It was great fun while it lasted, but we’re back from Palm Springs to join our friends in the Minneapolis ice box. 

When I was in college, I had this philosophy professor who spent his early years in Holland during WWII.  Several nights a week, German bombers would fly over and destroy entire neighborhoods with incendiary bombs.  The homes of virtually all of his friends and family were destroyed over time, but strangely enough, in the midst of all this destruction, his home stood untouched.  One night, while he was huddled in a shelter, his home took a direct him and was totally obliterated.  Rather than being devastated by this, he only felt a sense of relief, knowing that now he was sharing the suffering equally with so many others. 

It was 65 degrees in Palm Springs when we left and 17 degrees in Minneapolis when we landed.  Somehow I thought I was going to feel better about sharing this miserable weather with all of you, but something has gone wrong, I don’t feel better at all.  It’s cold, dark and icy outside.  What in the world are all of us doing here, anyway? 

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway rises 8,500 feet from the Palm Springs valley floor to the top of the San Jacinto Mountains.  This is not a trip for the faint of heart.  If you’re afraid of heights, don’t do this.  You are toying with death here.   The Swiss-built tram car holds 80 people and takes 11 hours to make it to the top.  It’s actually 11 minutes, but it feels like 11 hours. 

Do not eat before boarding, and do not look down. Hold on for dear life when the car passes one of the four towers on its way up, and everyone screams including the guy in charge of the car.  Yes, there are safety features and backup things, etc., but if anything happens, you’re toast. Period.  Everything eventually breaks, right?  (Look at the country under George Bush)  No-one can get you off that tram when it’s stuck nearly one and half miles up in the sky, except perhaps a helicopter.  Don’t bother.  Climbing up through the escape hatch to the roof of the tram would kill the average person from shear fright.   And once you’re up there, you have to go back down.  There’s no other way but by tram.  So when you get to the top, remember, it’s only half over. 

It’s not all bad.  The scenery is spectacular, and you can see forever from up there.  You can also hike, snowboard and cross-country ski while on the summit.  And there are several restaurants and a bar for those who need liquid fortification before descending in the tram.  The tram also runs at night, which offers the added benefit of not letting you see what you’re going to hit if the cable breaks.