February 19, 2021 Ferguson Lake
Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona Day 5
The duck was sitting along the canal preening itself…waiting for the man.
I took a great walk along the river.
West Wetlands Park was the Yuma City Dump. A group of concerned citizens had the idea to reclaim the riverfront and create a park. With state and federal funding, the riverfront was replanted with native trees; cottonwoods, ironwoods, and mesquite trees. A complex system of irrigation keeps the trees healthy. The park opened in 2007 and has undergone a series of improvements according to the master plan. It looks different every time we come back to Yuma. The habitat for birds and animals had been restored. You would never guess that this area was a landfill.
We spent the morning packing the Jeep with food and bedding and started out on our second RTT adventure.
We stopped at the Cloud Museum and just took a couple of pictures of the collection from the parking lot.
Our next stop was Imperial Date Gardens. We picked up some figs, some date butter, and a fresh loaf of date nut bread.
We drove on Ferguson Road to Ferguson Lake. We took this Jeep ride a couple of weeks ago and loved it so much, we wanted to come back and see the rest. This is a really inhospitable, barren desert area. The rocks are volcanic and tinkle like glass when they fall against one another. They are sharp and craggy. But it is beautiful here just the same.
We could see smoke from a rather large fire for miles before we found the source. Farmers were burning off a couple of fields.
The feral burros are made of tough stuff. They are able to navigate on narrow paths through the loose, gravel. I’m not sure what they are eating, though judging from the quantity of “road apples” they are scrounging up some bits of grass and other vegetation. They don’t get too close but they don’t run away either…they just eye us warily as we pass by.
We drove all the way down to the lake and had our lunch.
A memorial to a helicopter search and rescue crew.
We chose our campsite on the ridge.
There was no wind and no forecast for wind. We set up and spent the afternoon enjoying fantastic views and warm sunshine.
Tim made a video.
We watched the sunset.
We cooked omelets stuffed with corn and beans and chicken and onions and peppers. We ate the sweet dense date nut bread too.
We enjoyed music, a nice bottle of malbec, and a fire as the stars came out. It was dark and quiet. We did hear an owl and then later the howling of lots of coyotes coming from the direction of the lake.
This roof top tent is allowing us to experience the wilderness in a way that we otherwise would not. We are so lucky to be doing this!
