February 20, 2021 Epic Canyon Hike

Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona Day 6

We slept well in our cozy nest.  We got up at 2am and while we were up, we looked at the stars.  It was a calm and gorgeous.  We heard owls and coyotes off and on all night.  Tim also heard a burro somewhere not too far away…snorting and braying…maybe we were in his camping spot!

I woke up to watch the sky turn pink and tangerine. 

Coffee in the desert tastes so good.

We also had a morning fire.

Yesterday, a family in an ATV stopped to compliment us on our tent and camping spot.  They told us that there was an epic hike in the canyon below to the “bear” caves.  We decided to drive down and take the walk.  We drove the Jeep into the wash as far as we could.  When it became too narrow, we got out to walk.  It was about ¼ mile to the end of the canyon.  There were all sorts of caves.  We are so glad that we knew to go there!

Tim drove out to the road and I walked.  It was slow trudging in the soft gravel wash but I really wanted to be out and moving.

We took another couple of gravel roads, slowly making our way back.

Back at the RV, we needed some rest time, but then we got up and rode our bikes all the way to the Mexican border wall.  Our faces were in the wind on the way…but oh how nice it was to fly back!

Tim ordered Mexican food and went to get it for our dinner while I worked on sorting pictures and writing the blog.  Another very good day!

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!

On Friday night, we are going on an overnight camping trip with the Jeep and staying in the roof top tent. The blog will not be posted until sometime on Saturday!

February 18, 2021 Hanging Out

Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona Day 4

It was really windy this morning.  I was feeling rather uninspired, but I forced myself to go out and walk anyway.  I chose a route along the canal with trees on one side and the levee on the other.  It wasn’t too bad there. I had never been down that path before. There was some really neat artwork on the slopes.

I was going to come back along the river but the wind gusts were causing the sand to whip around my ankles.  Instead, I stayed on the main park road.  I was glad to get my 3 miles finished and be back at the campground.

When I walked past, the duck man was sitting in his lawn chair, holding the duck and petting it.  I really wanted a picture…but I thought it might be rude to ask!  That poor duck is going to be very sad when the man heads north this spring!

Tim decided he wanted to bike the 13 miles to Somerton.  He had it planned so that the wind would carry him there and he did make very good time!  He finished his ride in 1 hour and 15 minutes.  I did a couple of errands and drove there with a picnic lunch to meet him. 

His ride took him across farming country and parallel to the Mexican border.  They were harvesting lettuce today.

If you look at the picture carefully, you can see the border wall in the background.

When you buy mixed baby greens in the grocery store, I bet you didn’t know that they plant them so that they can be gathered, washed and packaged in the field.  All kinds of greens are planted together so they can easily be combined. 

This afternoon, I spent time learning about our new power bank.  We wanted to have a reliable way to charge our phones when we are out in the tent overnight.

For dinner, we took leftovers from yesterday and went to watch the sunset.

February 17, 2021 Errands And Chores

Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona Day 3

Another beautiful morning walk.

This gentleman stays here in the campground all winter.  About a month ago, a duck started to visit his campsite.  He and his wife began feeding the black and white duck.  When I walked past the other day, the man was gently approaching the duck.  He reached down to stroke its back.  The duck allowed the man to pick it up and hold it.  Today when I went by, the man was standing at the rail of the canal calling the duck.  Quack…quack quack quack…quack.  The duck paid the man no attention and swam away.  The man headed back to his chair.

After breakfast, we went to Sprouts to get groceries and did a couple of other errands as well. 

This afternoon, Tim took the Jeep to get new tires.

I stayed back at the RV and scrubbed a layer of desert dirt off of everything.

This evening, I made my version of chicken pad thai with cabbage and shredded carrots and edamame and peanuts and onions and peppers all in a savory, spicy, nutty sauce…YUM!

February 16, 2021 From The Wall To The Softball Field

Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona Day 2

The white-winged doves greeted the new day and brought me to wakefulness.  They sit in the tree behind the RV.

I was excited to take my morning walk.  I started in the campground along the river. 

I walked into West Wetlands and wandered on the paths through the park.  I explored Gowan Grove and then walked through the hummingbird garden. 

I saw lots of birds and flowers as well.

Gambel Quail

African Senna

Crimson Bottlebrush

Spanish Broom

On my way back, I walked the riverside.  It was such a beautiful day! 

Long-horned Beetle

I was looking for the river cats.  The campground host told us that she owns a property down the road.  There is a cave there where the river cats or bobcats live.  They walk each day along the water and into the park to the bridge.  I was, of course, hoping to see one.  Maybe another day!  I did find this track which just might be a river cat print.

Later this morning we went to Big O Tire to order new tires for the Jeep.  We also stopped to try to get propane for the grill and to get more purified water.

After lunch we took another bike ride.  We rode on the paved canal road and then all the way to East Wetlands.  On our way back we cycled through the park. 

This evening, we took a drive.  When we were biking yesterday, we couldn’t figure out exactly where we were.  Tim looked at a map and figured out that we had been very close to the Mexican border.  We wanted to go back and look.  We found the border wall.  It has large unfinished sections.  It looks like all work on it has stopped.  The wall sections are laying there but all the construction equipment is gone.

We drove back through more farm fields.

We went into town and got some spare bicycle inner tubes. 

We ordered food from Prison Hill and picked up our carryout. 

We headed to the park and found a picnic table where we enjoyed our meal.  After eating, we drove to the top of the berm to watch the setting sun.

We saw that the lights were on at the athletic complex.  We drove over and watched some men playing softball.  It was nice to be outside and doing something different and kind of normal!

