Day 10 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

Today was spent getting ready to camp in the desert. When we went to Kofa Wildlife Refuge the other day, we scoped out an area where we can park the RV for a couple of days. There are no hookups and no other services for miles. Today we did all the laundry, got firewood, propane for the grill, groceries, filled the fresh water tank, emptied the grey and black tanks so that we would be ready in the morning. We were finished with our chores and after lunch we were rewarded with some playtime. We took the bikes back to West Wetlands and rode along the Colorado River. We took at break to rest on a picnic table and I was cloud watching.

The view was outstanding.

I got to the top of the hill ahead of Tim. He is itty bitty on the gravel road far below.

This train is crossing the Colorado River from California into Arizona.

We decided to go out to dinner one more time. We have been trying to go to Da Boyz Italian Restaurant but once again they had a wait. We went back to Prison Hill Brewing and got the same thing we had the other night…yum!

A walk back to the car.

If the blog isn’t posted for the next several days…don’t worry about us. We will be in the desert and I’m not sure if we will be able to post. We will catch up when we get back to town!

Day 9 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We grabbed our passports and headed for Los Algodones, Mexico BC. This is a tourist town on the Mexican border. It caters especially to “medical tourism” or people who need cheap prescriptions, eye glasses, and dental work. There are about 350 dentists in the immediate area across the border. This town is nicknamed “Molar City.” We have found that it is easy to cross into Mexico. You park your car on the US side in a secure lot and just walk on in.

We walked among the street vendors. There is not a speck of wasted space on the sidewalks. People are selling jewelry, leather goods, blankets, pottery, metal art, clothing, hats, handbags, and all kinds of trinkets. Everyone invites you to come and look at their goods. “Cheaper in the morning.” You want this for $10.00…how about 5…for you senor…3.”

Also there are many salons for manicures, pedicures, massage and hair.

We stopped at La Parrilla, an outside patio restaurant where Tim had Tecate beer and we ordered chicken chimichangas for our lunch. The guacamole was very good and the tortilla chips were the best we have ever had.

We wandered around for awhile and then wandered back to the US border entry.

“Welcome to the line,” said the man selling cold water for $1.00 a bottle. We waited for about 40 minutes to cross, but there was shade and cold water if you wanted it. If you want the experience of going, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes!

Today it was warm enough to ride topless in the Jeep. I just read that 75% of the US population will suffer below freezing temperatures this week…it is sunny and warm here…that’s why we are here!

Day 8 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

Our journey today began at the Palm Canyon Trail in Kofa.

From the parking area, there is a half mile trail up into the canyon.

The trail leads to a narrow rugged canyon where you can see the fan palms growing. This is a cluster of about 40 palm trees that have managed to survive in this harsh desert climate. This canyon allows the trees the perfect amount of moisture and sunshine. It is ecologically and biologically significant. For us though, this walk was not about the palm trees but more about the beauty of the canyon. My heart felt full as I made my way up through the rock formations. We took a lot of pictures…trying to convey just how special this was…the rugged peaks high above us, the surrounding mountaintops, the desert far below…this was an outstanding hike.

We had our lunch and decided to drive into Quartzsite. We wanted to see what the buzz was about and we needed to refuel the Jeep so that we could continue our ride. Quartzsite is the largest area for dry camping in the United States. You can come and park your rig in the desert and live there for free. There are a lot of area businesses that cater to the RVer’s. We saw signs for the RV Proctologist…he will come and take care of your holding tanks. This place was a carnival! There were all kinds of people selling all kinds of things from their RV’s and tents. It was a kind of giant swap meet. It is hard to put into words or pictures…

With a tank full of gas and cold drinks, we headed back to Kofa. We wanted to cook dinner in the desert, watch the sunset, and stargaze.

We stood then watching the stars pop out until we could see the Milky Way…simply beautiful!! Of course now it was very dark in the desert and we had to use 4WD to get out…such fun! We were hoping to see the animals begin to emerge. We saw about a dozen jackrabbits.

Today was an amazing day!

Day 7 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We began the day at the Yuma Farmers Market. There were a lot of cool things there, but mostly arts and crafts. We had been hoping for all of the local fresh veggies that are being harvested, but there was very little there to chose from.

