Four Points Bulletin

I am so glad I don’t live on an island. There is so much to do so close (even with the vast sea directly to the west). Just two hours from Oceanside is Palm Springs. A ten minute ride later, hung by a cable kept taut by a 60 ton counterweight on the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world, and you are in Long Valley, within San Jacinto State Park, at 8,500 feet elevation. Before the Palm Springs Aerial Tram was constructed in 1963, the area was considered backcountry, patrolled by park rangers on horseback. Nowadays you join others for a bite to eat or accessible outdoor play. People so often come ill-prepared for the change in weather that the upper tram stations sells warm weather closes, for all ages, at reasonable prices. Knowing exactly what was awaiting us at the top, we brought snow shoes, a sled, and winter gear, prepared for a day like snow other.