March 5 we headed out for the day to hit some of the wish list sights. It was a full day with lots of driving.
We started off by heading to the Palm Springs Tram. We took the rental van as it comfortably fit all 5 of us and allowed us to take turns on Jade watch. This did mean that only Patrick or Andrea could drive though.
The tram takes you 2 1/2 miles from the base of the Coachella Valley to near the peak of San Jacinto in the largest rotating tram in the world. At the top the Mountain Station is the base from which you can take several hikes. Andrea stayed at the station with Jade while Michael, GP & I took the Desert View Trail. The trail took you through alpine forest (altitude over 8,500 feet) and afforded several spectacular lookouts over different directions. We returned to find Jade well entertained by the large trees at the station. Following the tram down we had our picnic lunch at Popp Park at the Valley Station before heading to our next stop.
GP was keen to see the giant sequoia trees which actually grow in San Bernardino Forest even though it is out of their normal zone. So next stop San Bernardino. Although it was a lovely drive through the forest, we did not encounter any of the giant sequoia trees.
Our final destination was to Big Bear Lake. It was a charming resort town full of the classic chalets of a ski town. We crossed over the lake on a very interesting ‘dam’ type bridge.
The driving for the day was quite hairy due to the extreme hills (mountains) and Andrea and GP did a superb job getting us around. The brakes on the van were not quite so comfortable with the hills, and at one point we needed to stop and check them out and let them cool down. Jade had her limit also and despite travelling well all day, she lost it on the last leg of the trip home. I suspect her cold had supplied her with a bad headache just as I had by this point – it’s no fun being sick!