February 15, 2021 Back To Yuma

Riverfront RV Park Yuma, Arizona

I woke up early and saw the sky turning pink.  I got up to have my coffee and watch the sunrise…no pictures…just enjoyed the sunrise. 

Claudia and I took one last walk across the desert.  We were looking for pretty rocks and animal tracks and chatting.  It’s so easy to walk when you have someone there to share it with 😊.

Today, we said goodbye to our friends.  Lee and Claudia were headed to Yuma to see Aunt Mavis.  She is 89 years old and stays in Yuma every winter.  Lee and Mavis have a tee time on Tuesday morning to play a round of golf. 

Tim and I also decided to go back to Yuma.  The Jeep needs new tires and we have a couple of other things on our list as well.  Instead of going back to Arizona West, we wanted to try camping at Riverfront RV Park, right along the Colorado River.  This park is older, Jean has had it for thirty years.  She told us that this is the very first year that the park has not been full in February.  This place has a quaint, old fashioned, homey feel to it.  Everyone was very friendly and welcoming.  They have a lot of old signs and a telephone booth and old gas station stuff.  It’s really neat. 

It is a lot quieter than the other park we have stayed at.  Another wonderful thing about this place is that it is adjacent to West Wetlands Park.  I am looking forward to walking there every morning!  It is also where we have come to ride our bikes many times.

This afternoon, we were a bit tired and lazy.  At around 3, we went out on our bikes.  We biked west along the canal and up on the newly paved levee road.  We passed farmland and water treatment plants.

This evening we ate leftovers.  The weather is mild enough that we have our windows open.  We are thinking of our family members in Texas who are without power in frigid temperatures.  Hopefully things there will get better quickly.  We feel so lucky to be warm when we know that most of the U.S. is in a deep freeze.

February 14, 2021 Valentine Adventure

BLM 633 on S34 Winterhaven, California Day 2

During the night we had some wicked, whipping, northwesterly winds.  Tim got up before sunrise to pull the slideouts in. 

This morning, the winds were at 18 mph with a forecast for gusty winds through 3:00.  Claudia and I gamely tried our morning walk.  The winds pushed us out to the road.  For a short distance, we walked with a crosswind and that was okay.  When we turned to face the wind, it was brutal.  I thought to myself that if Claudia was okay, I was okay too!  I felt the crunchy little grits of sand between my teeth.  All at once, Claudia said: “This is no fun!”  We gratefully turned around with our backs to the wind and hiked back to the RVs. 

We had a plan to ride across the desert on Indian Pass Road and into Picacho State Park.  It was so windy that we were in a quandary.  We tossed ideas back and forth.  We even thought about packing everything up and driving to Yuma.  In the end, we decided to give our Jeep adventure a go. 

We enjoyed our 4WD ride into the park.  We stopped at intervals to get out and admire the pretty scenery.

We traveled along the Colorado River.

We saw a group of kayakers.  Because the wind and current were so strong, they were not having to paddle except to steer.  The river carried them along.

Last time Tim and I were here, we missed the turn to Bear Canyon Falls.  Today, I was on a mission to find it.  This turned out to be a neat little place for lunch.

We made it as far as the Upper Docks and decided to call it a day.  It took us about 4 hours (with lots of stops) to get to this point.  It was going to take about 3 hours to get back.  Claudia voted to go back on Picacho Road.  This is a 2WD passable rough gravel road.  We then had to take the highway and S34 back to the RV.  This proved to be a good decision.  Our return trip only took 1 ½ hours.  I did the driving.  I wouldn’t have been able to help too much if we had gone back the other way.

This evening, we enjoyed a Valentines’ feast.  We had asparagus and tortellini with shrimp and peas in a lemon butter and garlic sauce.  We grilled some garlic bread. 

Another day well spent with adventuresome buddies!  It is really wonderful to share this part of our lives with two people that always “get us!” Thanks Lee and Claudia for a great weekend!

February 13, 2021 Follow That Toad

Claudia and I took a great walk on BLM roads through the desert.

Later this morning, we packed coolers and went Jeeping.

We wound our way around in the Chuckwalla Bench, exploring the area. 

Our lunch spot.

We found BLM Route 585.  This was a fun, moderate Jeep road with some smaller obstacles.  It felt a lot like riding on an old wooden roller coaster; up and down in the small foothills. 

This evening Lee and Claudia made delicious nachos and elk machaca burritos.  The meat was rich with flavors and spices.  We enjoyed the meal and the fellowship of friends.

February 12, 2021 Meeting Good Friends

BLM EC 633 Winterhaven, California

I began the day with an uneventful walk along 85 in Ajo.

The campground has this amazing little cactus garden. It is always filled with birdsong.

Today was moving day.  We traveled north on 85 and stopped at a wayside to have breakfast.  We were in the Barry Goldwater Range.  We watched 4 jets practicing tactical maneuvers.  We could see the pilots dive low and then we saw bursts of smoke coming from the ground several miles away.  The aircraft would then climb dramatically before veering sharply to the left and then the next jet would come through, executing the exact flight pattern.  We could hear loud rumbling noises.  It was thrilling to watch.

We stopped in Yuma to get groceries and supplies.  We also filled the RV with fuel.  We are going back into southeastern California and we remembered that fuel was nearly 4.00 a gallon there.

This evening, we camped off road on BLM EC 633 where we camped 2 weeks ago.  We were joined a short while later by our good friends Lee and Claudia.  We had a wonderful evening with great conversation, wine, appetizers, a campfire, chicken feta burgers, pizzelles and chocolate covered strawberries.  After our meal, we stood together looking at the stars.  We are looking forward to adventuring with our friends this weekend!