The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway has the world’s largest rotating tram cars.
The two and a half mile trip up the mountain from the desert floor takes ten minutes.
It brings you from a desert floor elevation of 479 feet to 8, 516 feet. That’s a big climb in ten minutes!
The ride up moves through five different life zones, from the Sonoran Desert floor to the Arctic/Alpine Zone, where the highest peak, Mt. San Jacinto, is 10, 834 feet.
You leave the stark, baking desert, and hike in the mountains where the temperatures are 30 degrees cooler than below.
During our trip, a summer storm was moving in, causing it to rain on the mountain, and dropping the temperatures even more.
By the time we returned to the desert, we could watch the rain clouds move in over the mountains accompanied by lots of thunder. This is a rare summer occurrence and one I have never seen before. Despite the rain, the temperature remained a steady 112 degrees fahrenheit, and the drops evaporated quickly after contact with the superheated desert.
After the passage of the brief storm, the light was lovely.
Cheers to you from the scorching, but beautiful, summer desert~
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Beautiful landscape! What a treat to leave that heat in 10 minutes. Years ago in the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico, I watched a storm come like that. It’s amazing to see the rain moving across terrain–coming right at you.
I have seen rain in other deserts that was more dramatic, and heavy, but this was remarkable in that this desert so rarely gets rain in mid-summer. I have never seen it and I have been coming regularly to the desert all my life.
Cool 🙂 wow the gondola ride at Park City Ski Area from base to summit used to take 38 minutes 😉
I’ve skied there! Lovely. This is a really fast climb.
If you went lately, I’ll bet it was hot! Great perspectives. I love how it looks like the mountains just rise straight up from the desert floor there. It’s been a few years since I was there.
They do that here, the mountains, they rise up suddenly. They are vertical illogic, until you realize they were pushed up here by The San Andreas fault, where two continents collide. There are small aftershocks everyday while we are here.
Boy, that’s hot! The mountains must have felt wonderful in comparison.
It’s quite a change, like falling asleep in an airplane in LA and waking in Winnipeg, which I hope to do soon.
Quite a differential! Btw, we are at the very northern tip of the Sonoran Desert. Gets to 40°C (104°F) on a regular basis. Helps to go to the mountains here, as well. 🙂
I love the beautiful Sonoran Desert habitat. It must be wonderful to live on the northern edge.
8000ft produces quite a temperature gradient! Glad you enjoyed your brief alpine visit!
It was lovely, thank you Peter.
An 8000 foot climb – wow, that’s huge. Ski resorts are proud with 3000…. Anyway, I think I’d want to stay on the mountain tops 😉
Yes, the mountains are lovely. You have to be a desert rat to like hanging out in the desert in the summer. I am such and always have been, but I only like it briefly, not long term.
Wow! Really amazing.
It is pretty spectacular.
🙂
That’s a fast climb at almost 14 mph. Our Sandia Peak Tramway runs at 12 mph, so it takes 15 minutes to climb 4,000 feet on 2.7 miles of cable. I’ve driven through storms like that where I had to pull over, stop and wait for it to pass because I had zero visibility.
Yep, I have too. I don’t enjoy driving in storms. I had never seen a summer storm in this desert before and there was lots of thunder so it was exciting. I wonder if they closed the tram later due to thunder and lightning…..
I would be surprised if they ran that tram in a storm. They close our tram in inclement weather, and stop the cars it the winds come up all of a sudden. I’ve been on it when winds came up and they stopped cars. It feels a little strange swaying in the wind 1000 feet above the canyon floor.
Laughing….I bet it did feel strange. The one thing I did notice is they did not stop the tram as we descended despite the thunderstorm, but they may have needed to get us off the mountain. Trams were still going up though……Maybe they have done probability statistical analysis on the relative risk of the tram being struck by lightning during winter storms. Maybe they hadn’t calculated for summer thunder and lightning. Or maybe they did, and the occurrence of both together, the tram being struck by lightning, and a summer thunderstorm, were so rare, why bother. It was just fun being there then. My husband, though, the professor of statistics, did not accompany me on this trip. Laughing more…. I loved every bit of it.
