Computers

My friend Sheral got a new computer from her kids for Christmas. I have been helping her get a few things set up and showing her how to use a few others. One of things she wanted was Skype, so she can talk to the grand kids. This has been quite a process for us, but today was the day we finally got it up and working. First, we tried doing it from their campsite, but the connection speed was to slow. Next we went to the library, but their system blocks anything that has to do with "chat" and there is no over ride available. So, we went to McDonald's and they pulled through for us. We had a lovely morning drinking our McFlurry's and working on our computers. When we finished it was time for lunch so we just hung around a little longer and enjoyed a nice lunch together. We decided McDonald's is a pretty nice spot for us to meet and help her. Not only is it a very nice new location, but coffee and food are close by. They don't allow those things at the library.

Dome Valley

We took a drive out through Dome Valley, with Bill and Thelma, to look at the farm land. This is a newly planted field that they are irrigating. I can't tell you for sure what is planted here, but it could be a variety of leaf lettuce. Here's a field of Romain. These fields are beautiful and as you can see they go on as far as the eye can see. This is why this area is called the "lettuce bowl" of America.
This is a newer field with the plants just coming up, but you can see the more mature fields in the background.We came upon a huge field that was all covered. We could see small plants underneath, but couldn't tell what they were.
We saw some workers, so pulled over to talk with them. This man was mending the cover, but another worker told us that there were watermelon plants under the covers. He told us they keep the covers on for about 3 months. It is a good thing too, as we had some freezing weather this last week. Imagine the time and work it takes to set up these mini greenhouses and then take them down again. Many hours I'm sure.

This is John Deer country and we saw this worker preparing the field for planting.

Cactus

This is my new crochet project for our Winter on the desert. I actually found the pattern last summer, but waited until we got down here to make it. It's a fun little Southwest decoration to have in the motorhome.

Castle Dome Mine Museum

Jacob Snively began Castle Dome Mines in 1862. They were the second patented in Arizona. In 1864 Castle Dome City's population was 12. By the 1880's the population of what was then called Castle Dome City exceeded that of Yuma. By now there were 300 mines and they were the longest working mines in Arizona. From 1862-1979 the mines and the lives of those who worked them thrived. In 1979 when silver prices dropped to an all time low, the mines were closed. Castle Dome Mining District was left to the sun and forgotten. The Armstrong's purchased and restored the area, so people could learn of the rich history of Arizona mining. Looking at one of the many mines in the area.

This is what the mines looked like. Some of them are very close to each other and each was "staked" by a different man. Can you imagine going down in that small hole?

This is the bunkhouse where some of the miners lived...

and the cemetery where they were buried.

You can see a mine in the background as well as Castle Dome Mountain.

Quilt Show

We went to the Quilt Show at the Yuma Civic Center. It was a big show with lots of vendors and beautiful quilts.

Algodones, Mexico

This is a typical street in Algodones, Mexico. I can walk through OK, but I think the boys have to duck around the merchandise hanging from the ceiling. Sheral had been looking for a plate like the ones on the right. She found one she liked on this trip. They're very colorful! I had to stand by this pinata so you could see how big it is. They make them BIG down here.

Our main reason for this trip was a visit to the dentist. We were a little unsure about this, but went with our friends who have been going to this dentist for many years. Ron knew that he needed a crown, so went in to have the dentist look at it. I broke a tooth the other night while eating an ice cream cone of all things. I called my dentist at home and they said I should have it looked at and not wait until I got home. Turns out the whole side of the tooth had broken off, so I also needed a crown.
Here I am waiting in Dentist Jerry's office. Turns out we had a group visit that day as Sheral had a tooth pulled with a new bridge put in, and Ron and I both got crowns. It turned out to be a good experience and only cost $210 instead of the $1200 it would have been at home. I just hope it lasts.

Record Temperature

Notice the clear blue skies and the 84 degree temperature and this is January 18th! On the News it showed that Yuma actually reached 86 degrees today and that makes it a record setting day.

Sunsets

There are some beautiful sunsets here on the desert. There is an unobstructed view as there are no trees, buildings or mountains to block the view. A few clouds always adds to the color. These pictures were taken in our park.