The farming operations are huge commercial companies. There are 175,000 acres of cropland in Yuma. There are about 24 cooling facilities located here where the produce is held until it is taken out by truck. More than 1.000 tractor trailers move vegetables everyday. The harvesting is 7 days a week and sometimes 24 hours a day. 30,000 to 40,000 workers are in the fields on a daily basis. All of the fields are laser leveled flat. This is to ensure that water and chemicals applied to the crops stay on the fields. There is NO runoff. There are more than 75 winter crops growing here. If you eat salad in the winter, chances are that the lettuce was grown here. 11 salad processing plants in Yuma each process 2 million pounds of lettuce per day!

We took our bikes from the West Wetlands Park and biked into historic Yuma to see the Medjool Date Festival

We wandered through the booths, absorbing the gorgeous sunshine and the cool atmosphere. There are 20,000 RV sites in Yuma. In the wintertime, the town doubles its population because of snowbirds. There were lots of older people at this festival. Whoever arranged the entertainment was a genius though! The first groups were dance students. We all stood watching these little girls dance in their adorable tutus…a bunch of aging grandmas and poppops smiling and cheering! The second act was a mariachi band of young men. The star was maybe 9 years old and he was singing and playing the accordion quite well!!

The local sheriff complete with cowboy hat!

We had some lunch and decided to ride our bikes back. Then we drove to El Centro, California. The ride took us through more farm country. There also seems to be an infinite number of RV parks.

Imperial Dunes Recreation Area is BLM land. This is a 40 mile x 5 mile swath of sand dunes formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahuilla. There were lots of ATV’s, OHV’s, dune-buggies, and dirt bikes enjoying the dunes.

The border wall was in sight to the south for the last portion of our drive.

We passed through a very scraggly and dry area of desert and then more canals and farmlands before the town of El Centro. This town is 50 feet below sea level. This is marked on a water tower as you drive into town. Consequently, the town is very dry and extremely hot in the summer, temperatures reach 120 degrees.

There were no festivals and the downtown area appeared to be fairly depressed.

We spent a quiet afternoon back “home.” Later in the evening I used some of our Medjool dates to make energy trail treats. These are great to take along for a hike or a bike ride.

Recipe for Energy Trail Treats

• 1/2 jar of Earth Balance peanut butter/coconut blend
• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 cups rough rolled oats
• 1 pound of Medjool dates finely chopped
• 1 cup of walnuts finely chopped

Mix ingredients by hand and form into 34-36 balls.

Day 6 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We began our bike ride at Caballeros Park.

This trail follows the West Main Canal. We initially had golf courses on our right. Across the canal was farmland.

We rode through residential areas…some nicer single family homes, some trailer parks, some very large and beautiful homes.

The trail had these dips built into the hillside above and extending down into the canals. I cannot imagine what a heavy rain must look like here. The ground is so dry and dusty and there is nothing to hold it in place. These washes help to direct the rainfall and collect it.

As we have traveled across the country we have seen cell phone towers “disguised” as crosses, pine trees, and palm trees. I’m not entirely sure who they think the are fooling!

At the West Wetlands Park we stopped to eat our lunch and watch a group of older gentlemen steering their remote control sailboats across the community pond.

Our ride took us though the adjacent park, Playa Linda.

“Sports do not build character, they reveal it.” The same might be said for hard work.

As we traveled past this field the air was filled with the aroma of cilantro. On the way north we faced a headwind. How very nice then on the return trip to be pushed along by a tailwind!

We didn’t get back to the RV until late afternoon. We got some groceries and rested. This evening we went back to Yuma and had dinner at the Prison Hill Brewing Company. We were able to sit outside on the patio and enjoy our dinner.

I don’t have a lot of pictures today and I don’t have a lot to say. Today though was a very good day! The warmer temperatures might have helped!

