I-10 Morongo Travel Center Opens In Cabazon

Above, the new Morongo travel center joins the Cabazon dinosaurs off Interstate 10. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Whenever I think of Cabazon, California off Interstate 10, I think first of the two dinosaurs that were built in the 1960s and Hadley Fruit Orchards (and their date shakes).

Now, the Morongo tribe has opened a new travel center in Cabazon.

MSN posted:

CABAZON, CA — The Morongo Band of Mission Indians has opened its Interstate 10 Morongo Travel Center in Cabazon that includes a 32-pump gas station, dog park, car wash, slot machines, a convenience store and other offerings.

Located behind Morongo’s existing gas station at Morongo Trail and Thunder Road, the new 6.7-acre Travel Center also has a bank of electric vehicle charging stations, eight Tesla superchargers, RV dumping, propane fills, six high-speed diesel truck pumps and diesel exhaust fluid.

To read more, go here. 

Best U.S. Road Trips, A U.K. View

Above, the Cabazon dinosaurs off Interstate 10 near Palm Springs California. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Ever wondered what overseas news organizations think are the best places to travel in the U.S.?

Well, one organization in the United Kingdom has posted a guide on what they consider to be the best U.S. road trips.

Before listing the best road trips in the U.S., Deadline News begins their guide with:

For many people, the ultimate road trip destination is the US because there are so many amazing routes to choose from with an abundance of attractions and landmarks along the way. Whether you fancy a coastline road trip, or to go from coast-to-coast across the mainland, there are some breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime routes for you to choose from. 

To see what they are, go here. 

4.5 Magnitude Quake Hits Cabazon

Above, the Cabazon dinosaurs.

Cabazon, California, best known for Hadley Fruit Orchards store and the Cabazon dinosaurs, was hit this morning by an earthquake.

The Los Angeles Times wrote:

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 shook a large portion of Southern California early Tuesday morning, authorities said. 

The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter of the 4:49 a.m. temblor about 7 miles north of Cabazon.

That's another thing I won't miss about leaving California.

To read more, go here. 

Hadley Merlot Wine Steak Sauce

One of the best products I've discovered in recent months (if you want to call last November "recent") was at the Hadey Fruit Orchards store in Cabazon, California.

When my family used to visit my grandmother in 29 Palms, we would stop at the Hadley store on the way home for some date shakes and buy some fruits and nuts to take home.

Last November, I stopped in while on my way home from the General Patton Museum and the Joshua Tree National Park.

I spotted bottles of Hadley Merlot Wine Steak Sauce on a counter and I decided to buy a bottle of it to try out.

To say that the steak sauce is "fantastic" would be a gross understatement. This stuff is the BOMB! (As the younger generation would say.)

While at the Ventura Beach RV Resort this week, I cooked some steaks on the barbecue and used the steak sauce. My bottle is almost half empty, so I thought I would go to the Hadley online catalog and order some more. Unfortunately, it isn't listed. So I called them and left a message.

A little while ago, a nice lady from Hadley called and said that the sauce is such a new product that it hasn't yet made its way to the catalog, but I could order some through her. She asked how many do I want. I said ten.

She just about fell out of her chair. I started laughing. I told her that the sauce is that good and I was planning to give some to friends. Unfortunately, she said they only have ten bottles in stock. I took them.

My order will be going out on Monday.

I highly recommend it!

How The Date Shake Became The "Unofficial" Drink of Palm Springs

Above, Hadley Fruit Orchards in Cabazon, where I discovered date shakes. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There is an "unofficial" drink of Palm Springs.

I have been aware of this drink since the 1960s when we would visit my grandmother in 29 Palms, California and stop at Hadley Fruit Orchards on the way home and buy ourselves some.

It is the date shake.

Condé Nast Traveler has an article on how the date shake became the unofficial drink of Palm Springs.

They begin with:

Although southern California's Coachella Valley is better known for the annual music festival bearing its name, it's also the place where more than 90 percent of the world's dates are grown. The warm, dry climate is perfect for the sweet fruits and the palm trees they grow on, but not all of the dates are exported. The founders of Shields Date Garden in Indio, which features a series of sculptures portraying events from Jesus's life alongside their date palms, came up with a way to crystallize the dates, turning them into something resembling oatmeal. Someone—no one is positive who—then came up with the idea of mixing them with ice cream, thus creating the unofficial beverage of Palm Springs: the date shake.

To read more, go here. 

Cabazon Dinosaur Photos

Above, Dinny and Mr. Rex. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A few days ago, I blogged about the Cabazon Dinosaurs that I visited last weekend.

Since much of that blog post went a little bit into their history, I only posted two photographs of Dinny the brontosaurus and Mr. Rex, the tyrannosaurus.

I took more photos of them and here's ones I didn't post:

Above, Mr. Rex. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, some sort of prehistoric snake near Dinny. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the doorway into Dinny's tail. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, another view of Mr. Rex. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Dinny. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, it almost looks as if Mr. Rex is about to stomp
 through the palm trees. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, the other side of Dinny. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Hadley Fruit Orchards

Above, the Hadley Fruit Orchards store in Cabazon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in the 1960s when we visited my grandmother in 29 Palms, we usually stopped at Hadley Fruit Orchards store in Cabazon on the way home.

