We were very pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the landscape around Palm Springs. We most certainly weren’t expecting snow-capped mountains (nor the hugely impressive wind farm just outside the town, I love wind farms ).
We drove about ten minutes out of Palm Springs to a fold in the San Jacinto mountains and then headed UP.
I’ve been in a fair few cable cars in my life, but this was definitely among the most scary as the cliff face is pretty much perpendicular at some points and it was VERY easy to imagine crashing to a spectacular death. Matters were not helped by the base of the car turning slowly round to give everyone a 360 degree view and make it impossible to avoid looking at the terrifying bits.
And look what we did when we got to the top! So NOT what we expected to be doing in Palm Springs.
Here’s the view of the windfarm down below. You get a much better idea of just how arid it is.
And there’s Palm Springs itself, looking noticeably greener.
All in all it was good to spend an afternoon among the pine trees in PS. I would think it would be really fabulous when the temperatures down below get really excruciating.
I grew up in Palm Springs. I like hearing other people’s opinions of it and seeing the photos they take. It’s an interesting place, that’s for sure.
I love the tram and the wind farms too.
great post! i love windfarms too. i don’t get it when people say that they blight the landscape. they are like christo’s installations, they make you appreciate the landscape more and look harder at it! didn’t know about them and the sky-boggans. or the snowball prospects! thanks!
Great Pics! We did the cable car back in 1992…whoa long time ago, but didn’t remember it as being so beautiful! Simply must go to Palm Springs again!
Alaina, LUCKY you. The Minx would kill to grow up there.
Mlle P – your comment about windfarms being like Christo installations is spot on. Don’t know why people complain about them.
Blanket (are you related to Michael Jackson 🙂 – I think we may have caught it at it’s prettiest time of year when the wild flowers were out and the there was still snow on the tops. I’m assuming the snow disappears in the summer.
yay for wind farms. wait, is that the one where the final scenes for se7en were filmed?
Ooh what a great memory. Apparently it was filmed in the desert, but not at Palm Springs.
http://movie-locations.com/movies/s/seven.html