New Friends

We have made some new friends from Kincardine, Ontario, Canada, which is on Lake Huron. That's a long way to drive for some sunshine! Last year they spent the month of January in site 293, which we pulled into the day after they left. They are in the same site this year and we pulled in next to them. They were again only going to spend January here and then head to Apache Junction near Phoenix, but have decided to stay through February. Bill is a real Shuffle Board player. He was just in a tournament and won a trophy. He's our neighborhood celebrity.
Thelma likes to crochet, so we have been comparing projects. She also has done some quilting and cross stitch, so we have many interests to talk about.
I thought I would never play Shuffleboard, as I it seems like an old peoples game. When they play it looks like slow motion as the boards are so highly waxed they barely have to push the disc. However, here we are. Bill wanted us to give it a try and learn the proper etiquette in case we play again. We have had a great time with these 2. 

Geocaching

A new area to find some Geocaches. These are several near our RV park, so I started searching. Here are 2 that were close by. This one was pretty clever, as most of them are. It was covered with a lid that looks like the city had out it there. However, as I moved it aside I found the Geocache hidden beneath. This is a craft cache, which if the first one of them I have seen. You can leave a craft project and take one that you like. Since I had no projects with me I just looked at what others had left.
This Cache was called "Merge". A very appropriate name for it as it was hidden on a Merge sign. I'm pointing to the cache, but it was really hidden up under the sign with a magnet.
This was a small capsule containing only a log. I signed it and returned it to its original location for others to find. I can now add a few Arizona Caches to my list.

The Sand Dunes

As we are heading east towards Yuma, Arizona our weather is getting better all the time. More of these straight roads in wide open country.

As we near Yuma we see the sand dunes. Thousands of people get permits so they can ride their 4 wheelers and dune buggies in this area.

Near Joshua Tree

Ron prefers driving on roads other than the main highways like I-5. So, here we are heading across wide open country. We travel many miles on roads that look just like this.We are once again in the area of Joshua Tree National Park. The rock formations in the area are amazing.This picture is for my friend Cathie. You may remember this story from last year when we were here. Cathie has visited Joshia Tree and thought the area had a very religious feel to it. I wondered how this could be, but when we were there we saw 2 vapor trails in the shape of a cross and also a cloud formation that looked like an angel right over the park. At that point I thought OK, I see the religious connection. Once again as we approached Joshua Tree there was another "angel" cloud hovering over it. This must be a very special place. 

Traveling South

From a distance we could see Mt Shasta, but as we got closer the fog moved back in. We were disappointed as we were hoping to see the mountain up close. However, as we got closer the fog cleared away and the mountain gave us a great show.
As we neared Bakersfield we began to see the oil wells popping up all over. Imagine having one of them in your yard. $ $ $ $

We stayed at The Orange Grove RV Park. One of the great things about this park is that they have a place to wash RV's. I don't think our coach has even been this dirty. Between the damp fog and road grime we had a mess.
Another great thing about this campground is that you park amongst the orange trees and can pick the oranges. There were 3 trees on each side of our coach. The tree in the picture doesn't have many oranges, but the others still had lots. We picked a few and they were delicious. We will plan a stop here again on another trip south.

I-5 Fog

I know I am a little behind on my blog posts, so over the next few days I hope to get you up to date on our adventures. We left our river property and headed south for Arizona. Like last year we ran into quite a bit of fog. Here you can see what it was like as we headed down I-5.Occasionally the sun would try and pop through, but this is a close as it got for a few days.

New Years

We spent a few days at our river lot with Skeet and Jan and celebrated New Years and Skeet's birthday. It was foggy and cold so we had frozen fog on all the trees, bushes and grass. It really was quite pretty.


Many people ask what we eat when we are camping. They are usually surprised that we don't just have hot dogs and hamburgers the typical camping food. Weeeeell, on this trip Jan brought a prime rib to cook. It was the first time for them to use the oven in their new 5th wheel. What a way to break it in. It was delicious!!!

Happy New Year to you from Ron, Jan, Skeet and Carole

Jan also likes to go Geocaching, so we put on our warm jackets and away we went. This was another very clever hide. The film can was hidden inside the pipe and the pipe on the right slid over the top to hide it.

We signed the log and replaced the cache.

This next cache was a tough one for us. We thought it was hidden under these rocks, but we couldn't find it. We looked and looked and finally gave up figuring we'd come again in the summer when it was warmer and everything wasn't frozen.