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Itineraries

Spencer Gahnz Keenan is a kindergartner in Rancho Mirage. Spider-man® is his idol, but his heroes are his papa, Craig Gahnz and his daddy, Vince Keenan. Together with his little brother Carter, they enjoy school, video-games and movies just like all little boys. But most of all they love to spend time as a family exploring and learning about nature and wild animals.

Here is Spencer’s 3-day expedition, with a focus on the plants and animals in and around Rancho Mirage.

Spencer Gahnz Keenan, brother Carter, and his Dads at the Children’s Discovery Museum in Rancho Mirage.

Spider-man is a registered trademark of Marvel Inc. The City of Rancho Mirage is not associated in any way with Spider-man or Marvel Inc.
view day 1 >

Spencer Gahnz Keenan

Breakfast Bacon, 2 eggs and 2 pancakes: Keedy’s Fountain Grill the 2-by-2 powers me up for the day. The jokes and pictures on the wall make me laugh. You just gotta have breakfast here.
  Now we’re off to paint a car, serve up pizza, and ride a CHP motorcycle. The Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert is totally rad. Carter likes to play veterinarian, but I’m bent on learning about gravity.
lunch For lunch we’re snuggled in a booth at The Cheesecake Factory at The River. Chocolate malt, fries, onion rings, and a burger are my favorite. 
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Spencer Gahnz Keenan

  The parents are tired so we head off to Splashtopia and the Lazy River at Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa. While my dads relax with Carter meandering down the Lazy River, I can do some serious slide-age down the incredible new water feature slides. There is a sandy beach and more. It's sa-weet!
Dinner I’m starving after a long day and craving spaghetti noodles with cheese at Mario’s Italian Restaurant and Café. They have really good pizza too. Father and son owned - so it's just like family.
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Spencer Gahnz Keenan

BREAKFAST My papa says the “King” would eat breakfast at Ruby’s Diner, where the food is great. I don’t know the “King”, but he must have loved their waffles as much as I do. Papa picked up a picnic lunch here too – cheese burgers and fries! Yum!
Picnic lunch Lions, tigers and camels; oh my! Did you know there are eight types of wild cats at The Living Desert? Their giraffe exhibit is head and shoulders above the rest. And Eagle Canyon put me face-to-face with a pair of mountain lions. Aughhhh! At least I get to gulp down my cheese burgers and fries picnic lunch from Ruby’s Diner without a cat stealing it. Here kitty kitty!
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Spencer Gahnz Keenan

  To learn more about bighorn sheep, which I’ve learned live here in Rancho Mirage, we stopped and asked the librarian at the Rancho Mirage Public Library. My dad read a cool book about them to me. Papa and Carter admired the original illustrations for children’s books. The more you read the more you know!
dinner For a super New York-Italian style dinner served in a casual, cafe atmosphere go to Devane’s Italian Kitchen. Dad and papa order things like antipasti, veal dishes, along with Baked Pasta and Panini, whatever those are. The lasagna here is the best through. After dinner we have to get a delicious cone of Golden Spoon frozen yogurt. Peanut butter cup is my favorite!
< day 2 previous | day 3 >

Spencer Gahnz Keenan

breakfast Goodie, goodie it's breakfast at Goody’s Café! Chorizo and eggs are gnarly there. By now I’m sure you can tell, I cannot get thought the day without a good breakfast.
  After a quick ride, I get the ride of my life, spinning round and riding up on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. A 10,834 foot climb from the desert to the peak of the San Jacinto Mountain where hiking trails, snowshoeing, skiing and mountain-man fun await.
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Spencer Gahnz Keenan

lunch We need to fuel up before hiking, so Dad and I share a Cowboy Rib Eye Steak at the Peaks, The Restaurant. You can see way past Rancho Mirage from the restaurant, the entire Palm Springs Valley is before you.
  The Long Valley Discovery Trail is a short ¾ mile, but you get to see all the beauty of the San Jacinto Mountain and learn about the plants and animals there. I found two types of pine cones!
dinner Whoot whoot to another day in the beautiful Palm Springs Valley and Rancho Mirage. Tonight we pick up a dinner at Bouchee’s Fine Foods and just sit back and watch a movie on the tube. I’m bushed from too much fun.
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