A giant nuclear head en route to the nation's largest nuclear generator of power outside Phoenix successfully navigated through Palm Springs late Thursday and early this morning, officials say.

It's presently parked outside Desert Hot Springs near Indian Canyon Drive and Dillon Road, according to Sgt. David Dreher of the California Highway Patrol.

Starting 9 tonight, two pull trucks and a push truck are expected to help haul the 150-ton, 19-foot diameter head up the steeper grades of Highway 62, through the Morongo Basin, towards Twentynine Palms, Dreher said. The load then will take Highway 95 to the California-Arizona border, he said.

It's the second of three replacement nuclear caps destined for the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station making their way through the Coachella Valley.

The first traveled through the area in June, and the final cap is expected to travel this summer, according to Betty Dayyo, spokeswoman for Arizona Public Service, the largest of seven co-owners of the Palo Verde plant.

The heads are not radioactive or harmful, she said.