HIGH IN THE SKY-re-posted

PALM SPRINGS TRAMWAY

       Above the oasis towns of the Coachella valley, away from the heat of Palm Springs and points east is the mountain top cool at the end of the Palm Springs Tramway.

Passengers board at the Valley Station at about 2,600 feet.

The ride up the Chino Canyon of the San Jacinto mountain range is spectacular.

The world's largest rotating tram car rides up on cables and a sophisticated engineering system first imagined by Francis Crocker in 1935.

Five towers were constructed in the canyon, and required blasting of the granite mountain  surface.  Helicopters were used to construct the towers.

Photo courtesy of California State Parks Palm Springs Tramway

23,000 Helicopter missions were flown during the 26 months of construction.

Helicopters are still used and land on the tower tops.

The tramway was opened in 1963 and modernized in 1998

The operating system is backed up with a hydraulic brake system and two diesel hydrostatic systems back up the main power.

You get off the tram at 8,516 feet and are offered commanding views of the Coachella Valley.

The entire system is an engineering marvel and a great way to add to a visit

to the Coachella Valley.

It is also a way to cool off.  When we left the valley it was 67 and on the mountain top it was 34. We watched as a bank of clouds moved through the pass.

Back down on the floor, the Jacaranda trees pointed toward the cool

See you down the trail.
Originally posted on Thursday 5/12/11
re-posted after Blogger Failure and disruption

BEST DATE SHAKE IN THE DESERT

IN THE LAND OF THE WIND MILL

       A sweet story now about a special oasis in the Coachella Valley desert, in the land of the big winds,

 the big wind mills

Where cell phone towers masquerade as date palms

where the main drag is appropriately named.
The Coachella Valley, 45 miles long and about 15 miles wide produces 95% of the dates sold in the US.
The Valley runs from Riverside County on the southeast to the San Bernadino Mountains to the Salton Sea.  It is bounded on the west by the San Jacinto Mountains and in that region is said to be the best date shakes anywhere.  

Out in the country, near the wind mills on Indian Canyon Road

the sign that is perfectly suited for the desert of dates

and the inconspicuous edifice that leads to a world of wonder

prices and items you'll likely not find elsewhere

and amidst it all the magic ingredient

and behind the counter, the gal that can work magic

and the product of her endeavor,

the enchanting Date Shake- good enough to make you feel smug

and then pucker 

The taste test proves it

Best Date Shake in the Desert!

In this enchanted land where

Dinah Shore and Gene Autry intersect

and where the clouds stop at the top of the San Jacinto mountain

and where the sun seems to shine in a way that builds a taste

for the best date shake in the desert.

See you down the trail.

PLANT POLICE UPDATE

THE NEW ENEMY

       This updates the post of Wednesday February 2nd when we profiled the "plant police," those volunteers who work zealously to rid the 430 acre Fiscalini Ranch Preserve in Cambria of invasive plants.  The new target is thistle, which seems to be rampant after our wet winter.

 It can be a pernicious resident on the ranch.
In the frame below one of the targeted plants has survived the attempt to
uproot it, the others are dry,

 its bloom, a defiance

and in time it will dry and spread seed over a wide expanse.

This year's crop of of thistle seems formidable, long time residents say they can't recall such an "invasion" so the battle will carry on.

Stay tuned.

See you down the trail