Dec 2022
Palm Springs RV Resort

I booked 14 nights at Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort for the last few days of Nov and the first part of Dec. The resort has 445 sites most of which are for traveling RVs and a few have really nice tiny houses. All roads are lined on both sides with mature palm trees and most sites have a sand base for the RVs with a small asphalt pad for parking tow vehicles or towed vehicles. Many of the sites on the outer edges have full concrete pads. Please drive slowly because there are kids playing everywhere and as kids do, they don't always look out for traffic. Most sites are quite narrow but it works as there are many big rigs here. There are shower houses and laundry rooms scattered around the park nicely and the pool deck is fantastic. There is also Pickleball, Shuffleboard, Horseshoes, and a Playground. There is a really nice billiards room at in the pool house. Sites are allocated on a first come first serve basis and I was in site 62. My site was not ideal and it took a little effort to get level with the Andersen Blocks in the sand. There are plenty of fine restaurants and fast food in the area. There is a well stocked Stater Bros. Market about one mile away. All in all I have no real complaints about the park which is in a great location and I will return!

 Palm Springs RV Resort Site Map

Jan 2023
Pio Pico Thousand Trails
San Diego County CA

I booked 4 nights at the Thousand Trails Pio Pico in Jamul, CA mainly because of it's close proximity to San Diego. I went to college decades ago in San Diego and this is only my third return to the city. Pio Pico is on a nice piece of property and I had high hopes. First issue, being in a canyon about 8 miles from the nearest urban area, there is almost NO cell service. I have Verizon but I now understand that no carrier works well at the campground. I was able to program 23 channels from the San Diego DMA. The second issue was laundry. Yet another card but this card maker only accepts $5 bills. So I tried to get change for a $20 at the Pio Pico store but it was closed till noon for a meeting. (also closes around noon every day for lunch but that's another story) So I drive the 16 mile round trip to town to change the $20. I buy the card with the only $5 bill I have and it sells me a card with a $3 balance. A load is $3.50 and the card machine only take $5, $10, and $20. I load another $10 on the card and two hours later I complete my $15 load of laundry. Maybe the card will work somewhere else but it's unlikely. It's a shame but I don't ever see myself returning to Pio Pico.

 Pio Pico Site Map

Quechan Casino
Wenterhaven CA

With the issues with Oakzanita Springs RV Campground I decided to move on the my backup location at Quechan Casino in Winterhaven, CA for four nights. Great decision! There are no services in the RV area but that's okay. There were always between 50 and 80 rigs here and room for more. The Casino is less that 2 miles from the Los Algodones International border crossing so if you would like to shop or eat in Mexico it couldn't be more convenient. The RV area is not free; $10 per night, $25 three nights, $50 seven nights. You must get a free players card to register your RV and pay at the gift shop. There are a lot of dining options in the casino including a huge sports bar called Sidewinder, the standard casino buffet called Ocotillo, an la carte grill called Gila Blend, and Ironwood Steakhouse. I spent 4 nights here for $35 and will definitely stay here again. Casino Lot Docking is a great alternative to desert boondocking.

Nov 2023
Thousand Trails Palm Springs 2
Palm Desert, California

I booked 14 nights at Thousand Trails Palm Springs RV Resort for the second time, site 21 this year. This is a beautiful campus, in a super prime location, and in Desperate Need of Updating and Routine Maintenance. It's mostly sand throughout with patches of grass that is a half foot tall in many spots. Although the documentation tells you to park vehicles on the asphalt at your site, there wasn't much visible asphalt other than the roads themselves. I didn't notices any updates since last year and the campground seems to be in even worse shape this year. The sewer connection at my site and my neighbor's site was just awful. On a positive note, the pool deck and Pickle Ball Courts are still very nice. The Laundry rooms are well equipped with newish machines using the fantastic Wash Connect App. Since this campground closes 4 months during the heat of the summer, maybe they will overhaul a few things next summer. I sure hope so. I cover The Coachella Valley in Blog 14.

 Palm Springs RV Resort Site Map