Thursday, March 30th - Tuesday, April 3rd
Riverfront RV Park -
Yuma, Arizona
As a stopover heading toward California, we stayed in Yuma
for five days. Yuma is located at the extreme southwest corner of Arizona where
the state borders California just north of the Mexican border. We were very
surprised to see that this is such a huge city, spread out for miles around the
desert area and the green Colorado River valley. The area was desert environment and
very flat. The only mountains were very distant. We saw extensive agriculture
within the valley and were surprised to find out that winter lettuce is one of
their largest crops, along with wheat, alfalfa and melons. Because of the climate, agriculture is a year round
business. The development of a major irrigation system drawing water from the Colorado
River, the valley is very fertile and productive. Also, the city is full of RV
parks, since many north westerners spend their winters in Yuma.
Yuma also has a very large military presence. The military
installations include the Marine Corp Air Station and the U.S. Army Yuma
Proving Grounds. Because of this, we observed many aircraft flying around the
area, from fighter jets to large bombers and helicopters.
We quickly found out that there are not many outdoor
adventures around the area. We did find a mountain bike park in the desert, but
after riding just a few miles, it was a big disappointment. So most of our days
there were spent exploring the town. The city has many bicycle trails and green
parks. One day we rode our bikes on a trail that passed right by the RV park.
We were able to ride into town, explore some historical parks and see the
Colorado Crossing location. The historic Yuma Territorial Prison is now a
State Park and part of the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. The Colorado
Crossing is historic as most frontier explorers and settlers passed through
here heading to California. At that time the Colorado was a huge rushing river
and the crossing was dangerous. Many settlers had to leave many of their
belongings in Yuma, since it was difficult to carry them all across the river
in their covered wagons. Because of this, there are many antiquities remaining
in the area.
The fortunate (or unfortunate) event was that our grey water
tank valve broke while we were in the park. Kurt spent a whole day working on
this and was able to get the parts at a nearby RV parts store (fortunately for
all the RV’s in Yuma) and was able to replace the valves for all the tanks. This
was a nasty job to do, but he saved a few hundred dollars by not having a
repairman come out and fix it. Now he can add RV plumbing to his retirement
resume J …
We were very ready to move on to California and enjoy the
great weather and beautiful landscapes. On to San Diego!