Up, up, and away! Tues, 2/24/26

 

In all the years I've lived in California (SoCal, 1963-1989 and NorCal, 2012-present), I've been in Palm Springs many times.  Since Jimmy and I married in 2001, he and I have spent a lot of time in the area.  We've talked about it and talked about it, but today was the first time we rode the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to the top of Mt San Jacinto; i.e., to Mountain Station at 8516' -- a breath-taking ride up the rugged face of Chino Canyon.  The canyon is one of the steepest in North America, dropping from over 8,500' at the south rim to less than 2,700' on the valley floor in less than a mile. 

The Aerial Tramway was built in the canyon in 1963 to quickly transport people from the valley floor to the top of the mountain.  Quickly, yes.  Sure beats walking up!

Beep-beep!  We met this cutie on our way to the tramway.

On the road to Valley Station for tickets.

Steep!

The posted sign reads: Original Cabin #2, used from 1963 to 2000. It's inaugural trip was on September 12, 1963, and it was retired in June 2000 after over 175,000 round trips!  Yowza!

New rotating tramcars (above) were introduced in September 2000, providing 360° panoramic views of Chino Canyon and the Coachella Valley, completing the 2.5-mile journey from Valley Station to Mountain Station in ten minutes. Truly, a one-of-a-kind ride.  Worth every penny of the $33.95 senior rate ticket.  And it got better!

Looking up canyon.

And down canyon.

See the other tramcar?

And -- wow! -- what a view!

Desert Hot Springs is down there somewhere, backed up against the mountains, middle of the screen.

And then life gets more interesting, bringing to mind Humphrey Bogart's line in the movie, Casablanca, "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine."  Why?  Who do we meet at Mountain Station?  Anne and Mark, two friends from last September's OAT Turkey trip!  Of all the days in a year, the two couples who don't live here or near each other independently picked today to ride the tramway, and of all the times a tram leaves the station, we four were assigned 10:36am. Bam!  Serendipity.

Anne, Mark, me and Jimmy at Mountain Station. 💖

They were with Anne's cousin, Kathy, and another couple, Francesca and David.  We visited outside on the terrace for a while, and they graciously extended a lunch invitation to us.  We accepted, still awed by the "coincidence."  At the top we went our separate ways, some planned to hike (proper snow footwear) and some not.  Jimmy and I were content to make our way to the ranger station.

Yup, this elevation received about a foot of snow in the last storm.  Most of the serpentine walkway from the station had been cleared, but further down, the path was snow-covered.  We didn't have proper snow gear, so we didn't go far on the snow.  Besides, if we wanted to play in snow, we could simply go home!

Hi Jimmy!

We were here!

Lunch was at Peaks with stellar views out floor-to-ceiling windows.  L-R, Francesca, David, Jimmy, Mark, Kathy, Anne, and look at the burger on my plate!  Best ever:  Coachella Date Burger with beef, bacon, feta cheese, arugula, date marmalade and grilled onions.  Delicious!  Box, please, to carry leftovers home for later!  What a wonderful lunch.  Thanks for inviting us!  What a wonderful day!

The temp was in the high 50's, hovering around 60°.  We'd brought jackets, but left them in the car, which was a good call, 'cause we were comfortable without them.  We milled around a bit after lunch and then everyone was ready to go down, down, down in the amazing rotating tramcar.  With hugs all around, we parted, still gaga over how random events ... really aren't.

After the tramway was redesigned in 2000,

it became the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world.

I love this place and the clouds it produces.

They are positively fascinating.

Which turn into beautiful sunsets (from the pool).

Count me overwhelmed.

Lotsa fun in the sun, to Monday 2/23

Have you heard?  Desert Hot Springs gets wind!  Sitting at the end of a funnel, the wind frequently blasts through the mountain pass between Mt San Jacinto and Mt San Gorgonio, spraying gale force (or more) winds and taking direct aim at DHS.  These winds reach further into the Coachella Valley and stir up the sands that lead into Palm Springs, throwing great fountains of sand in the air.  They can also do considerable damage.  Wednesday the 18th was such a day.  We stayed home in our RV!

The next day being much calmer, Jimmy and I drove into Palm Springs for a walkabout.  Thank goodness Gene Autry Trail (one of the major roads into the city) had been cleared of sand, like a snowplow clears snow, with mini sand dunes lining the road. We thought we'd pay Marilyn a call.  Her dress doesn't need wind to billow around her!  Jimmy!  We had no agenda today, except to walk a bit and enjoy the city sights.

