*A note about shuttle service: A shuttle will operate from Palm Springs to Desert Hot Springs, with a stop at Aqua Soleil in between. If you'd rather come and go as you please, the Uber app is a terrific option, as is local taxi service Yellow Cab of the Desert (760-340-8294).

SHUTTLE SCHEDULE:

4:45 p.m.: Pickup at Riviera Palm Springs

5 p.m.: Pickup at Aqua Soleil Hotel

5:10 p.m.: Arrive at Hotel Lautner for wedding ceremony and reception

After the Wedding Reception:

10 p.m., first run: Pickup at Hotel Lautner, followed by drop-offs at Aqua Soleil Hotel and then Riviera Palm Springs

11 p.m., last run: Pickup at Hotel Lautner, followed by drop-offs at Aqua Soleil Hotel and then Riviera Palm Springs

RAD THINGS TO DO IN PALM SPRINGS

If you have 3 or more hours to spare...drive to Joshua Tree National Park.

• Joshua Tree, with its otherworldly desert vegetation and geological structures, is one of our favorite places in the world. It's about a 45-minute drive from Palm Springs and absolutely worth the trip. You can stay in your car the whole time as you drive through the park, or you can walk, climb rocks, take pictures, and even picnic (Jamie's dream is to do this someday). If you decide to go, you won't regret it ($15 per vehicle, nps.gov/jotr).

If you have 3 hours to spare...take the Palm Springs Aerial tramway.

• For a bird's-eye vantage point of the whole desert, the views from the two-and-a-half-mile-high tram are reportedly spectacular. Waits can get long, so make sure you build in enough time to hang out in line before you board the "world's largest rotating tramcars" ($24 for adults, pstramway.com).

If you have 2 hours to spare...visit Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs.

• By far the weirdest but richest and most memorable tour we have ever taken, this activity will have you talking for days about an entrepreneurial early settler–cum–macho man named Cabot and his donkey Merry Christmas. It's compelling. It's offbeat. And you'll never look at flapjacks the same way again ($11, cabotsmuseum.org).

If you have 1 hour to spare...Visit The Palm Springs Art Museum.

• The museum has fascinating pieces on display now, including a contemporary glass exhibit and Western American artworks (admission $12.50, psmuseum.org). If you love Palm Springs architecture as much as we do, the museum just opened its new Architecture and Design Center a few blocks away—the building is an old midcentury bank. It's fabulous ($5).