Yuma, Arizona

Post by Henry

We've been in Yuma since just before Christmas, which makes us almost Yumans.  The main reason we're here is because it's the warmest, driest spot in America.  It's definitely the driest, seeing how this is desert country.

Yuma Desert

Until this last week or so, El Nino has been keeping it somewhat on the cool side, though.  We've had folks telling us this has been the coldest winter they have seen, and some have been coming here for twenty (20) years or more.  About a week ago, the temperature rose into the 80's and now the forecast isn't any lower than that for at least the next few weeks.

Yuma is located in the bottom southwest corner of Arizona.  We're staying in the Foothills area of Yuma and we're less than twenty (20) miles from both California to the west, and Mexico to the south.  From our campsite, we have a great view of the Gila Mountains to the east and stunning sunsets to the west.

Yuma Sunset

Yuma is also know as Geezerville and RV City.

Well, actually, I made those both up.

Geezerville because, well, there's a seriously large retired population here, at least now during the winter.  And most of these folks are in the upper age bracket, too.  Our first month in Yuma, we stayed in a "55+ Park" and Loretta and I were by far the closest folks to age 55.

Actually a Posted Sign
in
"Our Neighborhood"

Now don't get me wrong.  We don't have anything against geezers.  No siree.  I consider ourselves Junior Geezers and hope to reach full geezerhood in the not too distant future.

RV City because there's RVs everywhere!  RVs, RV Parks, RV Dealers, RV supply stores, and RV repair shops.

Typical RV Park

Need I Say More?

This is definitely where folks come in their RVs for the winter and it seems the majority of people here are from Canada.  We've never seen so many Canadian license plates in one area before.  I even saw one guy wearing a t-shirt that read "Yuma - Canada's Southernmost Province".  And we're told this is an off year for Canadian visitation due to the poor value of their dollar.

There's lots of agriculture here in Yuma, and they claim they are the winter vegetable capital of the WORLD. They also claim that 90% of all leafy vegetables grown in the U.S. from November through March are grown in and around Yuma.

Crew Hard at Work
Harvesting Cabbage

Closer - Harvesting Cabbage

And we believe it, too, because we've seen acres and acres of lettuce and cabbage, as well as cauliflower. Dates are a big crop here, too, along with groves of various citrus crops.

Greens Growing in Yuma

Cauliflower in the Field

Of course, all these crops demand a dependable water source.  There is an extensive maze of man made canals and irrigation.  Row upon row of water piping is plumbed together with each new crop.

Irrigation on New Crop

Not only do the fields need water, so do the people!  The tap water here in Yuma is not good for drinking.  It leaves salt deposits on the sink and dishes and tastes bad.  So, everywhere you go, there are places to purchase drinking water.  The going rate seems to be five (5) gallons for fifty cents ($.50).

Get Your Water Here!

Four by four (4x4) vehicles are quite popular here. 

Four Wheelin' in the Desert

 Everything from Jeeps and dune buggies to 4-wheelers and even dirt bikes.  There's lots of wide open desert land around to drive on and kick up some dust.  And the Algodones Sand Dunes are just across the California border.

With all that said, we'd have to say that the Yuma area is NOT the most exciting place we've been by a long shot.  Mostly, the biggest appeal for us is the warm winter temps, so these have been kinda quiet times for the Yahoo Ramblers.  Loretta has been working on a few sewing projects and I've been getting in a good bit of walking and bike riding and researching places to go and things to do on our journey through the rest of 2016.

Before you know it, we'll be on the road again as we travel through California, Oregon, and Washington. Definitely, there's exciting times ahead!

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge

Post by Henry

We recently visited the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge

Actually, we've been here twice in the last couple of weeks.  It's about an 85 mile drive from where we are staying in southwest Arizona, just east of the Colorado River.

We'd heard Cibola NWR was a big wintering spot for birds, and we haven't seen hundreds of birds in one locale since last winter in Florida.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to sign in, get the Blue Goose Passport stamped, and ask about what kind of birds we might see at the refuge.

