Christmas in Yuma 2008

Christmas this year is a new experience for us. Although we're not at home as in the past we tried to retain some of the traditions we're used to. To replicate the cozy feelings of this time of year, we turned our TV to Star Choice and their fireplace channel which has a lovely crackling fire. I then compiled a Christmas album on my lap top which played in the background. Now that's Christmas in the 21st century.

Since Kyle was little, we have always made an evening of watching "Christmas Vacation" so did that this year as well. This is Kyles favourite scene where Clark Griswald is trapped in the attic and steps on boards which hit him in the face. You just don't see that kind of humour every day.

We have always gone to church on Christmas eve where we were reminded of the Christmas message and sang carols. Its a great way to prepare for Christmas. This year we went to a program at the campground. Here we got the Christmas message about over eating and sang carols. New friends don't replace family but they make you feel part of a family. Everyone brought food for the table (we didn't eat even half of it).

Xmas morning! As we have always done, we took a picture of the tree before anyone gets to open presents.

Carmen, eager as usual, ripped into her gift. She seems pleased with Santa's choice. Our agreement about gifts was that they couldn't add weight; I think this qualifies.

Not to be out done, I quickly unwrapped my gift which was just what I needed. I don't know how Santa does it year after year. It also qualifies as not adding weight so we both followed the rules, which doesn't happen often.

Christmas is a time for family and this year is no different. By using Skype, which Brad set us up on, we called Brad and Karen and found out how their Christmas was. We then called Michelle and Andy and talked to them and Kyle and McKenzie. Skype is great because you can talk as long as you want. Everyone is having a good Xmas so we'll say our first Xmas away was a success. I hope yours was as well!

Yuma Territorial prison

In the movie "3:10 to Yuma", the plot revolved around getting a prisoner on the train to the Territorial Prison in Yuma. This was the first prison in Arizona and was built in 1876 and was used until 1909. The walls were built of adobe bricks and were 8 feet wide at the bottom and 5 feet wide at the top and over 20 feet high. This is part of the original wall.

This was the main guard tower, built over a water tank. A number of prisoners were shot from this tower, trying to escape. The prison is beside the Colorado river so one of the prisoners jobs was to draw water from the river to fill the cistern.

The cell block consisted of a number of cells on each side of a main corridor. There were 2 corridors like this as well as iron cages in the courtyard for incorrigible prisoners.

Each cell could hold up to 12 prisoners with a porcelain pot for necessary functions. The ends were open on the cells which helped in summer where it could get over 110F but cold winds blew through in the winter. If there were too may prisoners, they were chained to cots in the corridor at night.

There were 3 separate cells for women, each holding up to 6 women. Some of the severest punishment was reserved for prisoners trying to get to the women's area.

Only the worst female criminals were sent to Yuma prison. Most, like this unfortunate creature served their time in local jails.

Over 100 prisoners died at the prison. Most from TB but heat exhaustion, snake bite and getting shot trying to escape were common. This is the graveyard just outside the prison wall.

California Sand Dunes

Just west of Yuma, a few miles into California are the great sand dunes. They are drifts of sand, hundreds of feet high, dozens of miles wide and hundreds of miles long. The dunes are pure sand, no dirt or rocks. You'd think you were at an exotic beach.
Because they are pure sand with no eco system, dune buggies are allowed. On long weekends, thousands of dune buggies roar through the dunes. On a usual weekend, at least 2 or 3 are killed by colliding or overturning. 3 were killed the weekend we arrived at Yuma; no, not because we arrived.


As cars became more popular, early in the 20th century, a way had to be found to cross the great sand dunes from California to Yuma. It was the last obstacle to crossing the continent by car. Cars got stuck in the sand. A floating wooden road was developed, made of sections 8' wide and 12' long. As it became covered with sand, sections could be lifted or moved. At one time over 20 miles of this road was used. Every mile a pull off was placed so cars could pass. This was used until the first paved road was laid.
The Mexican border goes through the dunes. As part of the American border security, a fence hundreds of miles long is being built along the Mexican border. Here you can see it as it disappears in the distance. The fence is 12' high and border patrols cover its full distance.


A canal from Yuma to San Diego passed through the dunes. It takes water from the Colorado river and is used for irrigation. Almost 3/4 of it has been leaking into the sand so they are building a new canal beside the existing one which they are lining with poly to prevent the water loss. Some of the sand dune deaths have been caused by people flying over the top of a dune and falling into the canal and drowning.

