Dateland updated: new travel center

A small cafe was opened in 1965 along the highway about a hundred miles east of Yuma and quickly gained a reputation for its date milkshakes. A small gift shop enticed other visitors. Tall date trees towered above a small motel and a gas station.

Things changed over the years, as the highway became Interstate 8 and the fortunes of the motel and cafe dwindled.

Then in September 1994, Roland and Charna Walker, a young couple from Alberta, Canada, took over and started making big plans for the little travel center.

Today, the completely rebuilt Dateland Travel Center is a 9,000-square-foot building that includes Quiznos restaurant, an ice cream corner serving up ice cream cones and date shakes, and an expanded gift and date shop.

The dates for the shakes as well as those sold in the gift shop are grown right on the property. Even the grove has grown. Another 500 date trees were planted in addition to the 200 that were already standing, Walker said.

“In addition to the familiar Medjool, we have seven other special date varieties. These are packaged and on sale in the date section of our travel center.”

The rebuilt travel center also has a new Texaco gas station that carries biodiesel, E-85 ethanol and racing fuels for duners as well as the regular fuel products. Entries and exits to the station are all designed for travel trailers, motor home and all types of recreational vehicles.

Not often discussed are the restrooms at truck stops and travel centers, but the ones at Dateland are special.

Both the women’s and the men’s facilities are spotless and beautifully designed. The ladies' room has white porcelain wash bowls set in sleek granite with oval mirrors. The doors to the toilets are ivory.

The men’s latrine has washbowls set in wood, as are the mirrors. Privacy doors are of rustic wood.

And, there is a baby changing area in both the restrooms, so either male or female can care for the baby traveler.

People traveling with pets have opportunity to give their four-legged companions a break. There are chain-link enclosures outside that have plastic covers and are mist-cooled.

“We don’t charge for this service but the traveler must pay $10 for a lock and key, which is refunded when these items are returned,” Walker said.

The Texaco is open 24 hours a day and the restaurant and gift shop from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. "seven days a week, 364 days a year." The main phone line is 1-928-454-2772.

The gift shop features a continuous video telling the history of dates, how they are grown and processed, plus numerous Arizona memorabilia.

Cold beverages and a machine for making flavored or plain coffee are in the area open from the gift shop and a convenience store for the Texaco service station

Work continues on the outside of the center. Grass will be planted and trees added to the front area where two historical monuments are standing.

One is dedicated to the Datelan Army Air Field, named for Gen. Datelan, commanding officer of both Camp Horn and Camp Hyder during World War II. The monument was dedicated by the Clampers, a veterans group. The second monument is in memory of those who died in the crash of a Boeing B50A, the “Lone Ranger” in the nearby mountains on March 23, 1950.

About the owners:

“I am from Canada, Charna from Indianapolis, and we met in Houston, Texas, where we were both on business," Walker said. "After our courtship and marriage, she had a work permit to be in Canada. When we came to Dateland, I had a green card. I became a U.S. citizen in 1999, so now both of us have dual citizenship.”

Their son lives in Calgary, where Walker's parents reside six months out of the year, spending the other six months in Dateland. The couple's daughter is in college in Texas.

Walker said gravitating to owning a travel center was likely a given, having grown up in his parents' similar business.

The Walkers employ about 40 people. Some live in the old motel cabins while others have homes nearby and even in Tacna. Walker serves as a volunteer with the Tacna fire department.

**Click here for a slideshow on the Dateland center: http://www.yumasun.com/sections/slideshow/?id=478763