hello mouth: Salton Sea/Dead Sea and chickens

First, I have to tell that one of my hens laid her first egg today! I watched her kick up the shavings in the nest box and fidget around until she got comfy and produced an egg. Now Ido will stop threatening to eat my hens. He insists that they must function in some way, and if not laying eggs ,then they will make a fine BBQ. I won't tell him which hen laid the egg. They all get credit for this one and are safe for a little while longer.

A few weeks ago we went to the Salton Sea. We stayed in an amazing quaint Moroccan inspired hotel a few miles north of Palm Springs. The hotel has 12 rooms adults only (last chance for us!) and the hot springs fed pool and hot tub are open 24/7- and we were the only guests! We had this paradise all to ourselves. All rooms open to the center courtyard overlooking the pool and lounging areas. It was fantastic! Breakfast in the morning was fruit and cheese and pastry- fresh delicious pastry- and all day and night dates, nuts, tea, coffee, fruit, Spanish Cream sherry, Moroccan mint lemon tea, and a few other assorted treats were available for guests. At 5pm each day the staff, consisting of the owner, his partner, and the owner's brother, served Morocco-tinis, red wine, fruit, snacks, and shared stories of their long journey from Las Vegas to Palm Desert. I know, I know, you were expecting a long journey from Morocco. Nope. They have never been to Morocco, but plan they to go very soon.

I just found this great article by Janice Kleinschmidt, so I'll wrap up my description and let her tell the rest:
http://www.palmspringslife.com/media/Palm-Springs-Life/June-2007/Passport-to-Morocco/

We were only there for three days. During the part of the day that we could tolerate the heat and leave the comfy confines of our Moroccan sanctuary, we went out to the Salton Sea. The Salton Sea used to be the vacation destination for people from all over the state of California. Some time over the last century something started happening to the chemistry of the water that was not beneficial to the critters living in the water and the critters living in the city and surviving off of the water. In 1976 the first of two major storms hit the area and caused massive flooding. This is a historical chronology of the area if you have tons of free time: http://www.saltonsea.ca.gov/histchron.htm#period3

Now for the pictures from our trip. Everything is covered in salt, ash, or in an extreme state of decomposition.