On Friday the 20th, we decided to revisit the Thousand Palms oasis, and took off on the McCallum trail, hiking to the overlook.  Last year the entire Coachella Valley was completely and utterly barren of flowers.  This year's largesse is making up for last year's lack.  The wildflower displays everywhere are sensational.  The difference is rain.

This was neat.  We spied three or four of these large caterpillars -- White-lined Sphinx Moth caterpillars, notice the orange horn at the near end.  They'll become the moth that hangs around flowers, sometimes mistaken for a hummingbird.  And then, wow, what a find as we traipsed down a boulder-strewn cliff to get into a wash -- Desert Horned Lizard, aka horny toad, four to five inches long.  If it hadn't moved, I would not have seen it.  Perfect camouflage.  Never saw one before.

Made it to the overlook!  Smartie is resting near the white "ribbon" beneath the red x.  Not a long hike, just three miles.  The day was cool enough for a downy vest!  But ... that'll change in a few days.

And, when you get back to your RV home,

this is your reward!

* * * * *

Decided it was time to check out the botanical gardens in Palm Springs on Saturday.  Last year we rode our bikes past this sign several times, but didn't stop as we were in group rides.  (This year we didn't bring our E-bikes with us to the desert, and we really miss having them.)

Moorten's is a cacti botanical garden, chock-a-block full of plants that will sting, stab, pierce, spear or skewer any part of your body if you come into contact.  Don't lean forward or back up unawares, 'cause you'll likely get hurt.  Tremendous number of desert plants from all over the world.  It was established in Palm Springs in 1938.

M.I.C -- K.E.Y.

M.O.U.S.E.

This one-acre garden has lotsa birds, including the house finches at bottom.  Hummingbirds zoomed over our heads and then hovered in front of our faces, back and forth, as though greeting guests.  I actually grabbed a shot of a female Costa's Hummingbird as it sat still for one second.  Spied the bunny wabbit lurking below a stand of Prickly Pear cactus! 

Wide variety!

In the bottom left photo, Jimmy's fingers are pointing out the nitty-gritty of this lethal Sputnik look-a-like! Bottom right has my sandal/sox poking perilously close to that cute li'l cluster of pincushions.  The large two at the top are just fascinating, unique.  Quite a few of the cacti we're seen this year are close to blooming, but we're a bit too early for the actual flowers.

Love these golden barrels!

Inside the Cactarium (a word coined by the Moortens) are hundreds of cactus specimens, including rare plants seen nowhere else, as well as a couple I have at my Nevada City home, and everything in between!  Fantastic array of sharp plants, but pay attention to the sign Jimmy is pointing to, and below ...

Amen to that!

As long as we were in the neighborhood 😏, a lunch stop at Sherman's Deli seemed like a great idea.  We both ordered menu items different than our previous visit.  That BBQ'd brisket sandwich, OMG.  Half for lunch, the rest for dinner.  Win-win!

* * * * *

With rain last Monday and then EARLY Wednesday morning, we figured the Whitewater River would be up, as increased flow, fun to see.  Hiking to Red Dome at the Preserve would be a fine thing to do on Sunday, the 22nd.

Well ... maybe, maybe not.

At least we could see about it.

Here's what we found -- people studying and testing.  Whitewater isn't wide or particularly deep, altho it can be, but it is fast and rocky, with deep pockets of water.

There's the bridge, knocked off its mooring

and sitting catawampus, useless!

Jimmy was wearing his hiking boots, and I was in my usual "sneakers" (don't own boots).  He could've crossed, but I didn't want to take off my shoes an' sox and I knew I'd never be able to jump the river without getting a soaker.  What I didn't want to do was jump, hit unstable rocks, fall in/over and break a hip!

You can kinda see the situation here.  Some folks just waded through the cold water barefoot or in shoes, some jumped the river, and others, like us, retreated.  Snow-covered Mt San Gorgonio looms in the background.

So, turning around, we found a trail offshoot and went exploring, up a hill.  Nice day.  Great swim afterwards ... in the pool, of course!

I've been meaning to show you what we see (mostly) every day as we travel about the area.  Vendors set up these fruit/smoothie stands on many major intersections in Desert Hot Springs.  In all sorts of weather!  We haven't stopped.  Perhaps we will before we depart the desert.

Out and About update -- to Saturday, 2/21

 

"Life is meant to be a beautiful adventure."  We agree.  So, we continue to be adventurous as best we can, or as we say, go Out and About.  Last Saturday, the 14th, we returned to Big Morongo Canyon Preserve (up the big hill) and chose to hike the Canyon trail like we did last year.  It was a stellar day for a 4.5-mile walkabout, and a lovely place to be.

