Back in Yuma Again

Greetings loyal readers, glad you came back for the next chapter. We closed out the last episode on Sunday, March 24^th when we made the move from Tucson, Arizona to Yuma, Arizona after the FMCA International Area Rally concluded. Technically, we are now in California since the Pilot Knob RV park is in Winterhaven, California, just across the Colorado River from Yuma. But since there is nothing but a hundred miles of desert to the west of “The Knob” everything relates to Yuma rather than California. In the winter, when Arizona is on Mountain time and California is on Pacific, Pilot Knob just goes with Arizona time. It doesn't matter in the summer though, because Arizona doesn't do daylight savings, so Arizona time is the same as Pacific time.

It is about ten degrees or so warmer here than it is in Tucson, so when we got here on Sunday it was in the mid-80's and pretty warm. After the long drive and the exertion of getting set up, we didn't go anywhere after we got parked. We had cocktails with the Bullocks, who are in the space right next to us, in the late afternoon and spent the remainder of the evening in the coach.

Monday, March 25^th, we decided that we needed a day to relax and do some chores. It was going to be another hot day, high 80's, so we didn't want to go geocaching. I did manage to get a lot of administrative stuff done, including a first draft of our taxes. Tax day is sneaking up on us. Looks like we won't have to pay this year, yea! Once we get our mail on Wednesday and make sure there is no tax related stuff in it, I will finish the returns and get them mailed.

Around 5:00 we had cocktails with Peggy and Vernon and then had dinner at our house for the four of us. We had some tamales, some of which we bought at Costco and some that Peggy had bought at a Mexican place in New Mexico. She also had some chili rellenos from the same place. We had those and some rice and had a very nice dinner. After dinner the Bullock's went home and we watched TV the rest of the night.

Tuesday, March 26^th, we left the coach after lunch and drove into Yuma to do our laundry and some shopping. We got the laundry done by 3:00 or so and then made stops at Frys and Walmart for groceries. We got back to the coach about 5:30 and after putting away the groceries joined the Bullocks for cocktails outside. In the late afternoon it is very nice outside so long as you sit in the shade. We had a late dinner with Peggy and Vernon of steaks, sweet potatoes and asparagus. We had leftovers because both Jackie and Peggy had made appetizers, not knowing the other was going to make anything. Jackie cooked some lobster cakes that we had bought a while back and Peggy made some bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers. Everything was good, but by the time the steaks were ready the edge was off the appetites. We still had a very nice dinner and good conversation with friends. By 9:00 everything was cleaned up and we watched TV until bed.

Wednesday, March 27^th, we stayed around the coach most of the day doing light chores and such. I did get our taxes done for last year. Good to have that out of the way. After lunch we made a quick trip into Yuma with Benji, the younger cat, to get his claws trimmed and have the little plastic covers glued on his claws. Our older cat, Smokey, was declawed in the front when he was a kitten, but now days it is difficult to find a vet who will declaw, even just the front. When we adopted him we agreed not to have him declawed. The animal rights folks have gotten everyone to believe it is cruel to take the front claws off. For the past thirty years I have always kept my cats indoors and had them declawed in the front and none of them has seemed to much care after the first 24 hours. Oh well, progress, I guess.

It was still too hot to geocache and Peggy and Vernon are having a lot of service people over for various repairs. They had some issues lately while traveling and this is the first time they have had a chance to get some repairs done. They lost one of their topper awnings in Texas, they need a new satellite dish, and they have major electrical problems, including one dead A/C and a dead washing machine. Yikes! They did get a new satellite dish installed today. Same brand as ours, but a little newer model. Now Vernon doesn't have to set up the outside, portable dish every time they settle somewhere. He is happy about that. The guy for the awning came out and took measurements and they are still waiting for the electrical guy. We sat outside at 5:00 for happy hour and then Peggy served dinner in her coach for the four of us. She made her penne pasta dish that I really like. Just a pasta primavera with lots of cheese and spices, but very tasty. We chatted for a while and then we went back to our coach and watched TV the rest of the evening.

Thursday, March 28^th, Peggy and Jackie left a little after 11:00 for a girls day on the town. They were going into Yuma for lunch, then the nail salon and then some shopping. Vernon and I stayed home and just hung around the coaches. I took a quick drive to Winterhaven to drop the taxes at the Post Office, but other than that I just did chores and relaxed. About 1:30 or so Ray and Suzie Babcock pulled into the park, finally leaving Tucson after Ray's little health scare.

I mentioned in the last episode that Ray, who has had a lot of heart problems in the past, was not feeling well the last couple of days at the rally in Tucson. He went into the ER on Saturday and ended up being in the hospital all weekend. On Monday they installed a couple of new stents in his heart and he was feeling a lot better. He got out of the hospital Tuesday afternoon and they finally decided he was up to the drive, so they left today to come join us for a few days. They will be here through Easter and then leave for their home in Menefee, California on Monday.

The girls got back late afternoon with pretty toes and happy after a day out. We had happy hour at 5:00, this time with the six of us. Ray is looking much better now. About 6:30 we all crammed into our coach for dinner. Jackie made a chicken casserole that was very good. That and a salad was all we needed for a very good dinner. By 8:00 everyone had left to go back to their own coaches and we watched TV the rest of the night.

