January 5th: Palm Spring Aerial Tramway

 


Today we got to explore Palm Springs. We left the scary hotel around 10am to walk around the downtown area. On our way to find a coffee shop we got distracted by a silly sock shop. Of course, almost all of us ended up with a new pair of socks. When we arrived at the small coffee shop and art gallery, we were greeted with the smell of wood. The entire place was decorated floor to ceiling with prints and fabric. They had an assortment of vinyls, books, art prints, and more. We next stopped at a crystal shop briefly and then a shop with an odd sign. It said everything in the store was 18 dollars and right away we explored. Two people ended up with shirts. It was then time to eat and me and Corie chose a crépe shop. The light meal was perfect before our steep hike to the tramway. After the meal, we drove to the tramway. During the drive we learned about the change in the climate. We got to see the change from the desert to the shrubland to the boreal forest. As we transitioned to the shrubland there were little to no trees, but once we got to the boreal forest, as it says in the name, there were numerous trees. Standing at the bottom of the tram, the trip looked daunting. Once on it was not fun. The views were gorgeous, but the swinging at each tower was not. I was thinking about the fresh snow on the mountain to distract myself. Once off the tram we were at the lodge and we spent some time enjoying the balcony before starting the hike. The steep parts of the trail were particularly icy and there was lots of sliding. However, the views were completely worth it and the large pines in the snow were beautiful. At the end of the hike we warmed up in the lodge before taking the tram back down. The ride down was much worse. Not being able to see anything but the city lights was dizzying and the swing down was arguably worse. While I was sad to leave the snow, I was happier on the ground. On our shorter drive to the next hotel we stopped and got Mexican food. When we got to the hotel, everyone was relieved to be in bed.



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