The steep-sided canyon follows Big Morongo Creek from north to south.  Jimmy, above, is looking north, as we were making our way back toward the entrance.  I find it fascinating that the upstream end of the canyon originates in the Mojave Desert, while its downstream portion opens into the Colorado Desert.  Two different habitats, five miles apart, a morphing if you will.

We passed through the natural spring-fed desert oasis that makes this preserve one of the ten largest Cottonwood and Willow riparian habitats in California.  The trees, which are just beginning to leaf out, are magnificent!

Plenty of birds at the Nature Center feeders, including White-crowned Sparrows, Lesser Goldfinch and Mrs. Ladderback Woodpecker, and more.  The preserve is an internationally recognized birding site.

* * * * *

Yes, we're basking in the desert sunshine.  Wait, did I say sunshine?  The entire state of California was slammed with rain and snow on Monday 2/16, including here in Desert Hot Springs.  Other than a swim between rainshowers, Monday was a perfect inside reading day, while raindrops spotted the windshield. Most enjoyable.

* * * * *

Tuesday, the 17th, was clear, yay!  We finally made it to Indian Canyons, our first time, the world's largest California Fan Palm oasis.  We tried last year, but the trails were closed.  We've been looking forward to this!  

But first, look what Monday's weather system left!  Snow on Mt San Gorgonio and flanks!  It tops out at 11,503'.  This photo is from our giant RV windshield; what an amazing view early in the morning!

Indian Canyons.  Wow.  This has to be the prettiest of all the oases canyons we've been to.  It's 15 miles long, following Palm Canyon Creek, one of those now-you-see-it, now-you-don't streams.  We walked a mile along this fairly flat canyon floor -- it really is one of the great beauties in the west.

The trail eventually leads out into the open.

"Indian Canyons are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and are especially sacred to their people today.  They're historically important to scientists and nature lovers.  The Agua Caliente people have thrived here for thousands of years."  From their brochure.  Truly, see how easy it would be to fall in love with this setting?

Eventually we left that trail and started up the East Fork Loop trail, knowing we wouldn't go too far, it being strenuous and way too long.  But the views from higher up were fantastic.

I wanted to see the palms that were "up there,"

and Jimmy didn't, so I started up on my own.

And here's where I quit and turned around. 😊

Mt San Jacinto's clouds were filling in.

Opposite view of where I turned around.  If you enlarge the photo, you'll see two people sitting on a rock overlooking the vast scenery.  Far in the distance, dead center, is Palm Springs and the wind turbines.  Hushed and serene up here. 💖

I rejoined Jimmy and we began the trek to the visitor center on the "moderate" Victor Trail, which took us on the other side of those stately palm trees, an up and down trail full of wonders.  The yellow x is where I turned around in the two photos above this one.  Those palms way up there?  No path to them.  Oh well.

A couple of times along here we felt rain, drops that blew in from the rain/mist falling on San Jacinto, left.  That was kinda fun.  We were never threatened with a deluge, at least not then!  We're high above the palms, as you see.

Nice cactus photo.

And those clouds were turning dark.

We were in heaven hiking around here, scanning the hillsides, admiring the differing rock formations, flowers (oh yeah), and all the cactus, never mind that we'd have to get down to the canyon floor where the palms are and where those tiny people are, winding around and about the mountain we were on to get there.  What a joy that we can do this.  At the VC, we sat down at a picnic table and treated ourselves to a big ol' Gatorade and a small package of crackers.  Time to head for our RV home.

Whoa-ho-ho, good thing we left when we did!  Showers abound!

Eventually, it rained on us at the RV!

* * * * *

As I said, snow dumped on NorCal, and then on Wednesday reports from home started coming in.  They were not encouraging.  Trees are down all over Nevada City, power lines snapped, roads blocked and traffic snarled.  We have no power at our house, and according to a message from PG&E, power won't be restored till Tues, the 24th!  YIKES.  Well, nuts.  Heck fire.  Hope our roof is all right.  ** Sigh **

Well, there's nothing we can do about it from here in the desert.  No point in heading home since we couldn't even get in our driveway!  That's the hazard of traveling like we do.  You can't be home to take care of it when things go haywire.

Our month at Catalina RV resort and spa is over on March 3rd.  Maybe all that danged snow will be gone by then!

Our across-the-road friend, Fran, sent us this pic of our house.  They've lost trees on their property, but she said we haven't.  Well, that's some good news for us.  She and I both think we should move to a place without snow!

Life is meant to be a beautiful adventure, indeed!