Any Scots in the Coachella Valley?

[OC Richard]

That's a good question. I lived in the Coachella Valley during my teenage years, and when I decided to learn how to play the pipes I got the impression that there were no pipers around.

It wasn't until I started college and moved to "Greater Los Angeles" AKA "The LA Basin" in 1976 that I discovered a thriving Scottish community. In truth this highly populated area includes the coastal strip reaching through Orange County down through San Diego County and up into Ventura County.

The Coachella Valley has grown so tremendously since the 1970s that I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a nascent Scottish community there.

BTW we who lived there pronounced it "cuh-CHELL-uh" 3 syllables while Bugs Bunny and other outsiders pronounced it "CO-uh-CHELL-uh" 4 syllables.

The biggest advice to people who haven't lived in a hot dry desert is to drink far more water than you're used to. It's so dry you don't perspire and thus don't realise how much water your body is losing.

While I lived there an annual news story was a tourist just dropping dead in the 120 degree summer heat. The other annual news story was some idiot trying to drive across the Whitewater River in flood season. Sometimes the car wouldn't be found till months later.

If you're wintering there you'll enjoy glorious weather, crystal clear skies, and views of the beautiful mountains surrounding the valley.

One other thing- here in Southern California we have Rancho Mirage and Rancho Cucamonga, residents of both places sometimes just saying "Rancho" which has led to mixups.