A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 260 miles from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona.
Author: David
Travel from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona
We drove our coach 260 miles, about four hours of driving, from Winterhaven, California to Tucson, Arizona.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:
An interactive map:
Exiting the RV park:
I-8 East entrance:
Arizona State Line over the Colorado River:
Welcome to Arizona:
Fuel stop:
Closed US Border Patrol Checkpoint:
6% downgrade:
Interesting rocks:
Rest area:
Paladin sat in his dash bed for quite a while while we drove on the freeway:
Then Paladin snuggled with me for a while:
Saguaro cacti:
Parking area:
Cotton field:
I-8 joined I-10:
Very large dump truck part:
Interesting rocks:
Sun rays:
Arrival:
Check in area (the gate guy said someone would come to us with the paperwork, but after waiting for 10 minutes someone told us that he was wrong, we needed to go into the hotel reception to check in):
Double rainbow:
Rainbow from our site:
Museum of History in Granite
On the other side of the I-8 freeway from the Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort was the Museum of History in Granite, along with the Center of the World, the Maze of Honor, and the Church on the Hill.
One could consider this a kitschy roadside attraction, and it is that, but it’s also a lasting testament to the passions of one man, wanting to record history in stone that’ll last for centuries. Reading about his history is interesting: born in France in 1929, moved to the US at age 11, became an investment banker, bought a war-surplus plane and learned to fly, then invented the sport of skydiving (or “sport parachuting”), and finally created the “town” of Felicity in 1985, establishing it (via a fairy tale he wrote) as the Center of the World, and created the History of Humanity in Granite. Read that history page for details.
An interactive map:
Sundial, using a sculpture of Michelangelo’s Arm of God from the Sistine Chapel:
The official center of the world:
Selfie in front of the pyramid that encloses the Official Center of the World:
Jenn standing astride the Center of the World:
Looking from the pyramid past the Museum in Granite to the Church on the Hill:
Replica half-scale Liberty Bell:
The Maze of Honor, where people can pay to have granite memorials (it’s mostly empty):
Stairs from the Eiffel Tower:
Certificates for visiting the Center of the World:
Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort
We stayed at Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort in Winterhaven, California. (Campground Reviews listing.)
Across the road from the Center of the World, but kinda in the middle of nowhere. Except lots of freeway and train noise.
This is probably a popular place for snowbirds (people who travel south for the winter) in December and January, but was mostly empty while we were here at the end of October and into the start of November.
Dates:
- Check in: 2024-10-27
- Check out: 2024-11-03
- 7 nights
Weather:
- Mostly sunny
- High temps 72-94°F, lows 49-61°F
- One day of high wind, gusts to 46 MPH
Noise:
- Loud freeway noise
- Train horn noise
- Military helicopters flying over daily
- Negligible neighbor noise
Site:
- #13, back-in, gravel
- Needed to disconnect toad, parked beside coach
- Mostly level site; a little high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
- Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by 28 feet wide
- Concrete patio about 20 feet long by 6 feet wide (plus bonus pavers on this site)
- No picnic table (which is fine, we never use it anyway)
- Some trees and shrubs
- Somewhat clean site
- Non-invasive ants
Utilities:
- 50 amp power, conveniently located
- 50 PSI water, a little inconveniently located behind site
- Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located under coach (1.5 10-foot pipes needed)
Internet (in usage priority order):
- T-Mobile: 65-85 Mbps down, 16-60 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
- AT&T: 77 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 32-100 ms ping
- Verizon: 4 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 38 ms ping
- Starlink: not used
- Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Amenities:
- Garbage dumpsters by entrance
- Pool
Our review on Campground Reviews:
Decent desert destination
If you want to be close to Yuma but with a bit more rustic vibe, this might be someplace you’d enjoy. The noise from I-8 and the freight trains is unavoidable, but for the most part, this was a good place to stop. Our back-in FHU site was spacious and had a nice little patio area with a palo verde tree and bougainvillea shrubbery. It was pretty empty when we were there, as it was a bit early for the snowbirds, and we enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere. We camped at Encore Pilot Knob RV Resort in a Motorhome.
