Leaving Dos Palmas , the men continued eastward between the Orocopia and Chocolate mountain ranges , briefly passing by the southern end of the Chuckwalla range and ending at the Palo Verde Valley . Leaving Dos Palmas , the men continued through the pass eastward between the Orocopia and Chocolate mountain ranges , briefly skirting the southern end of the Chuckwalla range , crossed through a gap in the Mule Mountains and reaching the Palo Verde Valley two miles southwest of the modern community of Ripley .