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The city of Palm Springs conjures up images of swaying palms, amorphous pools, golf courses, the strip, and heat.

PALM SPRINGS, CA

Dave
2004-02-21 17:45:29

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The city of Palm Springs conjures up images of swaying palms, amorphous pools, golf courses, the strip, and heat. This was true of my trip to Palm Springs in January, I did experience all of these aspects, but I also experienced much more.

Palm Springs is home to 40,200 residents. Palm Springs is located on highway 111 about 13 miles off of the interstate 10 in Southern California. For years the mineral springs and the warm weather in winter have attracted many people. Palm Springs has also been the site for numerous Hollywood productions. The drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs is about 120 miles. The drive from Las Vegas is 282 miles. Palm Springs averages 350 days of sunshine a year, clear skies, and very low humidity.

I visited Palm Springs this past January. The weather was what I had expected, high 70's and low 80's. In fact the town of Coachella (south of Palm Springs) recorded the nation's high temperature the day I arrived. I was staying with a group of 15 people in a time share condo. The condo was built against the base of a hill, and at night the lights would brilliantly light up the hill and vegetation. We spent our first night in Palm Springs in our condo watching movies and discussing our San Jacinto hike.

The next morning our group drove to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
www.pstramway.com. This tram takes people from approximately 2,600 feet to 8,500 feet. This entire trip takes about 15 minutes. The tram rides are offered Monday through Friday beginning at 10 A.M. On Saturday/Sunday and holidays the rides start at 8 A.M. The last trip up leaves from the bottom at 9 P.M. and returns at 10:45 P.M. During daylight savings time, the last trip up leaves at 8 P.M. and returns at 9:45 P.M. The tramway is CLOSED for up to two weeks in the beginning of August. I high light the "word" closed because several readers have told me that they weren't able to take the tram ...