Cibola NWR Visitor Center 

We were directed to the Goose Loop Road for the best viewing.

Goose Loop Road

The first thing you encounter on the auto tour is a lake just absolutely 'alive' with ducks and geese.

Lake on Goose Loop Road

We sat in our vehicle for quite a long time, observing wave after wave of Canada Geese flying in and landing on the lake, and listening to a symphony of quacking, squawking, and honking.

Canada Geese
Coming in for a Landing

Canada Geese Galore!

We've seen thousands of Canada Geese before, but seeing them out in the wild is a lot more thrilling than seeing them in parking lots and walking trails in Georgia and Alabama.  There were not only Canada Geese - there were hundreds of Snow Geese.

Snow Goose

Snow Geese
Coming in for a Landing

These we have also seen before, but not in such abundance.  Amongst the thousands of birds, Loretta spotted a few Greater White-Fronted Geese on the far shore of the lake.

Greater White-Fronted Goose
(with Orange Legs)

This was a new one for us and when Loretta reported it to the Visitor Center, she was the first to add it to their list of  Recent Sightings.

Along with the Geese, there were a pretty good assortment of ducks on the lake as well.  Pintail Ducks, Ruddy Ducks, Northern Shovelers, Mallards, American Wigeons, and of course, Coots. (Coots are EVERYWHERE!)

Pintails

Northern Shoveler (male)

Further up the auto tour was a short nature trail that leads you to a bird blind overlooking another part of the lake for a more up close view of the goose and duck 'party'.

Bird Blind Ahead

Along the auto tour route - in various spots - were artificial underground dwellings to lure in Burrowing Owls and encourage nesting.  We were lucky enough to spot several of these cute, squatty, big-eyed critters.

Burrowing Owl

We spotted a few raptors, too.  We saw a few Northern Harriers swooping over the fields looking for lunch.  American Kestrals are fun to watch (and hard to photograph) as they hover, hummingbird-like, over the field before diving down to catch prey.  Some raptors are pretty hard for us to identify, but we're pretty sure we saw a Sharp-Shinned Hawk sitting on top of a pole, staring intently at the ground for a meal.

Sharp Shinned Hawk

Sandhill Cranes were standing and feeding in several of the large fields.  We never tire of listening to and observing them.

Sandhill Cranes
with
Yellow Headed Blackbirds
and
Red Winged Blackbirds

One field was apparently a favorite for Roadrunners as we saw more of them there than anywhere else before.

Roadrunner in Field

Roadrunner

Toward the end of the auto tour route, we were able to park and observe a couple of coyotes.  Both were under some trees, picking something off the ground, and eating it.  We could not tell what they were chomping on, but they seemed to be enjoying it.

Coyote Having a Meal

Cibola NWR offers more than the auto tour, but both times we were there, that's where we spent the majority of our day.  That probably means we will need to go back again, hopefully before the birds take to the air for spring migration back to the north.

American Kestrel

A YEAR on the Road!

Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe it's already been a year since we pulled out of the driveway in Alabama headed for Florida to start our journey on the road.  One year later, we're on the opposite side of the country in Yuma, Arizona.

Historic Yuma,  Arizona

Yuma Desert Landscape

Yuma Desert Agriculture

Since that day, we've put 5,367 miles on the Rambler, traveled through 14 states, camped in 32 different places, and put up 36 blog posts.  Our stays ranged from three - one (1) night stays to 61 nights in Bushnell, Florida. We had at least a one month stay in 7 locations, in 4 different states.  Our general rule has been to drive 200 miles or less between destinations and then stay at least a week exploring the area.

Cholla
The Teddy Bear Cactus

So far living on the road has been everything we could have hoped for and more.  We definitely made a great choice when we decided the Holiday Rambler Admiral (aka Rambler) would be our home on wheels.

Yahoo Ramblers
Home on Wheels

It has performed nearly flawlessly.  We see plenty of really nice RV's out there, but we're more than happy with the Rambler.  And it's really no problem living in less than 300 square feet of space.  It's actually much simpler living with what you need to survive without all that clutter from the stuff you've acquired over the years.  Three hundred square feet may not be much to live in, but our 'yard' has been spectacular most every place we've been.  Usually after we've set up somewhere new, I'll say "same house, different view".  And Loretta says "our million dollar view" - when appropriate.

