Wednesday, January 25, 2006.  Today we are at Imperial Dam, California.  We will stay here where it is warmer a bit.  This is just 24 miles North of Yuma, A.Z..   I think we will stay here for the rest of the winter unless we get too bored. It's pretty quiet here compared to Quartzsite, A.Z..
We have decided to stay in this area until about February 26th. 2006.  We will go and see the Yuma Air Show that day and then drive to a new spot. 
Yuma was named after the Yumas (the first inhabitant, Native American who gathered along the Colorado River). Because the Colorado River caused a division of the land between the east and the west, crossing the Colorado during the western migration was a necessary challenge for those wishing to reach the West Coast.  The Native American tribes flourished along the river.  The tribes used the river as a focal point for farming and trade, and the Yuma Crossing became a focal point to all trade routes.  The area which is now Yuma, was the only place to safely cross.

Now this looks like California.  Standing at a "Imperial Date Gardens", the dates are so sweet here..  Date trees in the background.
Denis's first comment to the ladies working there is "I hear you can get good dates here"?
Answer "Yes, you can". 
Denis's answer: "Now what do I do with the wife"? 
I guess he has had enough of me and is ready to trade me in!!!
 

This is our view from our kitchen table.  It's great.

We are staying in the Northwest Territory off Ferguson Rd.   We have been here for 2 weeks and find the residents are not overly social.  They stay in their trailers and do not stay outside much.  We may find another location in the area for the next 2 weeks.

 

 

 


 


Our best ever sunrise.  Donna, next time we are plugged in, I will make a copy of my sunsets for you.  Too little pixels for good printout.

Our nights are about 9C but the days have been going up to about 25C, so yes, we have been getting tanned and loving it.  The heat is a nice dry heat and you just want to absorb the heat.  I fee that I have gained weight though.  A lot of sitting.  Just like it was at work.  We hope to get more hiking in here.

 

 

 

 

There is miles and miles of irrigated farming here in Arizona/California.


 



 



 

We toured the Imperial Date Farm.  It was interesting.  Dates were considered a delicacy and served by royalty for generations.  Medjool dates are the gourmet variety, and for many years savoured only by the elite. The Medjool originates in Morocco.  It was introduced into the United States in 1927; by eleven shoots, nine plants survived and are located in Southern California. Twenty-four offshoots of those original trees were planted in here, in 1944, by Stanley Dillman.  Every one of those dates are looked at to make sure they are just the right moisture.  It also takes 15 years before a tree produces dates.  The "Date Shakes" are a must in this area. 

While hiking on a trail at Imperial Dam we came across an old Turquoise Mine.  As you can see they left some behind for me.
This is  Furguson Wash.  A Wash is like a huge river that has dried up but left behind layers of history.
Denis bought a 10lb. bag of Tangelos to squeeze for juice.  We sure are getting our vitamin C.

Ferguson Lake and Martinez Lake.  They are all man made lakes of the Colorado River.

We went canoeing in the Colorado River,  it looks like my umbrella is a bit worse for wear.
Senator Wash. 

Denis is explaining about the erosion history of the rocks.


We walked across the border in Arizona to Mexico at Los Algodones.  There was all kinds of things for sale there.  These guys were doing art work with just the bare essentials.  A lot of people from the states go across for medical reasons.


Denis got me beautiful roses for Valentine's Day.  Then took me out to dinner at the Yuma Air Base.  Nice place but my Prime Rib was way over cooked.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.



Before we got into Imperial Dam, C.A.  There is a "U.S. Army Proving Ground in Arizona and it was the location where General Patton trained his tank battalions, during the 2nd, world war.  I believe this is still a training area.

 

We try and do a bit of hiking up the mountains.  It is fun and we get  good pictures.

We hiked from the left (third peak back) to the top where the arrow is.

This is part of the view we had.  Our campsite is the Northwest Quadrant.

Burrows were originally brought over by the Spanish Conquistadors in the 1600's. 

