Monday, March 8, 2010

Snow in the Desert?


On our last day in Tweny-nine Palms we all piled into the car and headed over to Palm Springs for an adventure in the AirTram (http://www.pstramway.com/).  What a wonderful surprise!  We found a winter wonderland.  It's a bit hard to read in this picture because of the flash, but the temperature at the top of this mountain was 28 F and there was 4 feet of snow on the ground.  Even worse, we couldn't see the top of the mountain because it was in the clouds.  But did that discourage us?

So we bought our tickets and headed for the top...




What a ride!  The tram goes up a rugged narrow very steep canyon that rises about 8000 feet over a 2.5 mile ride.  The terrain was so difficult that 4 of the 5 towers had to be built using helicopters to move all of the steel to their locations for the construction.

But the surprise was the Winter Wonderland that waited for us at the top!  The elevation at the top was over 10,000, but the wind was calm and occasionally the clouds opened up and the sun was bright.




The perfect place for a SNOW BALL FIGHT!   There was a large outside "patio" where they had cleared the snow, but there was lots of snow at the sides and it was perfect for making snow balls.

This snow ball was aimed at me.  Good thing Marianne was a soccer player instead of a baseball player.
Hayes just seemed to chill in this pile of snow. 


OK,  I think Max deserves some credit to staying the photo course while being attacked by this glacier.


WATCH OUT HAYES!



I think Hayes should be careful how trusting he is of his BIG SISTER- What do you think?

And finally, take a look at this Honda Snow blower - actual tracks instead of wheels and a headlight.  This is a real snow blower!!

6 comments:

Brandy said...

Poor Hayes! I love his trusting face right before Reeder smacks with a mound of snow.

Amber said...

i think that picture of unsuspecting hayes and reeder is a perfect representation of sibling love! not that i would know, i was always treated like the princess i was! JOKING!

Sharon said...

I agree with Brandy and Amber, poor Hayes! The pictures are gorgeous of the trees and snow. I especially LOVE the one that is looking across the mountains from the cable car. I think I'd like a copy of that file please... Joshua Tree in a few weeks HERE I COME! (minus snowy parts please :P )

Lucas said...

What a fun transition through terrain and elevation (and weather!) Looks like you guys had a BLAST! That is some rowdy snowball fight! You people fight dirty.......I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

Sandra Needham said...

Looks like fun in an amzing place!

Anonymous said...

Love it! The crashing snow onto Hayesy's head has to be my favorite!
-marianne