That tram ride is making me woozy! 😊
Beautiful photos! 👍
It definitely makes some people turn a bit green!
Beautiful pictures as usual. I think I could see your house from one of them. Remarkable rock striations, some verticals. How many miles of cable are used in that system? If you don’t know, let it go. Those interested, ask Google, Alexa, or Siri.
Laughing…… I don’t know how much cable. I do know the tramway is considered an engineering “wonder of the world,” and they used helicopters to build the stations. I can’t even imagine building this thing. It was a dream of some engineer, who thought it would be nice to go from the hot desert to the cool mountains in a matter of minutes. He was right!
Amazing photos (and experience) Cindy
Very kind of you Sheree, thank you & cheers too~
I almost rode that tram once but fear overcame me, and I opted out.
Thanks for showing me what I missed!
I understand. Smart of you to opt out. <3 It is not good for people who don't like heights and fast and jarring movement, all at once, or for folks who have trouble with fast ascents in elevation.
Breathtaking!
Thank you. Our earth is constantly breathtakingly beautiful <3
Wonderful viewpoints for picture taking.
Much appreciated. Thank you & cheers too~
Must be some hard truth ‘bout the dry heat 🙂 We hit 112 here in Austin early Sept 2000 & I wasn’t happy, lol! Love your descriptions with the pics, the differing zones and terrains – two miles up! Loved your thunderstorm pic but esp liked the last pic, the beautiful desert in bloom. Much to like about that 😊
Yes, dry heat is more tolerable, moist heat is not, at least for me. The desert is so beautiful, in every season, and in summer, critters are still crawling, and flying. I saw ravens pant as they fly which makes them unable to croak and complain, it is too hot. Ravens basically never stop complaining, except in the desert, in summer.
Whole other world, amazing, Cindy! 😊
We live on a fascinating planet, don’t we.
There’s a beautiful quote I retweeted I found today about that – https://twitter.com/FelipeAdanLerma/status/1155856684344061953 . Please delete this comment if u feel inappropriate (posting a tweet url). It’s about the origin of the Greek word Kosmos 😊
How lovely!
What an amazing experience – I remember it raining briefly in the Kalahari Desert; so out of the blue, quick and the lovely damp smell afterwards that barely lingered.
Spectacular! The tramway ride looks like it isn’t for the faint hearted.
You definitely want to be comfortable with heights and speed. The ride down takes half the time!
I don’t think it would do for me 😱
I understand <3
What a beautiful spectacle!
That is an accurate descriptor!
So much incredible beauty, Cindy. I bet you heard many songs in your heart.
Sending you greetings from a scorched North.
Miriam
Awww, such kind words Miriam. Thank you and I have heard about your scorched north and am heading north soon, up to Churchill Manitoba. Hugs to you my friend.
Cindy, I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I drove right past this… Palm Springs, Indio and other places east of where I was born and lived for too many years. There were more than three years when I drove up to Yucca Valley to care for the second wife of a great-uncle, believe me, he was anything but great. Yet, I always liked Vern and she had Alzheimer’s so I drove up three times a week and cooked, cleaned and distracted her and tried to keep a distance between myself and my great-uncle. Thanks for showing me what I missed. But the smiles on Vern’s face when I took her for an ice cream cone melted my heart. <3
Awwww….I know Yucca Valley. You were an incredibly kind niece. No surprise there. It shows in your chosen profession <3
And your profession isnclosely linked as you are so well aware. Sorry, my carpal tunnel is acting up so this is a bit difficult. <3
<3 <3
❤❤
Now you can see I’m not anonymous 🙂
You are not. Thank you Derrick <3
🙂
Wow what a beautiful view x
The desert is laid out below as far as the eye can see……
WoW Cindy..that seemed like a cool ride and to see and experiences so many facets of nature in one ride. Cool.
