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:

Route map

An interactive map:

Exiting the RV park:

Exiting RV park

I-8 East entrance:

I-8 East entrance

Arizona State Line over the Colorado River:

Arizona State Line

Welcome to Arizona:

Welcome to Arizona

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Closed US Border Patrol Checkpoint:

Closed US Border Patrol Checkpoint

6% downgrade:

6% downgrade

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sat in his dash bed for quite a while while we drove on the freeway:

Paladin in his dash bed on the freeway

Then Paladin snuggled with me for a while:

Paladin snuggling with David

Saguaro cacti:

Saguaro cacti

Parking area:

Parking area

Cotton field:

Cotton field

I-8 joined I-10:

I-8 joined i-10

Very large dump truck part:

Very large dump truck part

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Sun rays:

Sun rays

Arrival:

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):

Check in area

Double rainbow:

Double rainbow

Rainbow from our site:

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:

Sign

Sundial, using a sculpture of Michelangelo’s Arm of God from the Sistine Chapel:

Sundial

The official center of the world:

The official center of the world

Selfie in front of the pyramid that encloses the Official Center of the World:

Selfie in front of pyramid

Jenn standing astride the 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:

Looking from the pyramid to the church on the hill

Museum of History in Granite:

Museum of History in Granite

Replica half-scale Liberty Bell:

Replica Liberty Bell

Museum of History in Granite

The Church on the Hill:

Church on the Hill

Museum of History in Granite

The Maze of Honor, where people can pay to have granite memorials (it’s mostly empty):

The Maze of Honor

Stairs from the Eiffel Tower:

Stairs from Eiffel Tower

Certificates for visiting the Center of the World:

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:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

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:

Our site

Extra big paved area and some nice flowering shrubs on this site; it was probably occupied by a long-term resident many years ago:

Our site

The entrance, with the I-8 freeway in front:

Entrance, with freeway in front

Pool and clubhouse area:

Pool and clubhouse area

Other sites, mostly empty:

Other sites

Military helicopters went over pretty much daily:

Other sites

Garden area in the center of the campground:

Garden area in the center of the campground

Garden area

BLM land with boondockers surrounds the campground:

BLM land with boondockers

Not a bad campground; we wouldn’t mind staying here again, though probably not for more than a few days; too noisy.

Video

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:

Route map

An interactive map:

Departing Thousand Trails Palm Springs, with Paladin on the dash, and our tag ready to hand in at the gate:

Departing TT Palm Springs

Passing a recumbent bike:

Passing recumbent bike

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Salton Sea:

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:

Fuel stop

Lots of parking available; we went in to have Subway sandwiches for lunch:

Lots of parking available

Paladin on the dash when we got back:

Paladin on the dash

Later, while underway, Paladin in his safe space, with a sunbeam:

Paladin in his safe space, with a sunbeam

I-8 East:

I-8 East

Passing by the border wall for Mexico:

Mexico border wall

Sand dunes and canal:

Sand dunes and canal

Boondockers and their dune buggies:

Boondockers

Passing by our destination, accessed via a side road from the next exit:

Passing by our destination

Entrance to our destination:

Entrance to our destination

Our site:

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:

Entrance sign

Wall Street Mill Trail:

Wall Street Mill Trail

Wonderland Ranch ruins:

Wonderland Ranch ruins

Windmill:

Windmill

“Here is where Worth Bagly bit the dust at the hands of W.F. Keys, May 11 1943″:

Bit the dust

Truck ruins:

Truck ruins

Wall Street Mill ruins:

Wall Street Mill ruins

Truck ruins

Wall Street Mill info

Wall Street Mill ruins

After the hike, we had a picnic dinner along Keys Ranch Road:

Picnic dinner

Rocks

Sunset:

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:

Visitor center

Park road:

Park road

Hall of Horrors hike:

Hall of Horrors

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:

Entrance

Animals:

Animals

A tasty lunch from their grill:

Lunch

Animals

Also fascinating plants:

Plants

Miniature railway:

Miniature railway

Miniture railway

Miniature railway

New area under construction:

New area under construction

Animals

Plants

Animals

Shields Date Garden

We visited Shields Date Garden in Indio, California, to have brunch, explore their garden, and browse their store.

Shields entrance sign

Firstly we went to their restaurant, the Café at Shields, for brunch:

I had the Churro Waffle, and Jenn had the Beef Sopes:

Food

There was live music (can’t really see him, but a guy playing a guitar):

Live music

Restaurant

After lunch, we explored The Walk, a garden path that winds through the date farm, with biblical statuary:

The walk

Ladders formerly used to harvest dates (nowadays they just use cherry pickers):

The walk

Then we watched their film about date growing and harvesting in the Romance Theatre (you can watch it on YouTube):

Romance Theatre

We perused their shop:

Shop

We bought a couple of date samplers, plus some Cactus Candy (that we’ve enjoyed elsewhere):

Date samplers and Cactus Candy

Finally, we got a date shake to share; it was very tasty:

Date shake

A worthwhile visit in the Palm Springs area.

Joshua Tree National Park: Geology Tour Road

One of our favorite National Parks is Joshua Tree in California.

We visited the park on several evenings, starting with Geology Tour Road.

An interactive map of our route, heading in the south entrance (which doesn’t have an entrance station or lines of cars, but on the other hand has about an hour of not very exciting scenery):

Entrance sign:

Entrance sign