Day 5 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We began the day with a picnic packed and a general idea to head toward Imperial Dam. We crossed the Colorado River into California and took the back roads. On our way, we found BLM camping areas and so we wandered through to investigate. There were 100’s of RV’s parked in the desert. Some in groups and others in isolated areas. There are no hookups so you have to go in with sanitation tanks empty and propane and fresh water full. There are areas where you can stay long term…not sure that we would be interested in that…but it might be cool to stay out in the desert and see the night sky.

We stumbled upon the an old antique museum and didn’t go in but, there were some old trucks out front.

Our next great find was the date store. There are several groves full of date palms and the dates are ripe now. We could see forklifts with man cages high in the trees as the dates were being harvested. We went into the Imperial Date Gardens to do some shopping. We got fresh dates, local honey, fresh figs, and best of all a loaf of fresh date nut bread. We were hardly out of the parking lot before we were devouring the delicious, still warm bread.

The small Laguna Dam is a rock filled diversion dam on the Colorado River.

We traveled on and found a 4WD hill to climb for the best vantage point to see the Imperial Dam and Reservoir.

Yuma Proving Ground had exhibits of tanks and other military vehicles.

We drove to Kofa Wildlife Refuge to the King Valley Road entrance. We found a lunch spot.

We plotted a route on the rough gravel roads through the refuge, taking care to be sure the road passed all the way through! The brittlebush was in full bloom here.

The views were gorgeous.

This woman on horseback passed us on the trail.

Some more beauty…

There are 500-800 bighorn sheep living in this refuge. I scanned the mountain ridges all day looking for them. We were about a mile from the end of the trail when I spotted two. See if you can spot them on the ridge.

We stayed watching the sheep for a long while. As we approached the end of the road we saw that there was a gate that appeared to be padlocked and there was a sign that said PRIVATE PROPERTY. We were not sure that we were in the right place but then again there was no other place to turn…we tried the gate and it wasn’t really locked. We passed through that gate and two more before we found ourselves back on the main road. Always an adventure!!

Enough wandering for today. Time to go home!

Day 4 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We packed our lunch and loaded up the bikes. We drove to the Yuma Historic Riverfront at West Wetlands Park. It was a little chilly and windy as we began, but the sun was shining!

I know two little boys who would love this playground!

There is a designated multi-use path that runs along the canals and the lower Colorado River.

Border Patrol searching along the water’s edge.

The Ocean to Ocean Bridge was the bridge that finally made it possible for travelers to cross the United States without taking a ferry to cross the Colorado River. Arizona on the right and California on the left.

I like these pictures because they show what much of the landscape in this area looks like…farmland, canals, gravel/dirt roads, and mountains ahead.

There is a lot of work going on to restore the area along the Colorado River. The river banks have been stabilized and trees and other native plants have been reintroduced. The best evidence that the project has been successful is the return of wildlife, particularly “wintering, migrating, and resident birds.” We saw snowy egrets, herons, hawks, osprey, hummingbirds, a roadrunner, and ducks. This hawk was perched in a tree before he took off to hunt for lunch.

This train engine is in the exact location where the first train came into Arizona in 1877.

We ate lunch overlooking the river and the rode our bikes to the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park.

The view from the prison yard.

The watch tower.

The museum was very interesting. I spent a lot of time at the medical exhibit. The medical care the prisoners received was supposedly topnotch for the time.

Pill bag.

I also enjoyed the Bad Girls Exhibit.

The prison was ill prepared to accept women and it apparently caused a lot of trouble when women were incarcerated here…go figure!

We walked through the cell block.

The prisoners were treated surprisingly well. They learned skills during their confinement and they had flush toilets and electricity. Yumans were aggravated and called the prison the Country Club on the Colorado.

Train passing by as we toured.

Solar farm at the park.

We stopped at Sprouts Farmers Market on the way “home.” We had sushi for our dinner.

Day 3 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We spent the morning working on tax stuff and doing laundry. We decided to travel to the border town of San Luis about 26 miles south of Yuma. We took our passports and off we went. It has been very windy and since it is very dry here…the dust was blowing.

Our journey was through farm country; fields of lettuce, yellow, purple, and white cauliflower, and lots and lots of cabbage.

