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| The City of Palm Springs is below. |
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| Snow in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains. |
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| Catching some rays and some zzzz's high above Palm Springs. |
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| The ride to the top takes about 10 minutes. 80 people per car. |
Squirrel: I know I can get that little girl to give me a snack.
Serene: Come here little squirrel. I have a snack.
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| The views are stunning. |
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| The inclines are steep. |
One and a half miles straight above Palm Springs, CA is the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains
National Monument, which was designated a treasured natural and cultural resource by a special act of Congress in 2000. There are 54 miles of hiking trails in pristine wilderness with bighorn sheep, grey fox, mountain lion, deer, bobcat and many other animals. The
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, on the world's largest rotating tram cars, will take you there in about 10 minutes. More than 12 million people have been transported safely to the top of the mountain since the tramway opened in 1963. I wonder how many of them were queasy and qualmish by the time they got up there?
The only thing worse than feeling totally sick is when your kids are
totally sick and there is nothing you can do to help them. It only worsens when you are far from home. As we climbed
the mountain, Alex turned green and spiked a fever. By the time we reached the top,
the poor kid collapsed. At least a two hour drive from home, and 8,516 feet above sea level is not a great place for your child to tell you he's not feeling so great. The spectacular views and crisp fresh air didn't do much to help. Even pepperoni pizza didn't coax him back from feeling glum. We snapped a few shots, Serene fed a squirrel and we headed back down the mountain for the long trip home.
Never-the-less, thumbs up all around for this vacation destination. A definite 'must-do' if you're in the Palm Springs area.
