A day to relax after the WIND

Those were big winds!  The slides were pulled in almost two whole days.  We could hardly stand up when we returned from The Lights.  Those kind of winds are a drain on you.  I would rather have rain than high winds.   Yesterday we made a trip to Yuma to take the ol' girl to the Vet at the Foothills Animal Hospital.  Excellent place!  She has some antibiotic drops and another checkup next Monday.  The vet costs here are so much lower, that you could almost fly to Yuma from northern B.C. for a vet visit and the cost would be the same. Go figure.  A highlight though in Yuma, was seeing a C5 Galaxy Jet practicing  from the Marine base. WOW. Biggest plane ever.  It makes a Hercules look like a dinky toy. 

photo from City of Lethbridge website

Today, we only made a short jaunt around the Imperial Dam LTVA area.  There are so many small little separate areas here, some in lower spots, some on higher plateaus.  One area supplies propane, drinking water and there is a Solar dealer.  We went to find out the cost of the propane,  to read the sign that it is open mornings only. There is also an area newsletter that comes out once a month, concerts every Sunday from area boondockers and good people.

The area called Skunk Hollow, has a converted silver Airstream travel trailer that is the library.  It is an excellent little library.  You can donate a book to pick up a book, with a maximum of six books at a time.  Today I donated a Clive Cussler book, and picked up " Eat, Pray, Love".  I have the movie which we have yet to watch.

This is  $3 a night and our view

We also checked out the nearby RV Park, Hidden Shores. It was alright, certainly not the fanciest but  certainly the most expensive.  The daily rate is $77.00 and there is a break only on monthly rates, however, you have to book a minimum of four months.  Well, you know what? We have a better view and are paying $3.00 a night with 50 times the rv space room.  We both enjoyed the same WIND and dust.  I guess that is free for everyone.

Oh, and for those of you who are concerned about the speculators jacking up the fuel prices, here is a picture from our home area in Northern BC, a place where we fuel up from time to time. 

ENOUGH SAID.

The Lights of Yuma

I was not even sure that I was going to write this entry.  Not sure how to explain the event.  We were invited by some lovely fellow RV'ers here at Imperial Dam LTVA to join them on Sunday evening to go see THE LIGHTS.  What lights?

Along the farm canal

We met at the garbage dumpsters, for a total of 5 vehicles.  Jean Pierre from Montreal, led the way, with Ed and Julie, from Indiana, bringing up the rear.  We drove to milepost 38 on Highway 95, and turned left onto a dirt road that ran next to a farm canal.  A distance of about 4 miles, some of it turning down slopes of washes and through a very small railroad culvert ( yes, we pulled in the truck mirrors to squeeze through) and we arrived at a gravel area on the side of a hill/mountain.  There were a number of vehicles and people already there and many more to arrive, over 100!

There were tailgate parties of food and drink, and we also brought along our lawn chairs and snack food for a little feast.  Our little group consisted of Ed and Julie, Jean Pierre and Marie from Montreal, Bob and Dee from Rhode Island, and 2 other couples from Utah.

The Mountain of THE LIGHTS

As dark approached, we were instructed to turn our lawn chairs around in theatre style, looking towards the mountain.  Why?  We were to wait for The Lights.  At this point, Don and I thought it was all too strange and ridiculous.  Yet!  At 7:35 pm The Lights appeared for this first time, across the face of the mountain.  Not a pinpoint of light, but rather like the Northern Lights, only in one colour, white.   Ed and Jean Pierre said there would be more, and sure enough, at around 8:05, The Lights came on, and then off and on a few more times till about 8:20.  Then we drove back. What the heck was all that about?

What causes The Lights? Don't know. National Geographic even came out at one point to have a look. It is not the railroad nearby, as there were no trains at the time.  Since the lights are like a sheer curtain, it is not truck or vehicle lights.  A mystery, and we will leave it at that.  We asked a few questions, and some people have been going out to look at The Lights for over 7 years, and that there are sometimes as many as 300 people there.

people waiting for The Lights

So, our header, " Always an adventure " was aptly named for Sunday night.  I offered to sing the notes for contacting the aliens from the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind".  Now don't you wish my poor wee camera took night pictures?

A visit from a Monster

First off, thank you once again to our followers, some of whom have recently joined.  We greatly appreciate your comments and your faith that what we write, is worth reading!  Maybe not - ha!

Of course, you are wondering from the title of todays' blog, what the heck?  We have visited a number of formal desert displays of horticulture and creatures over this winter season in the southwest, and yet the most thrilling for us has been boondocking in the desert and seeing creatures and plants there.  We come from a place in northern British Columbia, where brown and black bears and grizzlies, moose, and very large fish are commonplace. We have bears and moose in our front yards!  Here in the American Southwest, we are thrilled to bits over tiny wee creatures and flowers on cactus.  This is another reason why we all travel, I guess.  Experiencing new places and new cultures.

This afternoon in the heat of the day, which was about 85 F, we were visited by a lizard that was about one foot long, including the tail.  WOW!!!!!

Photo Courtesy: Bob Stone

Isn't he/she a lovely specimen?  My camera would not have taken near the fantastic picture that our friend Bob Stone could do on his Canon - thanks Bob! The lizard looked at us and sunned itself about 5 feet away on the rocks.  Later in the afternoon, we noticed a wee skink that was about a tenth of the size of this guy, scurrying about the rocks.

Today was a quiet day, observing the Imperial Dam goings on ( not much ) and checking the internet for upcoming activities in the Yuma area.

What a view!

A great day here at Imperial Dam LTVA.  Check out the view from our front door!  You cannot get that at a commercial RV Park, and only $40 for 14 days to boot.

Yuma Proving Grounds Heritage Centre

Lovely green grass at the Army Base - we haven't seen that much green grass in some time!

This morning, we got organized and Don, Bob Stone and myself visited the YPG Army Base right next to the LTVA.  In fact, we drive through it to get here.  We provided our passports, drivers licenses and vehicle registration to the guard at the gate and enjoyed a look around the Heritage Centre, or Museum.  We may go back another day for lunch at the little cafe there. For over 65 years, this portion of Arizona's Sonora Desert has hosted a variety of military activities, training and equipping up to one million soldiers during WW2 alone!  The US Army Yuma Proving Grounds now has one of the best multi-purpose test range facilities in the US Department of Defense.  From our hill top location, we hear the booms of *something* and watch helicopters and C130 ( Hercules ) flying overhead.  We also see tanks and lots of dust in the distance!

A little bit of a temperature difference for those poor soldiers if they travelled from the YPG!

This once was the 'engine' of a land train that towed long lines of vehicles across the desert      

made it to Yuma by 3:10

On the road again today, from Lake Havasu City to the Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area, about 23 miles from Yuma, Arizona.  There was a bit of construction along the way and we were stopped for about 20 minutes near Parker Dam, as new sewer and water lines were being installed, as well as road widening.  Most of the dams along the Colorado River are now closed to traffic and the public ( since 9-11) . Highway 95 now sees more traffic and yep, road construction to deal with it!

A pleasant morning conversation while waiting!

Further along the road there was oily road crack sealing - yuck!  That was slow going.  We made it and are now settled into the most AWESOME rv site ever!!!!!  Stay tuned for pictures tomorrow.

On another note, Ally had her spa day in Lake Havasu City and now looks very pretty but she has an ear infection and we have to line up a Vet appointment in Yuma. Poor old gal.

Are we there yet Mom?