Blixseth Park Plants

The last of my shots from our spring trip to Palm Springs shows some plants in the desert Blixseth Park.

This post is for Scenic Sunday.

The official toll for the wildfire is 347 homes destroyed and one dead. The fire is 15% contained.

Blixseth Park (Palm Springs)

Continuing with some photos from our visit to Palm Springs earlier this year, here are a couple of photos from Blixseth Mountain Park. It was classic desert scenery.

I was glad I was there in March as it was already quite hot by my standards; I can't imagine hiking here in the middle of the summer. I visited this park while my wife and son were watching professional tennis, and it's my Scenic Sunday entry for the week.

Palm Springs Hotel

For Scenic Sunday, here are some photos taken around the Palm Springs hotel in which we stayed. First I liked this fountain.

And some geese in a pond.

 And finally, several desert plants, all in the hotel's landscaping.

Visit Scenic Sunday for more scenic photographs from around the world.

San Jacinto Mountain (Palm Springs)

For Scenic Sunday, here are the last Scenic Sunday post from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway near Palm Springs, California. These shots are all from the top of the tramway, elevation 8,516 feet (2,596 m), far above the desert floor.

There was still snow up there, even in March.

And despite being only a couple of hours drive from Los Angeles, it was easy to believe that you were in the wilderness.

The Tramway is a ride well worth taking.

Palm Springs Tram Ride

As promised last week, here are some shots taken from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It basically ascends up a valley.

To put the scale in perspective, the platform on top of this tower is a helicopter landing pad!

I liked this slightly-cropped complete tower with our tram's shadow beneath on a nearby rock.

The scenery is incredible!

I think this qualifies as a Scenic Sunday post. Next week we'll see some shots from the top of the mountain.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The next couple of Scenic Sunday posts will be exploring the incredible Aerial Tramway near Palm Springs, California, which climbs near the top of San Jacinto Mountain. I rode this with my son back in March, but my wife refused to go because it was too steep and high!

As shown above, the tram itself is large, holding up to 80 people. The floor rotates, ensuring that everyone gets different views as it ascends or descends.

At times it's high above the ground and it certainly is steep - I can understand why my wife was nervous!

It rises 5,920 feet (1,804 meters), with the top station at an elevation of 8,516 feet (2,596 m) above sea level.

The rotating trams were installed in 2001 as replacements for these original tram cars.

If you can handle the heights, this is the must-see attraction in the Palm Springs area. Next week I'll show you some shots taken while on the tramway.

Blue Skies, Palm Trees

To match last week's Skywatch Friday photo of the moon behind a palm tree, here are some Palm Springs palm trees with their classic blue skies.

Moon Behind Palm Tree

I just got back from a nice warm place (the Palm Springs area), so here's a shot of last week's full moon behind a palm tree for Skywatch Friday.

This was a hard shot to get handheld with my Nikon D40X, which isn't a great camera for low-light photography (and it's old so it's starting to develop too many hot pixels). It's occasions like this that make me wish I had a D7000, which is much better at capturing images like this. But I'll work with what I've got!