Thursday, January 30, 2014

Mittry Lake, Yuma, AZ

 

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Late Tuesday afternoon we arrived at Mittry Lake, about 15 miles north of Yuma, and an easy 80 mile drive from Quartzsite. This is a BLM Wildlife Area, where our friends John and Susan have been for the past week. They recommended a quiet area up a hill well off the main road, so that’s where we are. There was only one other RV when we got here. Nice views and we’ve seen lots of birds and ducks.

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Yesterday we went to Algodones along with John and Susan, and Debbie, who all got their teeth cleaned at Dr. Eva Urena’s office. Jim got his new crown and is quite pleased with it. I don’t have another appointment until next week, but went along for the ride. Algodones is a colorful and vibrant border town, and we don’t feel the least bit uncomfortable going there.

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When we returned, our nice quiet area had been turned into a music jam. Debbie’s Lazy Daze was surrounded by at least 50 parked cars, so she decided to move up closer to us. I went over to get a look and take a few pictures. Quite a surprise to come back to this in our backyard.

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Luckily it was only a one day event, and the music stopped by 4:30. Not sure what they would have done if there had been RVs where they held it, since there were no signs up the previous day.

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John and Susan are about a mile and a half farther down the main road. Here are some scenes from our walk over to their place yesterday afternoon for happy hour. There are trash dumpsters near the boat launch. That’s always a plus when boondocking.

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It was surprising to see this great egret (I think) walking up the hill away from the water.

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Unfortunately being so close to water we had some mosquitos at dusk, but our Thermacell seemed to take care of them.

Today we went on a hike in the nearby hills. There are lots of dirt roads for hiking and mountain biking. That means off road vehicles tend to frequent the trails, too. We saw about a half dozen of them. How is it we were on the same roads at the same time?

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We followed the trails upward trying to get the best views.

Susan and John.

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Gayle and John.

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Susan, Debbie, John, and Jim.

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Rupert, always sticking his nose in somewhere.

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When we got back, we were surprised to see our Lazy Daze friends Jimbo and John outside of our house. They are now at Imperial Dam, about 5 rough dirt miles up the road from us. Tomorrow we have another hike planned with some famous bloggers, then we hope to have some down time this weekend.

An early bloomer along the trail. I think we’re beginning to like the Yuma area.

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11 comments:

  1. I love blooming cacti. They are such lovely flowers.

    The photo of the water and the hills in the background is gorgeous. I think that would be beautiful framed.

    Egads....what the heck. You leave and the party moves in. That had to be some sort of huge surprise.

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  2. Looks very nice there...we're definitely adding it to our "list" of spots to check out. Great pics of the area!

    Nina

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  3. Hope it was enjoyable music in your backyard! They sure were close but nice that they quit at a decent hour. Looks like a great area. Love the blooming cactus.

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  4. I might even enjoy the music given the early hour they ended. A nice change of pace.

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  5. Nice to see the cactus blooming. The beginning of another spring.

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  6. The Thermacell really works. We have the lantern type.

    Nice hike with pretty cactus blooms.

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  7. I plan to meet up with you guys in the next few days. I sure liked the area.

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  8. Looks like you found a little piece of paradise in Yuma. It's amazing how much earlier the flowers are blooming compared to last year!

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  9. That is an early bloomer, it's not even February!

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  10. Mittry Lake looks nice! I've never been there, but maybe I'll try to stop for a bit on my way to or from San Diego. I haven't camped by a lake in a while. Great photos! :)

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