WoW Cindy..that seemed like a cool ride and to see and experiences so many facets of nature in one ride. Cool.
It is cool, except for the heat!
das ist sehr schön, liebe Cindy, “heiße” Grüße kommen von mir zu dir, Klaus
Grüße zurück an dich, mein Freund und eine schöne Woche!
alles Gute und viele schöne Momente
<3
That’s a bit warm Cindy, and the multiple changes in weather up the mountain with the storm. But what a view, so worth the adventure 😀
Thank you, it is a special experience.
Reblogged this on Musings on Life & Experience and commented:
Cindy Knoke’s beautiful pictures taken from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
You are so appreciated Patricia. Hugs and have a wonderful week my friend <3
I think you’re a bit braver than me on this one!!😀
Well, you could let me bring Wolfie up with me. He would love it up on the mountain. The desert would be too hot for him though. Hope all is well with you guys~
He would melt into a little puddle of Wolfie!!
Wolfie would love where we are now, The Hudson Bay, there are lots of wolfies here!
Oh wolf!! On the way to Hudson Bay right now!🚣♀️
Wolfie would find lots of friends in Hudson Bay. There are Hudson Bay Gray Wolves there.
“A hunting we will go…A hunting we will go…Ee ei adio a hunting we will go!”🤣🐺😀
Laughing…… <3 <3
So interesting. I didn’t realize the temperature difference! Thank you for sharing the views 💛
Thank you for appreciating them & have a happy week Val <3
So beautiful.
Grazie mille <3
You amaze me with your travels, my friend.
Hugs to you Lara & thank you!
Gorgeous views from up there, Cindy.
Thank you & Happy Monday!
Beautiful rugged country.
It is special and unique.
Gorgeous photos Cindy, I wouldn’t want to have to climb that.
Leslie xoxo
Can you imagine building the stations or repairing them!
Now that would be a challenge…
Beautiful images and lesson on desert zones Cindy! I’m glad you got to experience that desert storm you were hoping for.
Thank you Brad. I am happy I saw it too.
Gorgeous views!
Thank you. It’s quite an unusual view isn’t it.
Your picture takes me back to seeing storms falling in the mountains of Colorado. It’s amazing how it just falls in these heavy grey sheets. Looks like some beautiful hiking!
We were so close to moving to the mountains above Durango. Truly beautiful country & very nice to meet you!
This reminds me of Big Bear City where we lived off and on in our early lives when Bill was building park roads in wilderness areas of California. From the desert floor to the high mountain forests we loved it all.
You need to write a book Dor. Your life, living all over the wilds of California in the early days of your marriage, would make fascinating reading.
Wow! What a stunning/terrifying view. I don’t like heights and I am not sure I’d be brave enough to use the tramway, but that cool mountain walk does look really tempting.
Well, lucky for you, other parts of the mountains can be approached from the back side via a leisurely car ride.
Stunning views through your lens, Cindy. So good to hear about the storm even the raindrops were evaporated quickly.
Thank you Amy. Water is so precious here <3
Cindy, this one really caught my attention. I’ve never been to Palm Springs, but that spectacular view is enough to make me wanna go and check it out. Wow!
The immediate desert areas surrounding the tram are now so developed. If you were to visit, I would recommend taking the tram and maybe spending one night in Palm Springs. Then do the short drive to Borrego Springs where he desert is as it always has been.
Thank you, Cindy. I think we’ll take your advice and do that. Worth the visit for sure. :O)
Let me know when you do!
Will do. :O)
<3
I cannot fathom what 112 degrees feels like! Thank you for showing us the storm — this is one post I’m glad to be reading and not participating in — rotating tram cars would NOT be my thing, ha!