Day Trip to Palm Canyon Arizona

There are so many things to do and places to see in this area that its great to make friends with people that have been here before. The group decided to go see Palm Canyon, which we had never heard of but sounded interesting. Its about 1.5 hours from Yuma with half of that on back roads. Way back in the canyon behind the ladies is Palm Canyon.

Its about a 1/2hour hike back to the canyon over rugged trails with lots of rock and cactus. It was a cool day which was perfect; the climb had us sweating soon enough.

The canyon has sheer walls on both sides which look like they are leaning over you when you look up. Very spectacular. We finally reached the side valley where the palm trees are.

The palm trees high up in the narrow gorge have been there for a hundred years or more and are the only naturally started palm trees in Arizona. All others have been planted. It is assumed that these were started by birds dropping the seeds hundreds of years ago.

The palm trees are 30 feet or more high and have grown very slowly in the narrow gorge with little sunlight or nutrients. Most of the tree trunks are black from a fire in 1954. They still look like it just happened. These are date palms and through binoculars you can see dates on the trees.

Looking back down the canyon you can see the height we climbed and part of the back road we drove up. The road is very poor with washouts from the last rain. The nice thing is it forces you to drive very slowly so you have time to see things along the road like cactus'.

After enjoying the view for a while its time to head back down. It was cool in the shade but no wind. When we came back down it warmed up but got very windy.

Back at the bottom of the canyon there was a lot more and varied plant life. There are 3 different cactus' in this picture and they'd all like to impale you if they could. Nasty little beggars.

These people know what they're doing. They planned a picnic lunch after the hike. Having lunch in the fresh desert air with the canyon in the background was a great experience. And we were definitely hungry after the hike. All in all a great day of exploring the back country.

A tour of Shangri-La

In the land of sunshine lies a mythical place called Shangri-La. There, the sun always shines and the air is sweet with the smells of spices and honey. Well at least the sun shines a lot.

Only the sweetest of fruits hang from the trees awaiting someone eager to enjoy their bounty. Nothing beats the taste of a juicy orange picked right from the tree. The park had dozens of citrus trees. Although we're not the only ones enjoying the oranges, there always seems to be a few to pick.

The grapefruits seem less popular. We have been picking from this tree for a week and there are still lots to enjoy. They are so sweet that you don't need to add sugar to taste. There are also limes and lemons on trees here but they don't seem ripe just yet.

A lot of the units are permanent and they have landscaped their site to make it visually appealing. This one has good examples of local plants as well as a full orange tree.

The decorations on this site were cute. Kyle, see if you can find Yosemite here!

Some of the sites, such as this one have added some Xmas season decorations as well. Some are well lit up at nite but I couldn't get a good photo at nite.

The campground itself is well looked after and has a lot of activities. This is the horse shoe pitch. They must be good here because the grass in front of the boxes is hardly touched, yet I've seen it being played more than once. There's a warm pool, hot tub, pool tables, craft area and shuffle board. Something for everyone it seems.

And here's our home. We did bring a few decorations for Xmas but they're all inside. Perhaps you can see some in the window.

Well, that's a short tour of our little corner of heaven. Did you notice that there was no snow? Whenever you get disgusted with winter you can come back and look at the palm trees and fruit hanging just ready for picking. Ta ta for now.

Settling in at Shangri-La

Well, we have the first week under our belts at our RV resort in Yuma and we are starting to get a routine established. We are getting e-mails from family and friends and here's Carmen checking her e-mails. Notice her cross-stitching and coffee aren't far away.

We soon met our neighbours and developed new friends. Whatever we do each day and wherever we go, we are expected to be back at our sites by 4 PM for happy hour. I think this has been a snowbird tradition since the first covered wagon. Its a great way to socialize and learn things about fellow campers. We also use the time to set up trips and activities for the future.

Even though we won't be home for Christmas doesn't mean we can't bring it with us, at least a little bit. We opened our little box of decorations and after minutes of decorating it looks positively festive. I'm not sure how many gifts will fit under that tree though.

We didn't bring any decorations for the outside. People that have been coming for years have their rigs covered with lights and decorations. I'll show some in another posting.

We went to see the quartermasters museum in old Yuma. During the 1800's supplies for the army was shipped from L.A. to Yuma through the sea of Cortez and up the Colorado river by stern wheeler ships. It was then sent by wagontrain to the forts set up to control the Indians. The quartermasters fort was where the freight was received and sent out.