Many like these have survived in the wilds since then.
There was a bee attack to-day.  A neighbour ran to help this elderly couple only to be, beaten off, stung multiple times. The army fire squad was called in with their Hummer Fire Truck, from the local air base.

Fire trucks winning the war against the bees.  We were all standing by watching with our binoculars.
 
We are quite comfortable at Imperial Dam and have made a few friends.  Yuma, was a pleasure to explore.  They are so nice to tourist.  We feel at home in Yuma.  But all good things usually come to an end and there is still so much to discover out there.  Bye for now until next time.
Sunday, February 26, 2006.  We are on the road again.  At first it felt strange but it soon became exciting and we are happy to be travelling again.  Our first stop was at Salvation Mountain in Slab City.  Was amazed at the mountain but did not like Slab City (an old closed up army base with just slabs of concrete remaining that the snowbirds and squatters have taken over).  Now in Borrego Springs.  What a lovely town and the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is just off of it.

Salvation Mountain is a 20 year project for Leonard. Built originally of Adobe clay layered over the mountain then painted over, it now includes structures of tree branches, straw bales, all covered with an adobe layer and painted with donated paint. Leonard estimates he's used 100,000 gals of paint to date. The whole thing is a must see and Leonard is a very warm hearty man dedicated to giving the rest of his life to this project in honour of God.

To the right is Leonard Knight who is 74 years of age and is from Burlington, Vermont.  Salvation Mountain has brought Leonard many rewards and awards, some seen in this picture, others as plaques and books. He is known worldwide.

This is our latest campground.  Clarks Dry Lake just outside of Borrego Springs in California.  What a spot.  We love it here and already wish we could stay longer and we haven't left yet.


This is the Windmills in North Palm Springs.  There are 80 Farms of Windmills equalling 4,000 Windmills.  We had to admit it was really windy and we were there on a average day which is about 17 mph but felt like 30 mph.  If you want to know more about this go to awea.org on the internet.

I have decided to change my page style.  California is getting a bit long, so if you want to see the pictures, just click on the underlined item.
Wednesday, February 28, 2006 Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  This park is gigantic.  The park covers more than 600,000 acres.  It's pathways were shared by explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, the Southern Emigrant Trail, the Butterfield Stage and the Mormon Battalion.  The Native Americans hunted and gathered here as long as 5,000 years ago.  There were heard of mammoths and camels.  I am sure if we come down with our trailer again, we will revisit.
Friday, March 3, 2006.  We are now at Joshua Tree National Park.  We have never seen this type of tree before.  Seeing it along with the stone background makes us feel as though we are in Wonderland.
Monday, March 6, 2006.  We are going through the Mojave National Preserve and will stay overnight around a Lava Bed.  The last known volcanic eruption was 1,000 years ago.  The (1.6 million acre park encompasses much of the Mojave Desert, as well as parts of the Great Basin and Sonoran deserts.  About half of the park is designated wilderness, and is off limits to motor vehicles but open to hikers and horseback riders.  After parking we explored a bit and found the area to be very restful and serene.  We know there is much more to see here but maybe another time. We drove for 2 days through mostly this desert, and except for a few small towns, we never saw another ranch or house along the way. Just desert!!
Tuesday, March 7, 2006. We are at Death Valley, and staying at a campground in Furnace Creek. This is were we finally got a good downpour of rain, the first since October of last year.  After the rainfall you get a strong scent of the creosote bush and bursage which dominate much of the park.  I believe Death Valley is about 200 square miles.  Everywhere you look there seems to be something to see and pictures do not do it justice.  There are six different sections of the park so to cover it would take some time and a 4 wheel drive or good hiking legs is a must in some areas.  In other cases it depends on the weather.  They will close some areas down if they expect bad weather or there is constructions, as it seems to be in a Northern section.
Monday, March 13, 2006.  We will be at Lake Mead National Park, Nevada (to see this go to "Nevada" on "Trips" page). From there we will check out Las Vegas and area.  Thank God we went to church yesterday.

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