We were not allowed to take any pictures at the border crossing. There was a high fence many miles long with barbed wire on top. This town, San Luis, is where hundreds of immigrants recently dug a tunnel and surrendered themselves to Border Patrol. We saw a lot of makeshift tents on the sidewalk on the Mexico side. We believe these people were from Central America, waiting to cross the border. We were directed to pass through immigration. Because we were just planning to walk around and have lunch, we were not required to do more than show our passports. This city is a working city and not a tourist destination. Many people come from San Luis into the U.S. each day to work. There were buses transporting men and women to and from the fields. The city itself was a little gritty, but everyone was friendly and helpful and we felt safe.

This is where we had our lunch. Authentic Mexican tacos. They were very good. It was $6.00 for our meal.

We rested for awhile and decided to go to Old Yuma for the evening.

We had dinner at the Pint House. This is where we met Rob and Emily. They had lived in Alaska and then a job transfer brought them to Yuma 7 years ago. They were interesting to talk to. One of the things that I asked Emily was about the water situation out here. The Colorado River and it’s tributaries have been diverted for the collection of water for human use, beginning with the Hoover Dam. There is a lot of controversy about how water should be utilized and distributed. It is important to be able to grow food but it is also important for homes to have water. I don’t understand the issue well enough to form opinions but it is important to listen to how it effects those who live here. Emily grew up in southern California where she was taught as a young child to conserve water. As an adult, she visited Las Vegas. In the plush hotel room there was this amazing shower with great water pressure…it made her angry. The water is distributed to the surrounding states including California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. She and her family had been so careful with water and for her to see it wasted so frivolously, made her really question the fairness of it all.

After dinner we went to the movies. We hadn’t been to the movies in so long that we had no idea that it could be so comfortable…no sticky floors with trash and littered popcorn…these very luxurious recliners where you didn’t have to strain your neck looking up for 2 hours…and only $11.00 for both of us!

We enjoyed the movie very much!

We were intrigued by a bike path along the Colorado River. We might try that tomorrow!

Day 2 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We headed north on 95 through farm fields. They were harvesting broccoli and cabbage and the whole world smelled like cabbage! We could see lots of different leafy vegetables growing. This area is popular for winter crops and we are looking forward to getting some fresh veggies while we are here. The fields are watered with irrigation systems.

Soon enough we were back in the desert. We entered The United States Army Yuma Proving Grounds.

We arrived at our destination. This area was owned by King of Arizona Mine back in the day. The mountains and surrounding wildlife refuge are named Kofa after the goldmine. We got the very last map and after consulting it we decided to go to the right at marker 75.

This road is only recommended for 4 wheel drive vehicles. It passes through the desert and the mountains and the views are breathtaking!

This area has lots of wildlife…foxes, pronghorns, bighorn sheep, and mule deer. It is also a famous birding site. We saw NO mammals. We saw some nondescript brown birds, too small and too fast to identify. We did see a little lizard, a hummingbird, a grasshopper, and lots of butterflies. We also saw these ants. They call the desert barren. It certainly is dry. But there is a wide variety of animal and plant life here. The desert is alive!

Though we saw no desert wildlife, we were surrounded by beauty.

We were driving along when all at once the road ended. Had we taken a wrong turn? The map was pretty simple…it looked like we could loop all the way around…

Another look at the map….oh no…the road doesn’t connect after Big Eye Mine…There is a mountain in between us! Oh well…we had plenty of gas, plenty of water and snacks…back the way we came…20 miles back to the road! Well the good thing is that when you go back the other way you get an entirely new perspective!

Tomorrow we have a different sort of adventure in mind!

Mileage: 57,555 Arizona West RV Park Yuma, Arizona

We continued west across the desert. Through the Mohawk Mountain Range and then the Copper Mountains.

We arrived in Yuma before lunchtime. Yuma is the sunniest city in the United States. That’s why we are here! We are planning to stay for 10 days and then decide where to go next.

Today was an ordinary kind of day. We did each get to do some biking. Other than that, we were doing laundry, getting set up, and regrouping. Tim watched playoff football and I actually got to take advantage of the sunshine and warmth as I sat outside with a book. Tomorrow we can go west, north, or south to explore…we have come from the east!