While I was staying in Yuma I made a couple of trips across the border into Algodones. There is a large parking lot on the Arizona side and it is a short walk across the bridge. Here a painter is painting almost anything imaginable..mailboxes, spare tire covers, etc. I made a couple more trips after I went to the Slabs near Niland, Ca.
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.
The area is a monument to the petroglyphs that are in the area. The surface of the rock lends itself to petroglyph writing.
I had heard about new Blue or Blue II as the vw is called but this was my first chance to see it and it is always nice to visit with Bev.
The next day I moved out to BLM land and camped with the WINs who were mingled with another group, but we still had circle at 4. I got there before the others and went to the end of the road and cooked a fine meal in the dutch over. But, I decided it was too remote and later joined the group.
I kept going back into town to explore. The sun was bright and the architecture unique. I went to a bazaar at the church and a craft sale at the high school. The plaza was a friendly area with a library on one side and the internet cafe on the other, where they had wifi for free.
This was my first boondocking in the desert adventure. Each day was filled with activities. The first day I got solar panels installed on Hernando. Quartzsite is an RVer's dream.
I was indeed surprised to run into my friend Joanne, whom I had met in 1999 in Texas. Thank goodness for name tags. We did not recognize each other at first! She and Mary Lou entertained the group with their music. My friend Myra was also there and we shopped the vendor area together.
Another day I joined a group for a 4 wheeling adventure to Bouse. Here I got to be up close to the desert. Click here for more photos.
I usually stop at Governor's Landing in the Amistad National Recreation Area west of Del Rio. There are not many spaces and no hookups but the campground fills fast. There is a dump station behind the convention center in Del Rio. The campsites are along the ridge of a hill with a nice view of the lake. I had not known until this day that I would be continuing west towards Quartzsite, AZ. Click here for a few more photos .
Mexico can be my idea of shopping heaven and this ranked up there. I got a year's supply of liquor, new bowls for onion soup, vanilla for friends, a new mailbox, a purse, and glasses to match all my dishes. If only I had known I was not coming right back to Arkansas at that time. Gypsy and Robbie joined me on several trips and Gypsy knew all the right places to go. There are a few more photos. I was too busy to take many I guess.
I stayed at Isla Blanca on South Padre one night. I enjoyed touring the campground and relaxing along the beach. But there were just too many winter Texans there for me. I stopped all along the beach and walked on the sand but the conditions were still windy. There was a huge flea market there which I did enjoy.
I think I was about the only person on the beach due to the winds. I was on the west side which is lined with high rise hotels and condos.
After exploring the island I moved over to Sunchaser RV Park in Harlingen. This was a very friendly little spot in a guy's backyard but I did like it. Robbie and Shaka were also camped here and not far away was Gypsy Joan's place, where we often went for dinner. I stayed one week and then decided to go west.
Gruene was an old cotton plantation that was left to decline and then later was refurbished and brought back to life as a tourist mecca. Many of the old buildings still exist and it is a fun, very small place to shop.
I wouldn't want to miss a meal at the Gristmill. Follow this link for more photos of -> Gruene
From Louisiana I continued on to Texas and visited Marion in Conroe for a few days. Then I went south to Potter's Creek Campground on Canyon Lake north of San Antonio. The park was not crowded and I had a fine spot where I could look across to the lake.
It was windy during the day so I had to save my outdoor cooking until the wind died down after dark. There was also a fire danger so everything had to be cooked in the grill. No problem! But then I had to eat chili for days.
Visit this link for more photos
I then moved over to The Summit at Sattler, Texas to join the Texas Women Flyfishers for some fishing on the Guadeloupe River. The scenery was excellent and the wading good, but not a fish was caught that I heard about for the entire weekend.
I spent the night at the casino in Kinder, Louisiana and then it was just a short drive to Eunice. Each Saturday morning boudin, donuts, coffee and perhaps even fresh eggs for sale are lined up on the counter. This gentleman is playing a triangle. 
This town is one of my favorite places. It is west of the bayou cajun country around Lafayette in an area considered prairie cajun. There is a Jean Lafitte historical center to visit, a music show on the weekends at the Liberty Theater, and a small visitor center. No visit would be complete without visiting Fred's Lounge in Mamou to take part in the live radio broadcasts on Saturday morning. I usually stay at the Cajun Campground in Eunice.
I was here shortly after the hurricane that devastated the land for miles not far west of Eunice. The damage was unbelievable as I traveled west to Texas. This had been a McDonald's sign.
In July I met Marion, my fishing pal from Texas, in New Mexico for a little fly fishing excursion. I spent the first night at the Holiday Inn in Elk City, OK. It was quite hot there on July 10 but we would soon solve the heat problem. I met Marion at Rocky Point Campground on Santa Rosa Lake to travel to the Taos area. We had decided to try Rio Pueblo, a small stream near Taos, located in the Carson National Forest. We got fishing licenses at Wal-Mart in Las Vegas. Our first stop along the river was at Aqua Piedra campground on highway 518. This was a lovely spot with some nice walks alongside the river for fishing but it was a steep hike (or short drive) down to the river's edge and plenty of folks fishing there. There was a nice breeze among the firs and aspens. The campground had no amenities but the generator started just like it should. The 8517 elevation made a dramatic difference in the temperature.
