A couple of weekends ago I had the opportunity to go on a mini vacation to Palm Springs. It was about a 2 hour drive East from where I live in Los Angeles County to get there.
It was very hot, 37 degrees Celsius, but the locals were saying it was a cool day! They get days where the temperature goes as high as 45 degrees Celsius!
Gondola to Chino Canyon
On our drive there, we got to see a very cool windmill farm. It generates enough power for the entire city of Palm Springs. Originally windmills were used only for milling grain and for food production but now windmills are used for generating electricity. It is special because it is a renewable source of energy, but it takes up a lot of space, and they can only be used where there is lots of wind!
Windmills in North Palm Springs
We got to visit Chino Canyon which had a big Gondola into the mountains. At the top they had really cool trees called Jeffrey trees and the bark smelled like caramel!
The trees smell like caramel!
The next day we visited Andreas Canyon and it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. There was a huge desert and then a tiny patch of green about a kilometer long with palm trees and a spring. We walked around a little bit and saw snakes and lizards! The snakes we saw were called kingsnakes and they weren’t poisonous, but they prey on rattlesnakes! The lizards were pretty small, but the moved very fast!
The oasis in the desert
Kingsnake
Kingsnake
Granite spiny lizard
There were hummingbirds too!
Hummingbirds
Right now I am busy training most of time! Has the weather been good in Calgary? Are you able to get outside lots to play? What are your plans for the summer?
I will find out on June 16th if I’ve qualified for the Olympics!
Canadian Pen Pal 
hi i was wondering what was your favorite part of palm springs also when you were in Australia one animal you can find is a bearded dragon did you see one also i have a bearded dragon named Freddie:):):):):)
I think my favourite part was seeing the snakes and lizards! I didn’t see a bearded dragon but that’s very cool you have one as a pet! How old is he?
Freddie is a girl and she is 1 year old her birthday is in august
Hi Monique to answer your question! Yes the weather has been soooooooooooo hot all the time. I’m happy though no more winter! For my summer vacation I’m going to a really special camp called camp chief hector! I’m dead excited there’s archery and biking and swimming and you get to sleep in a teepe just like some first nation tribes!!!!!! What are you going to do this summer?
Also I would like to know. What got you so interested in cycling? How old where you when you first started cycling and where did you win your very first gold metal?
Hi Kayla,
I got interested in cycling when I was 12. There is a kids group at the Olympic Oval and my best friend’s little sister was in it so I decided to try it and I fell in love with it right away! 🙂 I won my first gold medal in Calgary at the Jr. National Championships in 2005!
Camp chief hector sounds really fun! I am hopefully going to the Olympics this summer! 🙂
Thanks for your comment!
Monique
Wow! I can’t believe you started cycling At 12 years old!!! That’s amazing! If you. Could play any other sport what would you play? What was it like to step into a big cycling dome and hear all the people screaming? Are you ever nervous?
Oh I was also wondering where do cyclists train? Is it hard? Do you know if you will be in the Olympics this year! I really hope you make it this year!!!!!!!!!!! If you do I will chear for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hope you win a lot of medals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and do you love traveling everywhere?(I love to travel all the time! I wish I could travel everyday) can’t you just pack me in your suitcase and then I could come with you! That would be cool!!!!!!! Oh and I was wondering do you have to be bilinguale to get into the Olympics? I wanted to know because I want to be a famous backetball player someday!!!
Hi Kayla!
No, you don’t have to be bilingual to make it to the Olympics! 🙂 You just have to be a Canadian citizen! Cyclists train all over the world! There are cyclists training in all of the places I mentioned here on this blog, and many more! Sometimes training is very hard, you have to always push your limits to get better, but I like that feeling. It feels very satisfying when you work hard for something and you know you did everything you could to get better!
If I could do any other sport I would probably pick tennis, I think that’s a great sport. I get very nervous before a race but I’ve learned that I get nervous because I care and so I try to use the nervous energy to make me better!
Hi Monique!
Congratulations on making it to the Olympics! I will always cheer for you and remember you always! I know that is really hard training for things but if you like them it’s worth it! I really liked all of your information and pictures I think they are great! I learned. Lot from you this year! Thank You Monique!!!!!!!!!