One of our Western
"Million Dollar Views"

Full time living in an RV is definitely not uncommon, as we have met many folks that are doing it and some have been for 10-20 years!  And it's been affordable, too.  We've lived quite comfortably on the budget we set before the trip:)

We've made some new friends along the way that we'll get together with again further down the road and I'm sure there's more new friends ahead.  We've had a lot of fun this year doing the things we love to do while seeing and experiencing this beautiful country of ours.

The Tetons

Yellowstone

Antelope Island

Canyonlands

Arches

Ken's Lake Hidden Falls

Mesa Falls

Yes, we are 'Living the Dream'.

The Yahoo Ramblers

So, what lies ahead?

It's Pacific Time for the Yahoo Ramblers in 2016!  California, Oregon, and Washington are where our traveling experiences will be.  We'll probably be here in southwest Arizona until early spring before we start traveling north.  Just like last year, we'll put our journey together as we go.  You know, no real plan.  Just a 'general idea'. If it's half as fun as last year, its going to be fantastic!

Looking Ahead!

Slowing Down in the Southwest

Post by Henry

We've arrived in the last state of our 2015 journey.....Arizona!

We're staying at the Escapees North Ranch RV Park in Congress, Arizona which is about fifty (50) miles northwest of Phoenix.  The park is set in the middle of BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land with a view of the Weaver Mountains out our window.

Mountains (in background)
Seen From our Window

The front section of the park contains roughly one hundred (100) RV sites with full hookups.  The back of the park are permanent residents with quite an eclectic mix of housing.

In one corner of the park, there's a cactus garden called Saguaro Park.  Here is an assortment of cacti, including one Saguaro estimated to date back to the 1600's, appropriately named Methuselah.

Methuselah, the Saguaro

Argentina Maxima

Joshua Trees and a Saguaro

Yellow Barrel Cactus

Rabbits and Gamble Quail can be seen scurrying about most everywhere in the park.

Gamble Quail

Since we arrived here a few weeks ago, we've just kind of chilled out.  We've been on a few short trips exploring the area - Prescott, Phoenix, Wickenburg, and Yarnell - but mostly we've been hanging out here at the park. Loretta's been working on sewing projects and attending 'stitch and chat' meetings at the clubhouse.  I've been doing some hiking in the BLM area behind the park and even played golf for the first time in over ten (10) years. (I still suck!)

We've reconnected here at the park with a couple we met at the beginning of the year at the Sumter Oaks Escapees Park in Florida.  Stuart and Jackie started their fulltime journey about the same time as us and their trip this year was amazingly similar to the places we visited, but our paths didn't cross again until here in Arizona.

We discovered a local brewery unlike any other we've ever been to - located out in the middle of nowhere - literally!  Barnstar Brewery is located outside Skull Valley, miles from the main highway, on a dirt road, in the Prescott National Forest, with views of Granite and Tonto Mountains, with no other building in sight!  It's remote, I tell you!  And they are only open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Enjoying a Cold One
at
Barnstar Brewery

Before we landed at North Ranch, we managed to squeeze in a quick one day trip to the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon
South Entrance

We caught it on a beautifully sunny, though chilly and windy day.  Nothing really prepares you for that first view into the canyon.

Magnificent Grand Canyon

Mere words can't do it justice and photographs are only slightly better.

Colorful Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

Two days after our visit, the Grand Canyon received several inches of snow.

Unbelievably, the holidays are approaching fast.  Last week was Thanksgiving and we attended the big dinner at North Ranch, which was very enjoyable (and filling).  This was the first time either of us spent the holiday west of the Mississippi.

Loretta will be flying East soon to spend some time with her daughters and their families before Christmas.  I'll just be 'hanging out' with the 'locals' and digging the sunny Arizona skies.

Javelina - One of the 'Locals"
(Our First Sighting)