Hanging Around Mittry Lake and Yuma

 

Can’t say exactly what we’ve been doing but the days are sure flying by. We moved campsites a few days ago to a spot away from the road dust and a different view. We were joined by Jimbo and our favorite chihuahua Chica.

She is fascinated by our cats, barking at them and following them around. Elvis is trying to ignore her but she scares him even though she’s half his size.

Always room for another Lazy Daze.

We’ve done several hikes in our backyard. Here are some photos from our last hike with John and Susan before they left earlier in the week.

We came across several rock paintings, but not sure of their significance.

On Monday we drove the RV to get some propane and stopped at Action Upholstery in Yuma to get an estimate for our chairs. We decided to let them do the job, picked out what we hope will be cat-proof material, and left the chairs. When we pick them up next week we will leave the sofa cushions to have them recovered also. So in keeping with being trailer trash, we are using our new Coleman Patio Sling chairs for indoor seating, which means carrying them outside for happy hour. Luckily they are pretty comfortable for folding chairs.

After hiking on slippery slopes in Quartzsite, Jimbo decided to buy some hiking poles. We took him on a little hike to try them out, and found some interesting rock cairns in the middle of nowhere.

Yesterday Jimbo accompanied Debbie and me to Algodones for some more dental work. It turned out to be a many hour affair, but I only have one more appointment next week and am satisfied with the work so far. We ran into Chris, another Lazy Daze owner we met in Quartzsite, who is also frequenting a Mexican dentist.

The other day we finally took a longer bike ride (other than the half mile to the dumpster) and came across Laguna Dam, finished in 1909 and the oldest of nine dams along the Colorado River within Arizona. We haven’t found any trails to ride the bikes on, since the ones we’ve hiked have been too steep and rocky for our biking skills, but there are miles of dirt roads to explore.

After I got back from Mexico we took the Lazy Daze 7 miles down the road to Laguna RV Park, where they charge $10 to dump and $5 for water. Since our site is free we don’t mind paying for a convenient dump and water.

I almost forgot to mention the inexpensive and wonderful fresh produce we picked up at a local stand. Yuma is definitely growing on us.

Telegraph Pass Trail

 

Probably the most popular hike in Yuma, and arranged by our (in)famous buddy Boonie (Occupation of Independence), we converged on the I-8 frontage road parking area for a group hike and a little cardiovascular workout up the Telegraph Pass trail. Joining us was world famous blogger Glenn (To Simplify), along with Ted (Life With Kurumi), and non-blogger Debbie.

We were impressed with Glenn’s restoration of his old Vanagon. He did an excellent job, but I still can’t imagine living in something that small.

The trail starts out easy enough for the first mile or so, a gradual climb towards the mountains. After coming to a gate with no trespassing signs, which everyone seems to ignore, the trail turns into an old, broken paved road up to the communications towers.

That’s me there with Glenn and Ted. Jim was on a mission to get to the top, so he was far ahead of the pack. Debbie and Boonie were farther back talking to John and Susan, who did an earlier hike and passed us on their way back down.

It was a good workout to the top, but with the interesting rocks, scenery, and conversations, it didn’t seem too bad.

We ended up walking all the way to the last of the towers to see the view from the other side. Yuma County is the winter lettuce capital of the world, supplying 90% of the nation’s leafy vegetables between November and March.

The trail almost seemed steeper going back down. I read that it averages a 24% grade, even rising to 30 at the steepest point.

Glenn and Boonie giving us an idea of how steep the trail is. Coffee Girl, with four legs, had no trouble walking up or down.

We enjoyed everyone’s company on the 5 mile round trip hike, and it was nice to meet Glenn and Ted. Hooking up with other wanderers has been one of the main benefits of blogging, I think. And not having done a big climb in awhile our legs are definitely feeling it today!

Mittry Lake, Yuma, AZ

 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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

Susan and John.

Gayle and John.

Susan, Debbie, John, and Jim.

Rupert, always sticking his nose in somewhere.

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.