W I L D E R N E S S: Palm Springs & Joshua Tree

After the trek up the snowy/icy mountain path, and a few {graceful} slips to the ground, it was nice to be sitting down – warm again – in the little movie theater on the first floor of the Mountain Station of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

"Wilderness..." the movie started. And continually attempted to define through multiple people's voices. My friend Krystal, who was the primary reason I came to Palm Springs – to visit, celebrate all the best holidays (both our birthdays, Christmas, New Year's), and have a mini-vacation with – actually enjoyed one of the definition's enough to make it her Instagram caption: "Wilderness... a place to refresh the spirit and revive the weary soul." And it was. A place to refresh that is. Aside from the casual slips and instability of walking with Uggs (I wasn't necessarily prepared for all the snow at the top), it was an absolutely beautiful side of Palm Springs I had never seen before.

Leaving Los Angeles Saturday morning and getting back Sunday night, may be the definition of a "quick trip," but it wasn't without a variety of this wilderness exploring.

Our two focuses were the aerial tramway, and Joshua Tree National Park (about 45 min. from Palm Springs).

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was one of the best things I've done in Palm Springs, and something I would say is a "must do" if you're going out there. Aside from the videos – there's actually two – which are very informative about the beginnings and workings of the tramway and nature surrounding, the views are spectacular. I loved that the tramway rotated 360 degrees as you stood there taking it all in, in the ten minute ride up.

Some recommendations:

• Be careful of long lines and waits to get on the tram if you just show up – we were originally told we'd have to wait three and a half hours, but we're able to buy single rider tickets and take the tram ten minutes apart so it ended up only being an hour wait. 
• If you buy tickets online here just make sure to leave enough time to get to the tram parking and station. We were in a line of cars for about 40 minutes. Luckily we had some music to jam to so it wasn't a big deal.
• If you're going in the winter, wear warm clothes and definitely bring gloves. I had a little of a warning sign when we got to the Valley Station (where you board the tram initially) and most people had snow coats on. 

Sunday was a little detour to Joshua Tree National Park. If you don't know what a Joshua Tree is, you'll learn quickly when entering the park. They're all you can see for miles. Trees, rock piles, and mountains. There's so much to come back and explore here, but for this trip, we were able to climb on some rocks, get some light, and watch it fade from the day into the night.

Love,

Maddie

PS. Check out the vintage photobooth at the ACE hotel. It's quality.