Birthday in the Desert

We took a 3-day weekend trip to the desert for my birthday. It was clear, sunny, and a very comfortable temperature for hiking. On Friday we visited "The Living Desert" in Palm Desert, where they displayed plants and animals from all of the deserts in the world.

 

 

  


On Saturday we hiked over 7 miles in the southern region of Joshua Tree National Park.

 

 

 We were hiking to the Lost Palms Oasis - a bunch of palm trees in a canyon in the middle of the desert.

On Sunday we took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up to Mt. San Jacinto. It took us up to 8500 feet, where it was kind of chilly - 50 degrees. But once we started hiking, the sweaters came off and it was gorgeous. We hiked up to about 9000 feet and then back down to the tram station where we enjoyed lunch in a restaurant with a spectacular view.

It was a great trip. Henry really indulged me for my birthday - he even agreed to stop at an outlet mall on the way home! Thanks, Henry!