It's About the (RV) Journey....: Yuma.................

Two months in Phoenix have flown by, and Valentine's weekend was our last weekend in the area. The weather, which was beautiful for most of the two months (read: cold), has warmed up dramatically to the 85-90 range. We decided to spend the weekend sort of low key...and actually went to the pool for a change. But only for an hour in the morning...before the air temperature and the water heated up....hahaha! I am the worst snowbird! That said, we really enjoyed our stay and the friends we met. There is something about Arizona! We felt the same way in Tucson.

In between packing up and getting ready to hit the road again, we had a wonderful lunch/dinner at the El Mirage Cafe, a really good Mexican place nearby. Oh, and it was Valentine's Day....so extra special:)

relaxing at the pool

the worst snowbird ever....trying to stay cool!

I can't stop eating these chips!

Happy Valentine's Day!

last dinner in Phoenix

our favorite treat...stuffed salmon

We traveled just a couple of hours west to the town of Ehrenberg, AZ, located on the Arizona/California border. The campground is on the Colorado River, and is a perfect location for us for just a few days. There are some things we wanted to see in the area, but didn't want to spend an extended period of time here.

a corner site!

sun setting down by the Colorado River...the colors were really pretty

so peaceful

duck taking off

checking for wildlife...and admiring all the colors

the Colorado River at sunset

the campground is right on the river

sunset on the camper

Our first outing was to Yuma, a very popular destination among RVer's, so we wanted to check it our for ourselves. The drive was really scenic, and as we got near Yuma, we noticed many boondockers, as well as many RV parks. Another snowbird destination!

driving to Yuma

so pretty

boondockers

We drove about an hour and a half south to our destination.....Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Historic Park. For more information, click here. Of course, it was hot...hot...hot. We had our hats, and plenty of water. The park had a Visitor Center, and several outbuildings on nicely landscaped property. We took our time walking around the park, and learned about the importance of this depot in supplying the frontier army in the forts in the southwest with necessities. Everything came through Yuma.

a wooden passenger car from back in the day

is this where the 3:10 to Yuma came?

Tom spotted an osprey?

way up there

lets got to the museum

Being right on the Colorado River, we also learned about the importance of the river and the dams that were built to channel the water and make the land livable. Irrigation water was delivered to Yuma from here, via a tunnel. Just an aside....did you know that 90% of leafy greens in the US between Nov and Feb (?) come from Yuma. Trust me, there are a ton of verdant farms out here.

learning about the Dams of the Colorado River

lots of antique vehicles

a bygone era...steamboats on the Colorado (before the dams)

the captain must have been 12 feet tall!

Of course, we viewed the quartermaster's house and office, where we got a peek into the living conditions. That is always fascinating to me, especially in such an environment as Yuma.

Quartermaster's Office and Home

he lost his head!

very nice...but no air conditioning!

dining area

wow...that's an old sewing machine

the children's room

great garden!

Later, reclamation work was done from this location to handle the Colorado River. Dams were built to ensure a water source, and prevent floods. The Colorado River Siphon is a 14 foot wide tunnel that goes under the riverbed and allows the water from the Yuma irrigation canal to get from California to Arizona and you can see this from the path. For more information, click here.

the canal

After a quick picnic of peanut butter/crackers and water in the shade, we decided to WALK to the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park, since it was a nice 15 minute walk through a lovely park along the Colorado River, as well as some of the East Wetlands. Many wrong turns later, we arrived at the prison. It was so hot by then, we were happy to be in the prison! For more information on the prison, click here.

even with these giant arrows, we got lost a few times!!!

Ocean to Ocean Bridge

a view of the prison from the other side....we had to walk back down the hill, through the park and around the other side of the hill...oh it was hot!!

a view of the east wetlands from the prison (where we walked)

finally at the prison

I didn't do it!!

We took a self-guided tour and watched the informational movie...all very interesting. The prisoners actually built the cells, and if you knew how hot it was...even in February....wow! The museum had some interesting displays on such things as attempted escapes, women prisoners, and even a list of the crimes committed by these prisoners.

they didn't look scary

woah....now he looks a little off! Scary!!

impressive.....the prison is surrounded by desert

wonder how that would compare to today

The prison wasn't too terribly big. There were a couple of rows of cells, and the "isolation cell" too. I'm sure it was not treat to go out in the prison yard during the day. One of the pictures showed the prisoners huddled in the little bit of shade from the wall.

checking out the cells

very small...i think 4 inmates to a cell

get me out of here!

the women's cell (didn't look too bad to me!)

the women's cell....they weren't sure what to do with the women! they built a special cell for them. Some even got released early

this would be 'isolation'

it wasn't dark when we were there, but you could just imagine!

to the exercise yard

i have my fitbit on....should I do a few laps and win the challenge??

not fun to be a prisoner

lots of bugs and disease

The guard house was a separate structure, and looked out over the surrounding wetlands too. Very nice scenery. Of course, the guards weren't looking at the scenery....hahaha! Incredibly, some prisoners did manage to escape into the harsh desert.

the guardhouse

view from the guardhouse

some of the prisoners died and are buried over there

So, we walked back to the Quartermaster Depot State Park, and managed not to get lost. It was still really hot, especially with the radiant heat bouncing back up from the ground. The 90 degree day felt so much hotter! When we got back, we treated ourselves to ice cream at the "Back in Time" Tea Shop at the park before heading back home.

okay...there's the bridge

on the way back stopped to check out the steam engine train

Tom really IS an engineer (just not that kind)

bobcat? (hey...we were hot and there are bobcats in the wetlands area

really enjoying this treat!

this is so good.....but I should be eating carrot sticks

The number of farms were amazing, and the produce all looked so healthy. Would be interesting to tour a working farm, but I don't think we will have time.

lots and lots of farms

lots of tractors too

doesn't that look good

The scenery was awesome, so I am sharing some of the views we had. The mountains look like a picture, with toy trains in front of them.

looks like a fake movie set, doesn't it?

scenic

very scenic drive back

farms everywhere

We passed Yuma Proving Grounds, where combat vehicles and weapons are tested. During WWII, engineers tested portable bridges here, among other things. Millions of soldiers trained for combat here as well, back in the day.

Also nearby was the Kofa Wildlife Refuge, . It was pretty hot, and we didn't have enough water to even think about getting out of the car and doing even a short hike. For more information, click here.

Another fun day-we are really learning a lot on this journey of ours (besides seeing some incredible scenery)!