Day Four (08.26.09) We were losing sunlight as we made the exit for Palm Springs. As you enter the city, a short distance after leaving the interstate, the first thing you notice is a giant Palm Springs Aerial Tramway sign. It seemed like the easiest thing to find, although after noticing there were no tram cars we realized (obviously) that we needed to head further up into the mountains.
The incline of the drive didn't seem that bad at first, but you quickly realize just how far up you really are when you see the valley become more prominent behind you. As we pulled into the parking lot of the Valley Station of the Aerial Tramway it was clearly printed above the door of the building that we were already 2600ft. above sea level. Just walking up to the door of the building felt like a funhouse because of the steep and misleading incline.
We bought our tickets and were quickly ushered into the loading area. It was soon after that that we found ourselves slowly rotating in one of the famous cable cars, surrounded by jagged rocks and steep embankments, heading from the floor of the Coachella valley up to the Mountain Station of the San Jacinto Peak (8500ft. above sea level).
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway seemed enticing just from what I'd read online before the trip, but to see it and experience it in person felt ethereal.
It was so quiet, everyone seemed content to gaze and whisper to the person they were with. The light breeze from the open windows further reinforced a connection with the expansive and awe-inspiring views. It's difficult to explain, but easy to recognize, that the scale and beauty of something like this is challenging to process. I was very much in the moment.
While the footage I shot is a great memento, something like this is meant to be witnessed - the visual reality suddenly makes you feel so small. The atmosphere, ambiance, and even the shift in temperature as our altitude rose, seem essential in completing my memory. It was so much more than just a pretty picture.
By the time we reached the top and had something to eat it was dark. Patches of city light filled the valley, and from our perch we could see the lights trail all the way down to Indio. If our goal of taking an unforgettable road trip wasn't yet fulfilled, here we were quite literally on top of the world.
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Day Four (08.26.09) Energized by our arrival and a morning where we weren't rushing to make good time, Dave and I had made plans to drive from Indio to Newport Beach that day. This was to be our glimpse of greater Los Angeles and the traffic that comes with it, but more importantly, this was a chance to add an ocean and an afternoon of relaxation to our eclectic and rapidly growing list of destinations.
The drive from Indio isn't that bad at around 2/2.5 hours to Newport Beach, but in that time you notice significant changes. The interstate gains several lanes, the commuter traffic snowballs, and concentrations of overpasses start to resemble bowls of spaghetti. The arid desert also transitions into the humid coastal climate, which in turn affects the types, colors, and amounts of vegetation you see everywhere. Not to mention that when you reach Newport Beach, everything is relatively on the up and up and designed to appeal to a more selective income bracket - although to be fair, the beach itself is a mish-mash of everyone and everything in between.
The first thing Dave and I did upon arrival is make our way through the narrow streets between the miniature (but clearly expensive) beach front homes to get to the Newport Pier. My motivation for making the drive out to the beach after all was to grab a bite to eat in the restaurant at the end of the pier. In 2004 I had previously come to Newport Beach on vacation and regretted not getting the chance to do this.
Sitting upstairs in a cubby with the stairs behind us and a huge bank of windows stretching out in front of us, we marked the occasion with a couple of beers and wings (Dave got something else but I can't remember what). It was nothing fancy, but with a view like that it didn't need to be. From our perch on the pier we could see all the way down the beach, straight down the pier, out into the open ocean, and could even see Santa Catalina Island on the horizon.
Like I mentioned in the Indio Outio: Introduction, this was a moment of awe and euphoria - not simply because of the scale and ambiance that the ocean was providing, but because it had only been 4 days and we'd already seen so much. It also had a lot to do with recognizing the difference between just flying somewhere and experiencing the distance by driving. It was tough not to appreciate just what it took to get here. Memories of being in this same spot 5 years prior only emphasized the novelty of the entire road trip.
We spent the afternoon sitting around the beach, getting our feet wet in the ocean, checking out the surf shops (picking up some new sunglasses), and generally just filled the time as casually as we could.
It was around 4pm by the time we decided to head out to Palm Springs for the evening, which for the record is the perfect time (almost anywhere really) to experience the local rush hour traffic. L.A. certainly puts the competition to shame. Thank goodness for carpool lanes.
