Up Up And Away In The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway  


February 4th, 2013 

An Adventure With Jan And Brian Finch

It's time for an adventure and we had one. We departed the Finches about 10:00 arriving at the Tramway at 11:30 and we were able to walk on to the tram within minutes! We enjoyed a great meal, a boggle of champagne, and then took a six hour walk through the Forrest! Ok, maybe not six hours! After a bottle of wine at the pub in the sky, we took a leisurely drive through the local towns and crossed over the mountains via highway 74 before arriving back home around 8:30 pm. Great friends... Great day!

Let's The Adventure Begin


We are due east of Brian and Jan's house about 90 miles

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Loads of windmills.... Not so much motion??


Data as of 2013 courtesy of Wikipedia

Did You Know? - The San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the eastern slope of the San Gorgonio Pass in Riverside County, just east of White Water, California, United States. Developed beginning in the 1980s, it is one of three major wind farms in California, along with those at Altamont and the Tehachapi passes. The gateway into the Coachella Valley, the San Gorgonio Pass is one of the windiest places in Southern California. ~ Wikipedia

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Turn off your air conditioners.....
We drive from 500 feet at the freeway to 2,600 at the base

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Right back at ya!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
1963.... Wow!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Time to go up the mountain

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
It was a beautiful day... 78 degrees at the freeway.... 67 at the base... 40 at the top

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Paul looked up to see Sue waving.... "Hurry up... we are going in ten minute

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Your car awaits sir...

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Are you sure about this... We are held up by two small cables
...well, small may be a misnomer

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Enter here and in ten minutes.....

Did You Know? - The twelve-and-a-half minute ride begins at the Valley Station (coordinates: 33.8372°N 116.6142°WCoordinates: 33.8372°N 116.6142°W) at 2,643 ft (806 m) and passes up North America's sheerest mountain face through five life zones (biomes) on its way to the Mountain Station (coordinates: 33.8130°N 116.6385°W) at 8,516 ft (2,596 m) above mean sea level. Travelers start in the Sonoran Desert and arrive at an alpine forest.

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Off we go!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
OMG... a shadow.... Six more weeks of winter

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Amazing.... Once upon a time they were in the ocean

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The markings are unmistakable

Did You Know? - Granite is currently known only on Earth, where it forms a major part of continental crust. Granite often occurs as relatively small, less than 100 km² stock masses (stocks) and in batholiths that are often associated with orogenic mountain ranges. Small dikes of granitic composition called aplites are often associated with the margins of granitic intrusions. In some locations, very coarse-grained pegmatite masses occur with granite.

Granite has been intruded into the crust of the Earth during all geologic periods, although much of it is of Precambrian age. Granitic rock is widely distributed throughout the continental crust and is the most abundant basement rock that underlies the relatively thin sedimentary veneer of the continents. ` Wikipedia

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The angles are amazing.... How do you turn a mountain 45 degrees?

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The helicopter landing pad is certainly a challenge

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The base is looking pretty small right now

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The shadow looks pretty small

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The sky was a magical blue

Did You Know? - At higher altitudes, the sky trends to darker colors, since scattering is reduced due to lower air density; an extreme example is the moon, where there is no atmosphere and no scattering, making the sky on the moon black even when the sun is visible. ~ Wikipedia

The blue color of the sky is the result of preferential scattering of blue light by air molecules. As you get above the some of the air by going up the mountain, there are fewer air molecules above you to scatter blue light to you. So there is not as much blue light which is another way of saying that it is a darker blue.

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
When seen from altitude, as here from an airplane,
the sky's color varies from pale to dark at elevations

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
We hope they are well embedded into the mountain

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Cold up here... Warm down there

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The desert sprawl

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
We have arrived.... 20 feet to go!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Inches more...

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The high winds got to the "Christmas Tree"

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
B-r-r-r-r-r

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Just like London

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The weather in London was cooler that the top of the mountain

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The weather was perfect

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Time for a walk

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Power lines

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Fresh air... Quiet... Wow

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Brian and Sue look for snow... We need a snowman

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"It was colder in London??"

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Beautiful day in the forest

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Magnificent trees

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Paul's audience left in a hurry!

Quotation To Remember: God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.  ~Author unknown, commonly attributed to Martin Luther

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Sue's baby snowman

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"I am Grandma Sue's little snowman!" - Not much snow today!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
The sun was warm when you could get in its path

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
We are fitted for the cold....

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"... On second thought, a hat wold have been a nice touch"

Quotation To Remember: To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.  ~Helen Keller

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Brian and Jan enjoying the great out-of-doors!

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Jan is happy the snow is not any deeper....

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Long Valley

Quotation To Remember: In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia.  ~Charles A. Lindbergh, Life, 22 December 1967

 

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Brian is doing some dendrochronology... The tree was 237 years old

Did You Know? - Dendrochronology (from δένδρον, dendron, "tree limb"; χρόνος, khronos, "time"; and -λογία, -logia) or tree-ring dating is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree rings, also known as growth rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year. This has three main areas of application: paleoecology, where it is used to determine certain aspects of past ecologies (most prominently climate); archaeology, where it is used to date old buildings, etc.; and radiocarbon dating, where it is used to calibrate radiocarbon ages (see below).

In some areas of the world, it is possible to date wood back a few thousand years, or even many thousands. Currently, the maximum for fully anchored chronologies is a little over 11,000 years from present.

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"Hey Brian... Do you want us to loan you some fingers and toes??"

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"No! We are NOT tired... We are just warming the bench for the next people!"

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
"Hey Jan.... This bench is either too big or our butts are too small... It's not getting warm!"

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
They took The Blue Of The Sky and The Little Girls Eyes and A Bit Of Old Glory's Hue

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
We are here

Did You Know? - The Mount San Jacinto State Park encompasses the weathered granite summit of Mount San Jacinto, which at 10,834 feet (3,302 m) above sea level makes this the second highest peak and mountain range in Southern California. It is accessible by the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and lies on the Pacific Crest Trail.

The deeply weathered summit of Mount San Jacinto stands 10,834 feet above sea level, and is the second highest mountain range in Southern California. No more than a two hour drive from either Los Angeles or San Diego, the mountain's magnificent granite peaks, subalpine forests, and fern-bordered mountain meadows offer a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy a scenic, high-country wilderness area. The park offers two drive-in campgrounds near the town of Idyllwild. Most of the park is a designated wilderness area enjoyed by hikers and backpackers.

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Heading down

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Snow in the crevices

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
Looking out over the valley

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
One last look up the valley

Quotation To Remember: I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes.  ~e.e. cummings

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch
We took the mountain road home but darkness
kept our cameras in our pockets

PSAT February 2013 with Brian and Jan Finch