Last Two Weeks in Yuma

Feburary 2nd to 15th, 2009

Sorry this is a long post.

It’s been a busy 2 weeks. Made several trips to Los Algodones, Mexico. Did some dental work there @ a dentist recommended by friends that stay in the Foothills- Yuma area. That’s about as far as we care to go into Mexico right now. It’s just over the border & about all that’s there is US trained Dentist’s, Eye Dr’s, Pharmacies & Liquor stores. Along with the “junk” venders. Some beautiful things but a person can acquire very little when you live in a limited space & move around a lot.

us with Mike & Sandy Bubar @ restaurant in Los Algodones. The other pix are of the line to leave Mexico & return to the states. That line was often 2hrs long.

First thing to do was give the dogs a bath after 3 weeks of boondocking. Boy were they full of dust & dirt. And as you can see they are looking so happy. (ha-ha)

We made several trips to the Yuma Market place. Just about every time we came across friends there. It’s open Wed.- Sun. You can find all kinds of things from fruit & vegies to cloths, nuts & bolts. There’s some food venders & even a stage to entertain. The bottom right pix is Yoda cking out one of the venders wares. The top right pix are some friends we spent some time with in Yuma.

Saw my mom a couple times. She was also in Yuma for a while to visit friends & Stay warm. She came south with her friend Bob. We took them out for breakfast for her 82nd Birthday. Feb 8th. These are Pix of the lot they stayed at. And mom & I on her B-day.

We took a trip out to see some friends Charles & Nancy. They were boondocking west of Yuma just inside the Calif. border. BLM land (bureau of land management) an area called Tamarisk (I-8 @SR98, west on 98) It used to have houses where the workers for the All American Canal lived. The houses are gone but there are some cement slabs left. The canal has some locks that help it flow & create some power. They are in the process of putting in a rubber liner & cement so there isn’t so much water lost into the ground. They said that the water saved through seepage is enough to supply San Diego for a year.

Tamarisk is a nice quiet area little dust when the wind blows because of the surrounding Tamarisk trees. Below is a pix of the dam, canal, Charles & Nancy’s rig, some of the area & one of Turkey Vulcher flying over head. This place is very close to the Mexican border & before they put up the wall there would be a lot of illegal’s come through.

Took a drive out to the American Girl Mine. A drive we should have had a 4 wheel drive to take.The top right pix shows just how fare out some people go to get away from it all. Bill & Kay took this outing with us.

We stopped at a date farm on our way back to have a date shake & bought some good dates.

For Valentines Day we went out to dinner to The Texas Road House with 8 couples. Dinner was very good & the company was great. They had to seat us & 3 tables.

One of our last outings was another desert trip out on another 4 wheel drive road. Poor Max!! We went out to see something called Yuma Lights. There’s an area out off Hwy 95 not far from the VFW. @ mile marker 38. It’s only 4 to 5 miles off hwy but it took 30min. to drive it. There is an area where there are ghost like lights that come from no where. You have to go on a night that has no moon & not a lot of clouds. We took hot dogs & the fixings to cook (forgot the marshmallows) & had a fire. We had 3 different macaroni salads & Loraine made a fruit salad. Got there before dark the guys started a fire & we set up to wait. Some of the couples had been there last year. I only have pix of the area & our fire. It’s impossible to take pix of the lights with my little camera & Steve forgot his big camera. The trip out you follow a canal on your left & then RR tracks on your right. eventually you come to a tunnel that goes under the tracks.

Just behind the group pix above is where the lights appear after dark. The lights are almost ghost like. Almost like fog with light shining through but it comes from both directions & even sometimes floats & moves like a ghost. Whish we had Steve's camera & could have tried to get some night pix.

While in Yuma we also had to take Rhythm into a vet for diarrhea again. Had been dealing with this issue for much of the trip. We decided she’s not a good traveler & gets stressed so now she gets 1/2 a pill of doggie “Prozac” Amitriptyline once a day. As well as some rice & a spoon of Pumpkin in her food each day. It seems to be doing the trick. Thank heavens. When we boondock & limited water that was an issue I’m glad to have it resolved. Rhythm had lost more than a pound & Yoda the happy camper he is gained a pound+. Yoda saw the vet to get his Rabies shot.

This is the lot we stayed on in Yuma. We shared it with George & Bev Boykin from Calif. There MH is on left & to back of lot. The MH in front & left was Ruth & Arlo Thomas. They were only there a night & then went to The Gypsy Journal Rally in Casa Grande. We also shared the lot with Darwin & Donna Betteridge from Center Point, Or.

Below is Gill & Elaine Feis. Friends we met last year & The Grand Canyon. They were the ones that had the use of the lot we stayed on. The other people we shared the lot with are members of the Escapees chapter 24 in Calif. & are also friends with Gill & Elaine.

Below are pix of Steve hooking up the Max & the Rock Guard we bought from George for a very good price. Thank You George.

Our Stay in Yuma was a very busy one. We had several friends that also showed up in the area @ the same time. We even spent some time with old friends “not really old” that we graduated from High School with. Bev & Charlie Wilson. We haven’t seen each other in about 35yrs. Sorry no pix will get one when we see them later @ there home in Peoria. They have also recently retired & now Charlie is learning how to relax & be together 24-7-365. Hope they ck out the Escapee web site. http://www.escapees.com/ Maybe they will enjoy one of the volunteer BOF’s. But first relax & see the USA.

We left Yuma on Monday the 16th & are now in the Tucson area on BLM land called Snyder Hill. Friends Mike & Sandy Bubar are here. Going to see some of the sites here.

That’s all for now. I promise to post more often.

Later Sandy Steve… on the road traveling with Rhythm & Yoda