Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 5

Sam And Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 5

11/1/08 Saturday – 11/3/08 Monday Palm Springs

Palm Springs

We left Anaheim just in time to miss the weather cooling down.  We have been absolutely blessed with good weather.  The gas prices have gone steadily down (not necessarily due to our location).  We made very few stops getting to Palm Springs since it is close to Anaheim and we were anxious to get there.  The desert is so beautiful and so different.  In areas that are irrigated, the green is very plush and the many variety of palm trees, flowers and cacti are prolific.  We love it!  We stay at the Palm Springs Oasis RV Park.  It is less expensive than Anaheim and much prettier.  Brutilla does her wonderful tricks almost every time we get into Brutus.  The Palm Springs area has various desert cities all in close proximity, so at times it is hard to really tell where you are.  The desert is very pronounced and the sand is the kind that cats dream of.  Several Indian casinos dot the area, but look like the Nevada genre of casino. 

One of the striking things about Palm Springs is how close it is to the nearby mountains. Very, very close and near by.  The mountains are so high that the clouds are continually hugging the tops, fearful that if they let go they will lose their purpose in life. You virtually drive through the main ‘old town’ from the RV park, turn left, go through about a two block area of free-roaming boulders and you start climbing up.  The road goes 2200 feet up in a little less then 3 miles.  They actually have a ‘marathon’ run up the side of the mountain to the base of the Tram.  The signs say don’t stop and turn off air conditioning. Yep! We didn’t stop. 

We did ride the tram.  It goes an additional 5900 feet straight up the mountain range and the terrain changes several times on the way.  The tram turns in circles (like the Space Needle) a total of two full rotations during the ascent.  It held up to 80 passengers.  I was happy there was only about half that many in our group.  I got to stand on the outside perimeter of the tram, meaning I could look out all the windows. Sam had to anchor me to keep me from touching the rotating shell.  The tram car was built in Switzerland eons ago and blah, blah, blah.  Main thing is - you could see much of forever. The towns below – just right there as far as the crow flies, but sooooo far down- are a blur.  The company has a contest going to guess when the first snow falls.  (I talked to townies who verify that it will be very warm in Palm Springs and yet there will be snow and ice on the mountains).  Sam and I ‘hiked’ around the semi-formal paths at the top. You can actually do some serious hiking around the tiptops of the range, but you have to get a pass at the ranger station first. If you miss the last tram down, you are directed not to try and climb down on your own.  The mountains are made of rock, very interesting rock and it was surprising that any of the large coniferous trees could grow way up there.  We heard woodpeckers, spied a small lizard, and tried to ignore the distinct evidence of other animals.  We got some great pictures and made it down via tram with time to spare.  Sam and I wholeheartedly recommend this tourist area – part of the US forests – for anyone except those with fear of heights.    

The weather is fabulous – I never got chilly except when the air conditioning worked too well.  We swam in the most jewel- like water you could imagine.  The food was fabulous.  At one place, Sam had a salmon BLT and I had Asian BBQ ribs – Both for less than $10.  The ribs actually melt in your mouth. We did have an extremely hard time finding the internet connection. We have paid so much for the RV trailer spaces to date, that I did not want to pay extra for web-slinging without Owen. Sam encourages me, whenever I get the urge, to save money. We walked through the old town area, shops, restaurants and day/night clubs.  Palm trees of all shapes, sizes and flavors.  The dates were ripe on some.  We had only planned to stay two days, but extended to a third since we were enjoying this – especially the weather.  Sam is still in shorts. We heard about the follies that are put on every weekend during season.  To be in the show you have to be over a certain age  - I think it is 55, but the show that they put on is high quality.  We missed it, but hope to make it back.  The only negative I have about this area is the tendency to build fences of stone, brick, adobe-looking material, etc… Then filling them with homes and people who appear to never see the real world again.  It is scary.  When there was even one little chance that a bit of light could get through – a bush, tree or worse – a higher section of wall was placed to limit the resident’s view of any open space.  Poor people.  I also saw some of the strangest cars, some quite old, that are called names like limo or rolls.  Brutus sounds much more like a part of the family.  On to Yuma.  YEE HAW!!!