Hot Week in Yuma

 

We survived a week of record heat (mid-90s) in Yuma, bad timing on our part, but decided to just get hookups and go with our original plan. A couple years ago we stayed on a lot in the Foothills area east of town to get some work done on the Lazy Daze, and when we realized that boondocking at Mittry Lake was going to be intolerable, I emailed the owners of the lot just in case they had a vacancy. Turns out they are actually here in Yuma on their lot, but she said a neighbor two doors down had a vacant lot, and gave us their contact info. So we ended up renting a double lot with nobody else on it, which has been very private and quiet. We like this neighborhood for walking and biking, which we’ve done early in the  mornings or just before the sun sets to try and avoid the heat. Just a parking spot on gravel with full hookups, but at least we can see the mountains. The very nice owners live next door in a lovely house.

This is a nice neighborhood just a couple blocks from the mountains.

And a golf course. Actually there are two golf courses within walking distance.

The main reason we came here was for Jim to get a dental implant done in Algodones. He had to have a tooth pulled last August in Idaho, and had been debating on just leaving it be, but finally decided to go ahead with the implant. So on Wednesday morning we walked across the border to Rubio Dental Group. Although we used other dentists in Algodones in the past, we’ve heard really good things about Rubio, and with an implant he didn’t want to take any chances. Dr. Carlos Rubio himself placed the implant, and Jim said it was the most professional dental office he’s been to. He’s had no pain and is happy to have the first part of the procedure finished. Now he has to wait at least 4 months to get the abutment and crown, so that will be done in the fall when it cools off a bit, since we don’t plan to come back to Yuma in July.

We’ve managed to keep busy despite the heat, visiting the downtown farmer’s market, where I bought an enormous head of cauliflower and a bunch of broccoli for $1 each. Also got huge pink grapefruit, 4 for $1. Fresh, inexpensive produce is one thing we really like about Yuma.

I also got a $7 shampoo and haircut at the Yuma School of Beauty. I’ve been there twice before and they always do a great job. Just plan to be there for awhile, as the students are slow and the instructor comes by frequently to check the progress and do some cutting herself.

We’ve been having some issues with our See Level black tank gauge and have tried various cleaning methods over the years but nothing seems to help, so we decided to get our tanks professionally cleaned. They insert a high pressure hose up the tank and flush it out, which did get a lot of gunk out, and brought our empty level down to 8% on the See Level and from full to 1/3 on the original Lazy Daze gauge. We were hoping to see zero when the tank was empty, but he worked on it some more and that was the best we got. It’s been a few days now and the readings appear to be normal, where as before we had numbers all over the place. We pretty much know how many days we can go before we need to dump, but we like our stuff to be working properly. Now we just need to be sure to get the tanks as clean as we can when we dump. Interestingly they recommended not using any chemicals except a mixture of Calgon bath beads and Pine Sol. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested. And yes, this is definitely a shitty job.

We also went to the movies one day. The Regency Theater downtown on Main St. has been remodeled with very comfortable leather recliners, so it was a good place to get out of the heat. $5.50 for seniors is a pretty good deal, too. Oh, and we both liked the movie, Get Out, sort of a comedy horror story.

On Thursday evenings from 6-8 there is a weekly jazz concert at the Yuma Palms shopping center, and although outdoors, by that time the sun was behind the buildings and it felt quite pleasant.

 Since Jim was supposed to take it easy for a few days after his implant surgery, he had a good excuse to get out of the strenuous hike up up Telegraph Pass, just a few miles from where we’re parked. This is a zoom shot I took from our lot. I was looking forward to getting up there again.

The first day I hiked it I got to the trailhead at 7:45, but the second time I awoke earlier and started about a half hour sooner, making for an even cooler trek. The paved steep portion of the trail was in the shade for most of the way up, which was nice. I had forgotten how steep it is, but my legs have continued to remind me. It’s a great workout, a little over 5 miles round trip, and a very popular trail.

From the parking area it’s about a mile and a half of ups and downs to the paved trail. Then it’s another mile to the first set of towers and a bench. Start of the pavement.

I continued on another 0.3 miles to the last group of towers, and the highest point, 1,200’ of climbing.

Views from the top.

Looks like the worst of the heat is over, so today we’re off to Anza Borrego to check out the flowers. We may have just missed the peak, so we’re hoping the crowds we’ve heard about are slacking off.