Road trip Adventure Day

Wednesday dawned fairly early for us. We had to drive almost 2 hours to get to Palm Springs to the Aerial Tramway to get to the start of our hike. We lived in PS when I was in elementary school and went up the tram all the time. My mom volunteered with the Natural History Association and I helped, and dad ran the trails.(ran as in faster than jogged). I had time to kill a couple years ago and journeyed up to the top for a quick look around, but dad hadn't been up in probably 25 years!!! He used to run to the peak 2-3 times a week back then but it was kinda like doing it for the first time again. I'd just been a kid and remembered nothing past the ranger station and camping area 2 miles in.
Anyway, we started about 10:30 and went up. And up. And up. Dad told me stories of his running experiences and we talked to everyone we met on the trail. Campers coming down. Hikers going up who passed us. We are slow and steady. It wins the race, you know.
The trail is very rocky and has lots of steps up and over rocks and roots. It was a challenging 12 mile round trip. The last 400 yards or so to the actual peak, and sign, are all boulder. I insisted on getting to the sign :)

My new boots were AMAZING and I had no problems. They had great grip on all the rocks and my feet were warm and cozy the whole way. I was of course tired, but a good tired :)
After we were done and came back down the tram, we cleaned up and went out to dinner. We chose a local Mexican restaurant that we went to regularly back in the day. It's actually where we went for my parents wedding anniversary every year. It was exactly the same 25 years later and just as yummy. They even served a veggie taco :)
Dad drove us back home and I collapsed into bed. It'd been a long day. I'm happy to say that I feel pretty good today, just a little stiff when I first stand up. Not bad, considering!!!
Today, we rest :) and all of a sudden, I leave for home tomorrow.:(