A timelapse of the Thousand Trails Palm Springs campground.
Author: David
Thousand Trails Palm Springs
We stayed at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Our second stay here; a working date palm farm as a Thousand Trails park. Tricky to get positioned, but convenient once there.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-03-25
- Check out: 2023-04-01
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps ranging between 65-76°F, lows around 47-51°F
- Little wind; one day of 24 MPH gusts
Noise:
- Distant freeway noise
- Some train noise, but no horns most of the time
- Some neighbor noise
Site:
- #282, back in, sand
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Fairly level
- Small site: about 45 feet long by about 25 feet wide
- Picnic table on concrete pad palm trees
- Super difficult to park due to palm trees, light post, and wacky sewer position
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, very inconveniently located
- 50 PSI water, very inconveniently located
- Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 26-88 Mbps down, 60 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
- AT&T: 3 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 8 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters
- Swimming pool
- Package delivery to site
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Parking here is not for the faint of heart
This was our second stay, and it was pretty much the same as the last time. The check-in staff are very helpful and informative, giving you a rundown of the park and the best way to wedge your RV between the trees. With a 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle, the best way to find a site is to park your rig by the pool, unhook, and then drive the tow vehicle around to scope a decent site. Not all sites are created equal; some have palm trees that lean more than others, some are quite a bit shorter than others, and some are narrower. Once you find the best site you can, parking your rig in it is a community endeavor. Between the trees and the narrow roads, you may have to enlist the aid of your neighbors to move their vehicles so you can back in. Compromise may be required. I saw smaller rigs than ours balk at sites along our row. But once you get in, it’s very nice under the palms. We camped at Thousand Trails Palm Springs in a Motorhome.
Interactive map:
Campground map:

Our site; it took literally half an hour to get positioned between the trees, sewer, and light pole; the most difficult park to get situated in. But once set up, we enjoy the proximity to Joshua Tree National Park and the desert cities:





The electric and water utilities are at the back of the site, rather inconvenient:

The sewer is conveniently located, though, other than in terms of the palm trees:

Working outside:

We drove our truck around to scout for a site (this being Thousand Trails). This is the site we chose; a little tight between the palm tree and sewer at the rear, and a light pole and another palm tree at the front:

Other sites we considered:





A nice thing about this park is UPS, FedEx, and Amazon will deliver directly to the sites:

For USPS or packages without site numbers, they post a notice on a message board near the entrance:

Other sites:








Cabins:


Entrance:

Swimming pools:

The sky with palm trees:



Video: Yermo to Palm Desert, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 146 miles from Yermo to Palm Desert, California.
Travel from Yermo to Palm Desert, California
We drove our coach 146 miles, about three hours of driving, from Yermo, California to Palm Desert, California.
Here’s the map route, heading south:

Interactive map, showing our stops and other potential stops:
Truck lane:

Fuel stop:


Paladin in the steps:

Highway CA-247:





Cafe 247, an interesting lunch stop with parking big enough for us:

They were having a motorcycle gathering, which made it feel like a biker bar, but wasn’t:







We bought a loaf from Banana Bread Man out front:






8% grade:

Highway CA-62:

Wind turbines:

Mountains:

Palm Springs:

Our destination:


Phone holders
While driving our coach, we refer to maps on our iPhones, in addition to the built-in one.
To position the phones conveniently, we use phone holders from Amazon.
Jenn’s phone usually shows Apple Maps directions, in a holder suction-cupped onto the panel to the right of the AC controls:


My phone is usually showing either the RV Life GPS or Google Maps, while my Mac shows the Google Maps route. My phone holder is suctioned to a plate that is stuck on the edge of the pull-out passenger workstation:


It is easy to adjust them to the desired angle, or rotate them out of the way when not driving.
Peggy Sue’s Diner
While staying in Yermo, California, we had dinner at Peggy Sue’s 50’s Diner, a classic roadside diner built in 1954, and restored with lots of movie memorabilia. And a 5 & Dime store and dinosaur park.







Menu:




Malt shake:


Jenn’s French dip and curly fries:

My Hawaiian burger, curly fries, and potato salad:




5 and Dime store:


Diner-saur park:











Calico Ghost Town
While staying in Yermo, California, we visited the nearby Calico Ghost Town, an old West silver mining town that was founded in 1881 and became a ghost town just 15 years later:


































Barstow / Calico KOA Holiday
We stayed at Barstow / Calico KOA Holiday in Yermo, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Rather short site, and too much freeway noise, but okay for a couple of days.
Dates:
- Check in: 2023-03-23
- Check out: 2023-03-25
- 2 nights
Weather:
- Partly sunny
- High temps ranging between 58-60°F, lows around 35-39°F
- Wind gusts to 37 MPH
Noise:
- Loud freeway noise; no train noise
Site:
- #39, pull-through, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad; parked beside coach
- Level
- Small site: about 50 feet long by about 30 feet wide
- Picnic tables, charcoal grill, gravel, shrubs
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 40 PSI water, conveniently located
- Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipe needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 38 Mbps down, 42-69 Mbps up, 27 ms ping
- AT&T: 12-17 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 40 ms ping
- Verizon: 1 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 300 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: none
Amenities:
- Garbage bins
- Closed pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Convenient stop along I-15
We stayed for two nights, which was about the right length of time. It’s an older KOA in need of some TLC with convenient access to the interstate; which means you do get constant road noise. The sites are pretty short, and we definitely had to unhook the tow and park alongside the coach. The site also seemed a bit narrow, but that may have been because it had an excess of tables and chairs (2 picnic tables, a concrete table and benches, and a park bench). We camped at Barstow / Calico KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.
Tip for Other Campers: Check out the Calico Ghost Town and Peggy Sue’s Diner. Both were good, kitschy fun.
Interactive map:
Campground map:

Our site; we didn’t bother with the Magne Shade, since only a couple of nights:




Utilities:

So many tables and benches:

View of the freeway from our window:

Entrance:

Office:

Bike and archery rental (maybe in summer):

Mural:

Piano:

Artwork:

Playground:

Train car:

Deflated jump pad:

Pool:

Tent sites:

Cabins:

RV sites:



Video: Death Valley to Yermo, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 169 miles from Death Valley, California to Yermo, California.
Travel from Death Valley to Yermo, California
We drove our coach 169 miles, about three hours of driving, from Death Valley, California to Yermo, California.
Here’s the map route, heading south:

Interactive map, showing our stops:
Leaving the campground:

Leaving Death Valley:

Paladin sleeping:



Paladin in an unapproved place; he was freaking out a bit; sometimes he forgets about travel days:

“Thanks for Experiencing Your National Park”:

Bumpy road:

Motorcycles:

The sign could use a refresh:



A roadside stop for a break:

Interesting hills:


A straight road; using a high zoom really emphasizes the bumps:


Lunch stop in Baker, with a nice big truck/RV parking area; always appreciated:

The World’s Tallest Thermometer:

We had lunch at the Mad Greek Cafe:



The Thermometer again:




EddieWorld, apparently California’s largest gas station (looks pretty small compared to Buc-ees in Texas, but we haven’t actually visited either):

Ghost Town Road:

Our destination:

