One of the car clubs I used to belong to would do a Julian drive every year if that tells you anything
That's a lot of driving - if you do the road to Temecula, you'll already get quite a bit of mountain/desolation. I seem to recall when leaving the Palm Springs area, the ascent over the mountain was the most dramatic. The rest of the way was somewhat downhill on a grade and through more valley/meadow-like areas with the mountains in the background.
Either way, it would probably be quite a bit different than what you're used to in Winnipeg