Campground map:
An interactive map:
Our site:
The sewer connection was under our coach (which also limited how far back we could go), and power and water behind the site. Which is fine for us, but might be inconvenient for some:
Extra big paved area and some nice flowering shrubs on this site; it was probably occupied by a long-term resident many years ago:
The entrance, with the I-8 freeway in front:
Pool and clubhouse area:
Other sites, mostly empty:
Military helicopters went over pretty much daily:
Garden area in the center of the campground:
BLM land with boondockers surrounds the campground:
Not a bad campground; we wouldn’t mind staying here again, though probably not for more than a few days; too noisy.
Video: Palm Desert to Winterhaven, California motorhome travel timelapse
A timelapse of driving our RV, a Tiffin Allegro Bus motorhome, 142 miles from Palm Desert to Winterhaven, California.
Travel from Palm Desert to Winterhaven, California
We drove our coach 142 miles, about three hours of driving, from Palm Desert, California to Winterhaven, California.
Here’s a map showing our route, heading southeast:
An interactive map:
Departing Thousand Trails Palm Springs, with Paladin on the dash, and our tag ready to hand in at the gate:
Passing a recumbent bike:
Joining I-10 East:
Salton Sea:
Fuel stop at Love’s; we only added a bit of fuel to reduce range anxiety, since it will be much cheaper once we leave California:
Lots of parking available; we went in to have Subway sandwiches for lunch:
Paladin on the dash when we got back:
Later, while underway, Paladin in his safe space, with a sunbeam:
I-8 East:
Passing by the border wall for Mexico:
Sand dunes and canal:
Boondockers and their dune buggies:
Passing by our destination, accessed via a side road from the next exit:
Entrance to our destination:
Our site:
Joshua Tree National Park: Wonderland Ranch & Wall Street Mill
On another visit to Joshua Tree National Park, we hiked to Wonderland Ranch and Wall Street Mill.
An interactive map of our route, going in the north entrance for a change, then to Wall Street Mill, and a picnic dinner on Keys Ranch Road, and finally back out the main west entrance:
An interactive map of the hike; zoom in to see more details:
North entrance sign:
Wall Street Mill Trail:
Wonderland Ranch ruins:
Windmill:
“Here is where Worth Bagly bit the dust at the hands of W.F. Keys, May 11 1943″:
Truck ruins:
Wall Street Mill ruins:
After the hike, we had a picnic dinner along Keys Ranch Road:
Sunset:
Joshua Tree National Park: Hall of Horrors
On another visit to Joshua Tree National Park, we hiked around the Hall of Horrors, an imaginatively named and fascinating set of rocks.
An interactive map of our route, heading in the main (northwest) entrance:
Another interactive map of the Hall of Horrors Area; zoom in to see more detail:
We stopped by the main visitor center:
Park road:
Hall of Horrors hike:
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
We visited The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California. It is one of the nicest zoos we’ve been to; not because it has a lot of animals; it doesn’t have as many as others. But because it specializes in desert animals and plants, and harmonizes the gardens so well with the area.
This was our second visit to this zoo, though the first time was somewhat different: we attended some holiday lights in December 2021.
Here’s a map of the zoo; click or tap to see a larger map on their site (please let me know if the link breaks in the future):
An interactive map:
Entrance:
Animals:
A tasty lunch from their grill:
Also fascinating plants:
Miniature railway:
New area under construction:
Shields Date Garden
We visited Shields Date Garden in Indio, California, to have brunch, explore their garden, and browse their store.
Firstly we went to their restaurant, the Café at Shields, for brunch:
I had the Churro Waffle, and Jenn had the Beef Sopes:
There was live music (can’t really see him, but a guy playing a guitar):
After lunch, we explored The Walk, a garden path that winds through the date farm, with biblical statuary:
Ladders formerly used to harvest dates (nowadays they just use cherry pickers):
Then we watched their film about date growing and harvesting in the Romance Theatre (you can watch it on YouTube):
We perused their shop:
We bought a couple of date samplers, plus some Cactus Candy (that we’ve enjoyed elsewhere):
Finally, we got a date shake to share; it was very tasty:
A worthwhile visit in the Palm Springs area.