This narrow trickle is all that's left of the Colorado river at Yuma now. All of the upstream dams and water used for irrigation has reduced it to this. At one time all the green area you see was under water; the river was over a mile wide here.

One of the wagons used to ship freight overland during the Indian wars. Many dozens of wagons would be in a wagon train for protection and because they didn't carry much. There are no springs on the wagon or on the seats. I wonder if they carried soft cushions to sit on?

3:10 to Yuma

After a great week at Lake Havasu its time to move on to our final destination for the next couple of months; Yuma. Our last evening at Lake Havasu and what a beautiful sunset. Hope the next campground is as nice.

Packing up and hitting the road went smoothly. We stopped for lunch just south of Quartzite. Not much there but you can see campers spread out all over the place from the road to the horizon. Apparently by January thousands of campers are spread all over the area. They park in the desert for free and come and go as they want. No rules; just respect your neighbours privacy. Sounds freeing and cheap! We went past that area and pulled over for lunch. I could almost see us camping right here; what a nice spot.

Carmen went over to meet one of the neighbours. The strong silent type I guess. The biggest challenge is going to get Carmen to walk about. She spends more time looking for snakes than looking around. I must admit, when you don't know the country visions of snakes, scorpions, Gila monsters and tarantulas abound. This part of the country is flat like a parking lot. You could just head across country until you find a spot you like. We'd rather have people around I think.

By the time we arrived, checked in and got set up, it was very close to that special Yuma time so we figured we'd take a picture of it. Looking closely, or going to a larger image, you should see that we were there at 3:10 Yuma time; cool huh!

After setting up with all the connections, levelling and such it was time to replenish the vital fluids. Brad brought me back a beer stein from Germany and I thought this was a perfect time to try it out. I'll have to use it again; I was so dry I kind of inhaled the brew and didn't give it time to breathe.

Carmen took this our first nite from in front of Harvey. Looks like a place we will enjoy.

You know we are all settled in when Carmen is having a coffee in the morning sun. We went to the large Yuma market yesterday and bought a sign for the front of Harvey. You'll have to enlarge to read it I suppose. Got Star Choice working last nite and found out some Canadian news. Didn't know till now that a coupe de tat was in progress in Ottawa. Whatever. We're citizens of the world now. Watched Montreal beat New York, that was what I brought satellite TV for! Now that we are here and settling in we may not update this blog unless we do some exploring or something interesting. We're not going to cover daily activities; BORING!

Stay tuned for further udates as warranted. Love you all.

A day trip to Oatman and Kingman

Just 50 miles north of Lake Havasu is the ghost town of Oatman. To get there you need to travel on old Route 66 which is a historical highway. It is not in the best of repair and probably the windiest (it winds around; its not windy) road I ever driven on. Top speed is around 35 miles an hour.

The town is mostly the original buildings with the usual trinket shops but you don't usually see burros with the run of the place. They were quite docile but I did see one almost knock a small girl over trying to get her cotton candy.

One of their claims to fame is that they stage a gun battle on the main street. They use real guns but fire blanks. Once the shooting starts, its hard to remember that; its loud and smoke and smells from the powder are realistic. If you notice, the gun slinger in red is shooting right at me. I don't think he mean to, just a lousy shot I guess.

Irregardless of the reason, innocent by-standers get caught in the cross-fire.

Its amazing how quickly you revive when someone wants to dip your head in a water trough filled with black water of indeterminate origin.

Between Oatman and Kingman Hwy 66 climbs and descends using switchbacks and steep climbs and drops. Here is one of the peaks where we stopped. Directly below me are about 30 or more crosses on the side of the hill. Most have plastic flowers or some mementos attached. Maybe it gets hotter than we think here. No idea why they are there.

We kept seeing "beware of wild burro" signs and laughing until I came racing around a steep drop and switchback and there they were in the middle of the road. They graciously went into the ditch so I wouldn't have to.

We got to Kingman around 2 PM and stopped at "Mr D's on Route 66" for lunch. It was a real authentic diner with Formica counter tops and vinyl chairs. Route 66 is a real tourist draw and their diner is original from the 50's. Lots of signed pictures on the walls. When I saw Oprahs signature I just knew it had to be good. One of her diner of the month selections I presume.

After lunch we went across the street to the park and looked at the train.