays with wild animals from North American and Africa. She fell in love with the LGB model trains and was flabbergasted at the nighttime Wild Life at WildLights live animal show performed each evening at the Tennity Amphitheater. Hand and hand, she sat with Tin near a wood-burning fireplace, eating sandwiches and listening to some beautiful Christmas music as they waited for the annual visit from Santa. She looked at him, wondering- was this the moment? It was perfect, sitting there under the WildLights, perhaps the most romantic moment since they got lost together in the Poppy Field.
Dates still available for 2007: Dec 7-9, 14-23; Dec 26-Jan 1. Gates open at 6pm to 9pm. Admission prices: Non-Members: $7.25; Members: $6.00; Children ages 3-12: $5.50.
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