This morning we woke to the roaring sounds of Santana winds in Rancho Mirage, Palm Springs and all the surrounding areas. The Santana's rage at over 60-80 miles per hour and even higher in the mountain passes, often uprooting trees, tearing off palm fonds, snapping poles in half, and generally wreaking havoc. The sand storms can ruin the paint finish on cars and even pit windshields. In some places, road advisories warned people not to drive because of poor visibility due to the swirling sand. This is a little reminiscent of the snow storms in Saskatchewan!

Jerry and I stuck close to home today, only venturing out to take Sidney for his walks. Although our little enclave of homes has a lot of protection, Jerry had to stake one of the trees to prevent it from being uprooted by the winds.