So glad you were able to get away and enjoy a little relaxing in the desert Jeff! Love your photos - tells the story perfectly!

Nice photos of the desert Jeff, way too hot for me.  On the 4th we went down to be with friends on the Westside of LA.  When we left home it was 67 degrees, and when we passed the Valley it was 107!  That is 40 degrees difference in an hour.  When we got to the Westside it was 85.  A

Hi Jeff- we all need a change in scenery and that last photo of you in your office is perfect!l

What a slice-of-life post, Jeff! Wonderfully fun and filled with great photos. I can tell you enjoyed not only the downtime, but telling us about it. You inspired me to think about writing a post about all of the coastal towns that are only about an hour away from Fishhawk Lake. 

Thank you!! (Gotta create a title so I don't forget to write about it). 

Good morning Jeff.  Our little city swells to over 100K people during the day and round 35K at night.  You can travel in almost any direction and in 5 minutes be in the country.  No drastic temperature change but  nice change to get away from the traffic and congestion.

Jeff Dowler I hope you were brave enough to get out on that golf course. Sandy has mentioned that even Carlsbad has been toasty.

Jeff, it sounds and looks like you had a wonderful getaway even with the heat. That's a huge change for just a 2 hour drive. 

Hi Jeff, 

What a fabulous pictorial blog about the desert. Very familiar with everything you described. You hit every point and really paint the picture for the reader!! We loved to go to Tommy Bahamas on El Paseo.  Anytime we go to CA we stop at the JW in Desert Springs to break up the long drive. So many memories of vacations a long time ago!

We love the desert - Palm Springs and the Colorado River is probably why we moved to Arizona. 

Living is SoCal you have the ability to go from the mountains to the desert to the beach all in the same day. I know because we have done that.  The drive on highway 74 is a beautiful drive from the beach. We usually take it to Dana Point but have taken the other highway to the Carlsbad area. 

But it is a dry heat in the desert - right?  lol

We experience drastic temperature changes here in Colorado even if we are standing in one place.  I remember one day in May a few years back.  The temperature dropped 50 degrees.  Went from sunshine to snow in two hours.

Hi Jeff - Nice photos. They remind me that it has been too long since I had any desert time. Have a great weekend!

Hi Jeff - I have experienced when driving from Vegas to the Grand Canyon.  Only in the western part of our country.

Beautiful photos, Jeff. For a minute there I thought your title was telling me your temperatures in Carlsbad moved some 25+ degrees in a couple of hours.

Looks like a great time away. Although plus 100 degree temperatures are beyond me usually. 

How nice that you can drive there in a few hours.  That is one thing I miss about living here on Maui... being able to drive somewhere new!

Jeff Dowler ~ well then, Jeff... it worked! Have a great weekend and say cool! (Something that will be hard to do in Charlotte right now.)

We have 103 degrees today and when we walked out poodle this morning it was 78. This is not driving anywhere. Time to head north for the winter.