Yuma, Az - Feb 2006

After I left Ajo I drove over to Yuma. I first located Wal-mart the old fashioned way as my GPS quit just as I turned off the highway. I actually had to go into a gas station and ask where to go. I spent my first night several miles outside town at a free campsite on Lake Mittry. It was very peaceful, private, and quiet. Yuma is a fun town to get to know. The library is as well equipped and well run as any I have visited so I spent some time there catching up on the internet.

Lake Mittry was a little more private than I like so Tuesday I went even further from town and checked out some of the BLM campgrounds. I stayed at South Mesa at Senator Wash for a small fee. I was at the far end of the line along the water.

There is a lot of farming around Yuma with canals providing water from the Colorado River. I visited the Imperial Date factory and sent packages home while there.

This bridge crosses the Colorado River from Arizona into California. This is the ocean to ocean highway that finally allowed for easy settlement into California. Many Arkies and Okies came this way and at one point during the depression they were not allowed to cross the river if they did not have proof of employment in California. A large group lived at the abandoned Territorial Prison near the river. The prison is now a tourist attraction which I visited. I enjoyed the farmers' market in the old part of town, not to mention a restaurant or two. At the Peanut Patch I learned all about the peanut industry in the area while watching them make peanut brittle. I kept finding all sorts of things to do in town so on my third night I parked at the Yuma Hospital in town where I witnessed a magnificent sunset.

A book I saw at the library mentioned some of the ghost towns in the area and also made reference to an old stagecoach stop not far from town that had not so much as even a marker denoting it's history. I was off on a treasure hunt!

While in Yuma, I made several trips across the border into Algodones. I moved to the Paradise Casino for my final two nights in town. This is handily located near town and has a large parking area adjacent to the parking lot where RVers may stay for two nights. Visit this link to see some more photos of Yuma.