Birds are just one feature of the fascinating and unusual Secrets of the Salton Sea Tour! You'll also visit giant mud pots and erupting mud volcanoes. Obsidian Butte and Salvation Mountain are two more highlights of the Salton Sea Tour. And did you know that the Salton Sea is the largest lake in California? Find out how it was created on this one-of-a-kind excursion.

On our Desert to Stars Tour, you will come face to face with some of the largest antennas in the world! You will learn all about them and how they monitor so many objects orbiting our planet. It is one of the most fascinating tours we offer. It includes lunch at a ghost town before touring the 53 square mile NASA facility.

It's fascinating to see the wind techs strapped in their harnesses to the wind turbines 300 feet in the air. It's a dangerous job but an important job. They keep the wind turbines operating because a broken wind turbine means the wind farmer is losing a lot of money. Besides learning all about wind turbines and wind energy, our guests usually get to see many interesting sights in and around the wind farms. The photos below are from a recent Palm Springs Windmill Tour.

The Mecca Aster is a rare wildflower and is endemic to the area we visit on our San Andreas Fault Tour. It blooms from January until June. The photo below was taken on a recent tour.

Elite Land Tours features over 30 tours in the Palm Springs area. This gives our visitors plenty of choices when it comes to sightseeing, thrill seeking, and adventure. Our Joshua Tree Adventure Tour and our San Andreas Fault Tour called "It's Our Fault" are two of our most popular tours. Other popular tours include the Palm Springs City Tour and the Palm Springs Windmill Tour. If those don't strike your fancy, be sure to check out our website as there are many excursions to choose from and there's something for everyone!

The Phainopepla is a striking bird, 16–20 cm long with a noticeable crest and a long tail; it is slender, and has an upright posture when it perches. Its bill is short and slender. The male is glossy black, and has a white wing patch that is visible when it flies; the female is plain gray and has a lighter gray wing patch. Both sexes have red eyes, but these are more noticeable in the female than the male. They are the most common bird in our desert and they come here this time of year to feed on the desert mistletoe berries. Phainopepla have a specialized mechanism in their gizzard that shucks berry skins off the fruit and packs the skins separately from the rest of the fruit into the intestines for more efficient digestion. So far this is the only known bird able to do this. The photo below was from a recent Joshua Tree Adventure Tour.

Below are photos from a recent Falconry Educational Tour. It is an exciting and fascinating experience. You'll witness the big birds of prey in their natural surroundings pursuing natural quarry. Learn about the ancient art of falconry from a Master Falconer! Photo opportunities are spectacular!!

The fun group in the photos below came from New York City to enjoy our Joshua Tree Adventure Tour. They were amazed how different the landscape looked as compared to other places in the world. Our guides explained how it is a very unique ecosystem that supports unusual plants and wildlife. They enjoyed seeing roadrunners, a variety of reptiles, and the big birds of prey. A huge jackrabbit with very large ears also made an appearance!

Agriculture, as the second largest industry in the Coachella Valley, ranks within the top 10 agricultural areas in California. Home to the first table grapes of the summer season, it's also the nation’s largest date-growing region. During May and June, the fields overflow with red, yellow and green peppers; seedless watermelon; cantaloupe; eggplant and the first sweet corn of the season. The photos below (taken on our San Andreas Fault Tour) show the plant seedlings covered to prevent any crop damage during our cold desert nights.

Elite's expert guides are always available to step on your bus or vehicle and conduct a first-class tour! The photos below were from a Palm Springs Windmill Tour for a school coming from Corona, California.