San Jacinto Peak in the San Jacinto Mountains State Wilderness, over the long Independence Day weekend. My friend Steven, Sabrina the Traveling Cat and I all decided to celebrate the holiday together. We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway to enter the wilderness, then hikes a couple of miles to Round Valley campground. We were tipped off by the helpful ranger to snag the "best site in the campground" and we did just that. The site is called "Lotus", and it is as beautiful as the name suggests. It sits at the edge of a ridge that offers beautiful views of vistas of far-off peaks and valleys. As the sun sets on the area, you can be treated to beautifully colored skies that remind you this is a truly beautful place. We spent one evening in camp, woke up the next day to bag the peak, spending one more night at Lotus camp. This is definitely a worthwhile trip to take, and the camp sites are so remote to each other, you have the great feeling that you are truly alone in the wilderness. Please feel free to view some of the great photos I snapped while there.