The Cimmaron River
Marion on Rio Pueblo
The next stop was the Pioneer Campground, a county park in Wellington, Texas. I was surprised the rates had increased to $10 but still not bad for electricity in the July heat of the Texas panhandle. And the next day it was only a memory. Life is good.
After leaving Jacob Lake I stopped at the Pipe Spring National Monument for a tour and short hike. This is an interesting fort the Mormons built to keep the Paiutes away from the water source in the area. I had a nice hike up the hill behind the fort which allowed me a great view of the land below. When the settlers arrived the grasses were half as tall as the buffalo but after overgrazing by the settlers the grassland never recovered.
The Paiutes would build kahns, shelters made from plants such as juniper, rabbitbrush, willow and sage. These would provide a place to sleep as well as to get out of the sun in the middle of the day.
Southwest Colorado has so much to offer! What a fabulous day Friday was as Alice, Paul and I went on a jeep ride and geocaching adventure. Here Alice and Paul are at the overlook above Ouray. What a ride! What beautful scenery! Our first cache was up the Portland Trail which led us to an old mine once we located the correct road. I find it hard to believe that so many people traversed this area and lived here in the latter part of the 19th century. I also didn't realize Jeep cherokees could traverse this sort of terrain. I also find it a little hard to believe we were climbing up the side of this steep mountain in old mine pilings to reach a little box of toys .. but this is geocaching at its finest moment!
Saturday I took the other route south and I spent some time in Telluride.
to Ridgway from 1890 through the early 1950s. The Galloping Goose used a Pierce-Arrow body and a Buick motor, which was cheaper than a steam engine, to carry freight, mail and passengers through the San Juan Mountains. #5, used from 1933 to 1949 is on display in Dolores, CO. Telluride has become a popular resort for mountain biking, hiking, skiing, etc on lands that once supported mines and mining. In 1971, the Uncompahgre National Forest granted a permit to the Telluride Company to develop public land for an alpine ski area. The mountain scenery in the area is magnificent. I don't know that I have ever visited a place where so many people were enjoying "being outside." People stood in line at the open air market where I stopped to buy vegetables and the park was full of folks playing baseball, fishing, or just walking.
Later in the day I settled for a spot in the Ute section of Mesa Verde campground from which I would explore for several days. Much of my time there was spent driving on the mesa to get to the areas where the activity was. This is one large mesa! It slopes toward the south and is much greener than others in the area hence the name which is Spanish for green table. The Ancestral Puebloans, also referred to as the Anasazi, settled the area about 550. The word Anasazi is a navajo word for "the ancient enemies" but their descendants are the Pueblo people now found in New Mexico and Arizona.
I had traded aspens and firs and mountains for juniper, cactus, pinon pine, mesas and plenty of rabbit brush. This also meant less shade and plenty of sunshine. The chilly mountain days were no longer part of my day! So I tried to get an early start each day but still spent entire days trying to see everything. This squirrel had his jaws stuffed with pinon pine seeds and even spilled a few for the birds as he scampered home.
Farming was replacing hunting and gathering as a way of life when Mesa Verde was settled and these ancient people were first known as Basketmakers. This pit house excavation would have resembled the construction shown in the picture. They were built on top of the mesas most often and were clustered into small villages. About 750 they began building houses above ground having walls made with mud and poles. The houses were built in long, curving rows with a pithouse in front. 
I spent my first day at the end of Weatherill Mesa where I boarded a tram to go visit the Long House. There were steep hikes down to the sites and on this one a ranger led tour. I couldn't believe I was going to climb those ladders! And needless to say, the hikes back up from the sites seemed steeper.
I visited the Anasazi Heritage center in Dolores and then stopped in Cortez to see the Indian dancers at the Cortez Cultural Center. The Manning family dancers are from the Ute Mountain tribe and provided both a visual and auditory spectacle with graceful dancing and captivating drumming and singing. 
August 31 was a most rewarding day. I headed for the 9:30 Cliff Palace tour and then drove that loop and the Chapin mesa top drive. On the Mesa Top Loop Road two 6 mile loops offer views of 40 cliff dwellings from lookout points on the canyon rim. It is such a thrill to me to view these cliff dwellings from the top of the mesa on the opposite side of the canyon and then to go down and explore one even if the climb out can be exhausting in the sun on a hot day. 
There is nice campground nearby but it is in the sun in a desert atmosphere. I intended to go to Muley Point Overlook but missed the turn just before I descended 1100 feet down the mesa and Moki Dugout. I quickly fought off my fear of heights and down the hill we went. I was not too thrilled to meet a class c rv coming up the road.
At Monument Valley I got a spot in the Navajo Tribal Park at the campground. They had a nice visitor's center, restaurant, and gift shop. The campground was dry camping but very suitable. Most of the visitors were Europeans. It was quite hot and the covered picnic tables did little to provide shade but it cooled off very nicely at night. Then we were off for quite a ride on the dusty dirt roads.
The colors just seem to be magical as the sun sets for just a brief period of time.
