On 1-10, 18 miles East of Palm Springs. Tourism is the key factor in most economies in and around Palm Springs. In hard-working Indio, however, it is agriculture that rules the day. Locally-grown melons, grapefruits and strawberries all pass through this commercial base, as does an incredible $30-million worth of dates. The National Date Festival, held in Indio each February since 1921, celebrates the crop with ostrich and camel races, and provides opportunities to sample rich and delicious varieties of date which you would otherwise never dream existed. That aside, the only other object of attention is the Coachella Valley Museum and Cultural Center ( http://www.cvhm.org), 82616 Miles Avenue, a comprehensive gathering of paraphernalia covering 70 years of local life.

That being said, for adventurous types, or young people Indio is host to one of the best music festivals in America. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (http://splash.coachella.com) started in 1999, and with the exception of 2000, has run annually every year since, attracting ten of thousands of music lovers and the biggest names in the business to its stages. Recent years have included Outkast, Blur, Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, Muse, Prince, Paul McCartney, Bjork and Prince.