Palm Springs Get-Away<= o:p>
October 18, 2008
By Geoff Girvin
&nbs=
p; The
trip to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway had something for everyone. For tho=
se
that wanted to stay warm, they could stay at the base of the tram where it =
was
85 degrees. For those who wanted to be even warmer, they could just go a few
short miles to downtown
&nbs= p; The original cable car at the entrance of the lift station seems very small in comparison to the new cars that rotate in two complete revolutions from the bottom to the top of the mountain. Everyone has the opportunity to see the = near vertical uplift of the mountain and the panoramic view of the desert below = with its wind generators as far away as Cabazon. The ride was smooth and you cou= ld only tell that you were moving up when the cable car went over one of the f= ive towers and we began to sway a bit.
&nbs= p; At the top we all enjoyed the picnics that we had brought or purchased at the = top at one of the restaurants. So= me of us went for hikes while others just enjoyed the views:
&nbs=
p; ![](3D"PalmSprings-101808_files/image002.jpg")
Some fun facts about the Tramway are:
The
Within the Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness are 54 miles of hiking trai= ls which should be sufficient to satisfy the appetite of the most avid outdoor enthusiast. Trails range from the awe-inspiring five and one-half mile trek to the 10,834 foot peak of San Jacinto to the just over one mile nature walk through picturesque Long Valley, located just behind the Tram’s Mountain Station.
At 2 pm, after everyone enjoyed their stay, we met at the bottom and continued the caravan to
After dinner we took the shortest route home down Highway 209 to Banning and back= to home. Everyone thought that this was a great trip. The caravan was made up = of: Art and Marge, Jill and Karen,