Yuma AZ

Dec. 9, 2018

We were due for a "power" stop and Rich and Dawn gave us a coupon for a great deal at West Wind RV Resort in Yuma, AZ.  

Campsite at West Wind RV Resort.

On site restaurant with a patio seating on the Golf course.

The Ballroom.

Rich and Dawn also introduced us to Bert and Debbie (via text), friends of theirs spending the winter at West Wind.  They were going to Los Algodones Mexico (only 8 miles away) on a shopping trip and offered to show us the ropes for crossing the border.  Initially we didn't really have any desire to go to Mexico but thought, what the heck, since we had a tour guide, lets give it a shot.  

The little area at the border crossing is geared towards the American tourist trade.  The  draw is extremely very cheap Dentist, Optical, Pharmaceutical services and of course, there's always the tourist trinket vendors.  The Mexican government is very interested in protecting that trade so there was a lot of police and military present to insure our safety (no pictures of course).

Street venders were along every inch of sidewalk space.  This was the scene in a little mini-mall with a dentist recommended to us.   

Joan's got a brand new bag.

The Purple pharmacy,  first thing you see as you cross the border.

While we were waiting in line to cross the border back to the US, I snapped this pic of the restaurant  where we had lunch

Waiting to return to the US.

With our shopping done and tanks refreshed, it was time to head back into the desert.

Coming next: Ajo AZ, revisited.

Kofa NWR

Dec. 5, 2018

We had a good visit in Quartzsite with our friends Steve & Laura and met some new friends Rich and Dawn.  Steve and Laura were on their way to Texas for a volunteer gig at Santa Ana NWR. Rich and Dawn had a few days to kill before their reservation at Lost Dutchman State Park so they decided to join us at Kofa National Wildlife Refuge.  There's a number of access points into the refuge, most with boondocking.  We were heading for Palm Canyon. There's a grove of California Palms thought to be remnants from the last ice age.  There's a trail up the canyon where you can view and photograph the palms but their only in sunlight for a short time at midday, probably why they still exist in the desert environment. We were there late in the afternoon so none of our smart phone photos were any good.

 

Sunset lighting up the mountains to the east.

Palm Canyon campsite.

Dec, 6, 2018

We knew there was some weather moving in and Tuesday dawned to a cloudy sky.  There was some time where we had full sun but Signal Peek was in clouds all day.

About 3:00pm the weather started moving in from the south.

Dec. 7, 2018

The next day there was an unusual sight in the desert, patchy fog with a rainbow.  We had about 1 1/2 inches of rain at our campsite and almost 2 inches over the mountains. 

By the afternoon the sun was out again with just a few puffy clouds.  Rich knew about some interesting trails off  Kings Valley road so we moved about 10 miles south.

Kings Valley road campsite.

Rich and Dawn traveling with an ATV.  They offered to let us use it to access some of the more remote and scenic locations. 

Horse tank, about 2 1/2 miles off  Kings Valley road.

Unusual rock formation imbedded in other rocks.

Coming next Yuma, AZ

Plomosa Rd. BLM Boondocking

Dec. 1, 2018

The morning we were due to leave Bouse, AZ we went out for breakfast at the only restaurant in town...

... stopped by the only grocery (a glorified convenience store with some fresh produce) ...

... and visited a road side monument to the Military history of Bouse.

While in Bouse we scouted some boondocking opportunities on Plomosa Rd.  Plomsa goes from Bouse to Quartzsite, AZ with boondocking spots along most of the way.  We had a few days to kill before meeting some friends in Quartzsite.  In January the Quartzsite population swells from about 3700 (in the off season) to over 150,000 during the RV show and Gem show.  We plan to be far far away during that time.  After leaving Desert Pueblo RV Resort in Bouse, we traveled all of 3.6 miles to spend a few days just hanging out in the desert. 

Another pretty sunset in the desert.

Coming next, Kofa NWR