Laughing. It is truly good to know what you want to do, and what you don’t, and honor it.
This reminds me of what my mother said to me when I told her we were going up The Amazon.
“Oh,” said, “Better you than me.”
Oh, Cindy – what a beautiful view. We live in a beautiful world. Stay cool. Vancouver needs rain, but the sun has decided to say.
I can’t even believe Vancouver needs rain. So very sad. We’re heading to Northern Manitoba soon. I hope some polar bears are still alive. Hugs to you Rebecca.
Where about in Northern Manitoba? That is my old haunts. Lived there for most of my childhood. Most people head to Churchill, but there is so much to that rich wilderness. Even got lost in the bush and was saved by a loon…but that is another story….
We are going to Churchill to see the polar bears and the belugas, but then we are heading to Riding Mountain National Park, and renting a cabin to explore all over. I had no idea you grew up in such a remote and gorgeous wild area Rebecca. Have you heard about the two Canadian serial killers from Vancouver Island who are holed up there. Last seen in York Landing in Northern Manitoba. I hope they catch them quickly. All the military and mounties looking for them will scare away the polar bears, plus I have no desire to meet them.
You are going to have an amazing time in Churchill. I understand that the duo has headed to Ontario. YIKES. Looking forward to your photos – I know that they will be fantastic!!!
I hadn’t read that. Maybe the summer mosquitos got to them!
Beautiful area… but way too hot! Great egg frying weather though. 🙂
Laughing…..The hottest I hiked out here, with my kids, was 119F. It was an abbreviated hike. Heat like this drives every other thought from your brain.
LOL…I spent the first 23 years of my life in that county of California; where I grew up. I’ve only been on that tram once just before I moved to the The coast of Central California…or just slightly north of that. I remember it was late spring, it was hot in the desert, but up atop that mountain, it was cold (or very very cool). It was shocking to come back down into heat. Alpine to desert in just a quick little trip. LOL
STUNNING images! And thanks for the return of a great memory (sigh).
Wow. We lived, for awhile, in the same general turf. Maybe that explains why we like each other. So glad I get to know you <3
I do not think I will ever get on a lift like that even if it took me to heaven. Those sky lifts absolutely terrify me and everyone else loves them. I love the scenic views you get but I’ll settle for your perfect photos instead. Thanks for saving me the terror. 🙂
“I do not think I will ever get on a lift like that even if it took me to heaven.”
You crack me up Marlene. I am so lucky I get to meet people like you <3
I aim to entertain. 😉
You succeed.
Reminds me of the tram at Squaw Valley, Cindy. I normally use it when I am backpacking into the Granite Chief Wilderness because it saves hiking up the mountain. 🙂 Thunderstorms in the desert can be quite dramatic. –Curt
I took that tram in the winter skiing when I was around 14 years old. I was on a school trip, and had barely recovered from horrible flu I got on the trip up. I wasn’t well yet, but I took the tram with my science teacher to ski. I forgot my gloves. He gave me his and pretended it was okay, even though I think he risked frostbite. I remember it well.
Skiing was never my thing, Cindy, but I did glissade off the mountain once in my boots through the snow in July. That was fun! Sounds like a nice teacher.
Cracking up….So perfect. And I do believe it. You Curt, would glissade off a mountain with no skis.
Great views from the top of the mountain!
Yes, it is a strange experience, going from such a surreal summer desert environment, to the relative coolness of the alpine environment. I hope you are doing well and it is good to hear from you <3
I have ridden that tram, it scared the beejeezes out of me. LOL Palm Springs is fun to visit.
I am so glad you did it!!! Everytime I ride it I marvel at the people who had the courage to build it. Hope you are well Dani <3
Such great captures, Cindy. I was there…and looking at your photos I can’t believe I did it! Though, I do remember wishing time would go a little faster!
Hope you are well 🙂
Your comment is so nice and it makes me smile. Thank you Lorrie <3
😁💜