5/27/11
We drove to Los Angeles the previous day from San Jose and stayed at Days inn. On 27th we drove all the way from LA to Palm Springs which took about two hours, so we arrived there around noon. On our way we stopped at the visitor center to get information & maps. We drove to Best Western Resort at Palm Dessert to check in early if possible. We were allowed to check-in early. Great Resort – Swimming pool, tennis courts and great breakfast. We had our lunch at Panda Express and during lunch we decided to go to Joshua Tree national Park for the rest of the day. It was pretty hot.
We drove almost 83 miles to get to Joshua Tree National Park. It was worth the drive. On our way to went through the windmill farm. It was very windy. When my husband opened the car door to take a picture the wind was so strong it felt like the car door opened wide and flew away. Don’t try to do that …
We drove to Los Angeles the previous day from San Jose and stayed at Days inn. On 27th we drove all the way from LA to Palm Springs which took about two hours, so we arrived there around noon. On our way we stopped at the visitor center to get information & maps. We drove to Best Western Resort at Palm Dessert to check in early if possible. We were allowed to check-in early. Great Resort – Swimming pool, tennis courts and great breakfast. We had our lunch at Panda Express and during lunch we decided to go to Joshua Tree national Park for the rest of the day. It was pretty hot.
We drove almost 83 miles to get to Joshua Tree National Park. It was worth the drive. On our way to went through the windmill farm. It was very windy. When my husband opened the car door to take a picture the wind was so strong it felt like the car door opened wide and flew away. Don’t try to do that …
We got to the Joshua Tree National park visitor center and found out what were the best places to visit inside the park. There camp grounds are pretty full for Memorial Day weekend. There are lots of places to see inside the park. We climbed up few rocks at arch stone and had fun . The shape of the rock is really an arch and it is huge. The park is full of Joshua trees. It is amazing as you are driving, the view of so many Joshua trees in a arid climate make you wonder if you are in desert. It is amazing how these trees grow with such little or no rainfall. The biggest attraction was Keys View.
It was a place where you could see the entire desert and where the San Andreas Fault line goes through the desert and Salton sea all the way to Mexican border if there is no haze. It was an amazing view. From there we went on a trial called Lost Horse Mine trail . The map showed it is a 2 mile hike to the mine. We thought it would take 1 hr to the mine and 1 hr back. As we hiked for 45 mins,, we could not see the mine in sight. There are no trail signs , so we did not know if we were lost on lost horse mine trail and I was running out of water, so we turned back. Make sure you have enough water when you hiking on these trials on the park . We then drove to Barker Dam visitor point and took the interpretive trail which told the history of how the people there got water long time back, plants that grew there and how they were used by native Indians. By the time we finished it was like 7:00 pm and we were very tired. It is a great place to see a different landscape. We ate at Mc Donald at Palm Springs and drove back to the hotel for the night. 5/28/11
Today we went to the most popular attraction of Palm Springs, Aerial Tramway. We left the hotel around 8:30am and took a 30 minute drive to the San Jacinto Mountain. By the time we got to the parking lot we were at 1,700ft above sea level. There is shuttle bus from parking area to the entrance and there we were 2,500ft above sea level. There were two trams – each in opposite direction going up the mountain. When you get the tickets, they give you the time of the boarding. We waited for 30 mins before we were able to board. Go early in the morning at 8.00 AM, there is no wait time. It is a 10 minute ride to the top. It was an awesome ride The tram floor moves 360 degrees. By the time we got to the top of the mountain, we were like 6,000 feet above sea level. The view was spectacular. You could see the entire valley and the desert. At the top of the mountain there were trails to go on. We decided to go on two trails there, which are the nature trail and the desert view trail. I recommend these trails for visitors. We ate lunch up there during the hike. The views on the dessert view trail are awesome. Take lots of water. Watched for some birds along the river there. 
If you want to go on high intensity trails, you need to check-in at the ranger station and take a permit. There great camping grounds up there and they also need permits.
We hiked back to the tram station and went up to the observatory deck and there is a history about the valley along with the views. The reason why Coachella Valley doesn’t get rain is because the clouds that come from the Pacific Ocean aren’t able to pass these mountains ( these mountains raised due to San Andreas fault ) and dump all the rain on the mountain By the time we got back down it was 4:00 pm. We then decided to go shopping in Palm Springs downtown on Palm Canyons Drive. We ate dates ice cream and guava ice cream - very unique flavors. We went to Rancho Mirage “The River” - P.F. Changs for dinner. It was a really good Chinese restaurant.
5/29/11
We decided to visit the Sea below the sea level - Salton Sea. A sea like no other. We left early morning and it is an hour drive to the sea from Palm Dessert. You can drive up to the beach. The beach smells dead fish. There where so many dead fish lying ashore because of sudden drop in temperature of the sea this winter. At the museum you can view and learn the history on how Salton Sea was formed. The Sea dried up as Hoover dam was build and Colorado river dried up before it reached Salton Sea. Then there was overflow from near by lands and floods from other rivers that again flooded the water to Salton Sea as it is the lowest level – lower than sea level. The water in Salton Sea evaporated and left the salt behind making the water more saltier. The sea is about 47 feet deep today. 
From there we went to some Mud Volcanoes. The geo thermal activity under the earth’s crust is pushing the mud out and creating mud Volcanoes at Niland. There a electric company there where electricity is made from geo thermal activity .. We also saw the Salvation Mountain. It was a mountain with paint all over it and told how one man in 1870’s dedicated his art as a monument to his 
god. By the time we finished we were 83 miles away from Palm Springs. We drove all the way back to Palm Springs and ate lunch.After lunch we went to a Thousand Palms, which is a city north of Palm Springs. Over there are big giant fan palms that took years to grow. Thousand Palms park is San Andreas fault. There is oasis formed in the middle of dessert because of the water from underground coming out of the fractures of San Andreas fault. We took the trail to Maclean Pond, It is round trip of 1 hr .
We walked on the San Andreas Fault Line to get the pond. The pond was clear and amazing to see it in middle of dessert . It was amazing in two ways. Walking on the San Andreas Fault Line and seeing giant palms above you. It was a good nature trail hike though. 
The park closes at 6.00 PM sharp .. After that we met with some friends from LA and chatted for couple of hours and then went back to hotel.. We ate at Applebee’s that night and slept for the night. Palm Springs was a really great adventure and vacation. 
