Palm Springs Means Summer Heat

Leslie and I spent a few days in Palm Springs at the end of last month. Here's a picture of the Road to Palm Springs.

bare mountain traffic sign Palm Springs CA

It's hot in Palm Springs at the end of July. Really hot. Here's a picture of the sun. Don't look at it.

We were there to attend the wedding of our friends Len (he's the one with the beard) and Kristian (he's the other one with the beard). They were married by a retired judge, an outside ceremony in Palm Springs in July. Did I mention that it was hot?

When the judge said "By the Power Vested In Me By The State of California" there was a welcome bit of extra breeze - probably from the flurry of virtual buttons popping at that moment. We were proud to be there.

Here's a panoramic view from the front door of our hotel. Click on any picture for a much larger view but especially this one. Note the mountains. In the distance there's a second ridge of gray-colored mountains.

While Leslie spent the day with the wedding party, I got high on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Here's the official tramway site. It takes people to Mount San Jacinto State Park a mile above Palm Springs, somewhere up in those gray mountains.

I'm glad I made the trip because earlier this year California's Actor/Governor proposed balancing the state budget by closing Mount San Jacinto State Park (and dozens of others). Click here. I can't find any information on whether this proposal is still part of this year's state budget impasse.

Look closely at the next picture. You'll see a tram car, the cable it's hanging from, two towers supporting the cable and, at the top of the picture, the lower terminal of the tramway.

Palm SPrings Aerial Tramway cable car and towers (c) David Ocker

As you look down you can see various climate zones ending with the heat and haze of Palm Springs.and the Coachella Valley.

Looking down from Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Palm Springs (c) David Ocker

Our hotel would actually be visible in the next photo but for the large tree on the left. Click here to see the Google satellite view of that area. In the picture north is to the left; on the map north is to the up.

Looking down from Mount San Jacinto State Park Palm Springs (c) David Ocker

I hiked around in the park. It was hot there also but in a cooler sort of way. Here are some friends I made during my hike. Can you guess which two wanted me to feed them?