There, we picked up some nuts and fruit products (such as jams and preserves) and had date shakes in their snack bar.

Yesterday, while returning home from Joshua Tree National Park and the General Patton Memorial Museum, I made a few stops, one of which was at Hadley's. I stopped in after having breakfast at Ruby's Diner next door. They have plenty of RV parking.

Above, inside of Hadley's. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The store still looked the same and was very much as I remembered it. It has been many moons since I last stopped there (it was probably after a desert clamp-out with the Billy Holcomb Chapter of E Clampus Vitus).

This time, I skipped getting a date shake (actually, I forgot to get one) but I did pick up a couple of bottles of their steak sauces. One was mesquite-flavored and the other was merlot wine-flavored. I like to try out different steak sauces.

Above, just look for the Hadley sign while on Interstate 10 in Cabazon. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was nice to see that some things haven't changed, and the Hadley Fruit Orchard store in Cabazon is one of them.

For more on Hadley's, go here.

Ruby's Diner In Cabazon

Above, the Cabazon Ruby's Diner. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

On the way home from the General Patton Memorial Museum and Joshua Tree National Park yesterday, I made another stop (besides the Cabazon dinosaurs) in Cabazon: Ruby's Diner.

On the way to the General Patton Museum, I noticed several billboards advertising Ruby's Diner in Cabazon. Ruby's Diner is a 1940s style restaurant chain named for the mother of the founder, Doug Cavanaugh. I decided to give them a try.

Above, a portrait of founder Doug Cavanaugh's mother Ruby on display behind the cashier's counter. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Cabazon Ruby's Diner is next door to Hadley's Fruit Orchards store, at which my family has stopped for date shakes since the 1960s. I stopped by Hadley's after Ruby's, but that will be the subject of another blog post.

Ruby's started in 1980 with the first restaurant to be opened in 1982 in Newport Beach, California. Now, there are several Ruby's Diner restaurants besides the one in Cabazon.

Above, vintage signs adorned the walls of Ruby's Diner. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I went to the Cabazon restaurant for breakfast. Fortunately, they had large parking spaces in their parking lot that are suitable for RVs and I got there early before the crowds. When I went inside, I immediately liked the "malt shop" look of the restaurant. In the section I was seated, there was an overhead oval track with a 1957 Chevrolet going around and vintage signs were displayed on the walls. I'm probably dating myself when I admit to remembering some of the signs on display.

Above, the 1957 Chevy revolving on an overhead oval track. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I ordered the corned beef and eggs and it was well-prepared. The waiter was dressed 1940s style and he seemed to enjoy his job. I was pleased that the food was good. I'd hate to go to a restaurant what was all decor, but with lousy food.

Above, the counter of Ruby's. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to their website, there's a Ruby's Diner at the nearby Woodland Hills Promenade Mall on Topanga Canyon Blvd. I'll have go there to try out their hamburgers.

Above, the cooks at work. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If I should be in the Cabazon area again, I will make it a point to stop in at Ruby's Diner.

For more on Ruby's Diner, go here.

Cabazon's Dinosaurs: Roadside Kitsch

Above, "Mr. Rex". Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While on my way home from Joshua Tree National Park today, I stopped off at Cabazon's dinosaurs to photograph them.

Back in the 1960s, my grandmother retired to 29 Palms and we would pass the dinosaurs on Interstate 10 while en route to visit her. Each time we passed them, we noted the progression of their construction. The first dinosaur built was the big Brontosaurus and then the Tyrannosaurus rex was built later.

Above, "Dinny". Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The dinosaurs were featured in Pee Wee's Big Adventure around the "Large Marge" segment of the movie ("Tell 'em Large Marge sent ya!").

According to Wikipedia:

The creation of the Cabazon dinosaurs began in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897–1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Restaurant, which opened in 1958 and has been closed for a long time. Dinny, the first of the Cabazon dinosaurs, was started in 1964 and created over a span of eleven years. Bell created Dinny out of spare material salvaged from the construction of nearby Interstate 10 at a cost of $300,000. The biomorphic building that was to become Dinny was first erected as steel framework over which an expanded metal grid was formed in the shape of a dinosaur. All of it was then covered with coats of shotcrete (spray concrete). Bell was quoted in 1970 as saying the 45-foot (14 m) high, 150-foot (46 m) long Dinny was "the first dinosaur in history, so far as I know, to be used as a building." His original vision for Dinny was for the dinosaur's eyes to glow and mouth to spit fire at night, predicting, "It'll scare the dickens out of a lot of people driving up over the pass." These two features, however, were not added. With the help of ironworker Gerald Hufstetler, Bell worked on the project independently; no construction companies or contractors were involved in the fabrication. The task of painting Dinny was completed by a friend of Bell's in exchange for one dollar and a case of Dr Pepper. 

A second dinosaur, Mr. Rex, was constructed near Dinny in 1981. Originally, a giant slide was installed in Rex's tail; it was later filled in with concrete making the slide unusable. 

The Wheel Inn Restaurant is still closed and the area surrounding the dinosaurs looked run down during today's visit. But despite this, it appears that the dinosaur attraction is still open for business.