Friday, March 29^th, the six of us left the RV park about 9:30 or so and drove into Yuma to go to the Arizona Market Place swap meet. It will be closing next weekend, the same time we leave, and we wanted to shop one last time this year. Peggy and Vernon rode with us and on the way we stopped at the Yuma Marine Corps Air Station so they could get permits to go onto the Barry Goldwater Range. We are planning to cache tomorrow on the range and the regulations require that everyone get a permit.

We shopped until about 1:00 or so and then the six of us went to a restaurant called Day Breakers. It is located right next door to the RV park at which we spent a month earlier this year. We had gone there once while we staying at the nearby parked and liked the food. It is really a truck stop cafe, but the food is very good. Everyone was very happy with their selections and we had a great late lunch. After lunch we drove back to the RV park and relaxed around the coaches for a while. Ray and Suzie went to the nearby Indian Casino in the late afternoon and missed happy hour, but we spent it with Peggy and Vernon. None of us were interested in dinner after the big lunch, so we talked until dark and then went into our coaches for the rest of the night.

Saturday, March 30^th, Jackie was showered, dressed and out the door of the coach at 8:00, that's 8:00 a.m.! We had decided to go out and do some geocaching today with the six of us. We needed to go today because tomorrow is Easter and we have a big dinner planned for the six of us, and the Babcock's are leaving for home on Monday morning. We needed to go early because it was forecast to be very hot, in the low 90's, by mid-afternoon. The morning was actually very pleasant with overcast skies to dim the sun and a light wind to keep it comfortable.

We were headed for the Barry Goldwater Range, on the east end of Yuma, for which we had all obtained the necessary permits. The range covers a huge area of southwest Arizona. There is an east range, which is north and east of Yuma and south of Gila Bend, and the western range, which is just east of Yuma, runs from about three miles south of Interstate 8 all the way to the Mexican border. Most of the west range is open to the public by permit. The east range is more active as a military range and is closed to public access. There are hundreds of geocaches hidden on the public access areas of the west range.

This area is all sand and rock desert and, while actual four wheel drive is not usually necessary, it is handy to have and high clearance is a must. We took our Jeep, with Ray and Suzie in the backseat, and the Bullocks took their Jeep. We actually hit the range border about 8:30 and started south on one of the trails, picking up caches along the way. We only drove about three miles south on the trail, but it seemed like 20 because it took a little over three hours to drive it. We were stopping every tenth of a mile or so, getting out and walking to caches, which were usually a hundred yards or so off the road. In addition, the trail was very rough and rocky and I had really be careful and take my time. Our Jeep Cherokee is four wheel drive and has a decent ground clearance and even has skid plates on the underside, but the suspension is very soft. We call it our “Gentleman's Jeep.” If I drive really rough, rocky terrain too fast it bottoms out, which is not good. If I take my time and watch for big rocks, we can maneuver most trails with little problem. The Bullock's have a Jeep Wrangler, so he doesn't have to be quite as careful, but Vernon has a lot of four wheel experience, and he knows not to get in a hurry either.

About noon we turned back and took a different route back north and out of the range. The return route was a sand road for the most part and we were back out of the range within twenty minutes. For the three hours of so of caching we did we got 26 new finds, a pretty decent average for this kind of terrain. After we got off the range and back into civilization we stopped at a little cafe in the Foothills area called “Mr. Fish.” Ray and Suzie had been there and recommended it. It was just a little hole in the wall in a strip mall, but the seafood was very good. Everything is fried, so you need to like that, but the fish and shrimp that I had were outstanding. A couple of people had calamari, which they said was very good too.

After lunch we made a stop at Walmart for a few supplies and then headed back to the RV park. We were back in the park by 2:30 after a great morning of desert exploration and caching. We just relaxed in the coach until about 5:00 when the six of us met for happy hour. About 6:00 we started cooking dinner. A few days ago Jackie and I were shopping in Fry's Foods in Yuma and they had pork ribs on sale. If you bought one rack of ribs you got two racks free. We couldn't pass that up since all six of us like ribs, so we bought three full racks of baby backs for about $25. Vernon has a lot of experience cooking ribs, so he was designated the chef for the day. We set up both his and our BBQs next to each other and he proceeded to slow cook the ribs. He had already marinated them most of the afternoon and put a nice rub on them before cooking.

Jackie made some wasabi cole slaw, which is extremely tasty and not as hot as it sounds. Ray made up a batch of baked beans and some broccoli. About 7:00 or so dinner was ready and the six of us sat outside in the shade and had a wonderful dinner. The ribs were cooked to perfection and everything else was great too. A very nice dinner with friends on a wonderful spring evening in Arizona. We finally cleaned everything up and went back to our coaches about 8:30 or so. A long, but great day with friends.

Sunday, March 31^st, Happy Easter! The six of us had gotten together and planned a big Easter dinner for today, so we all decided to spend the day at the RV park. I did have to drive into Yuma early to get Sunday papers, but other than that we didn't leave the park. We all did a few chores and spent time relaxing until about 5:00 when we had happy hour. Dinner was about 7:00 at the Babcock's coach. The wind was blowing all day and it was too windy to eat outside again.

Ray and Suzie did a big ham on the rotisserie, Jackie did sweet potatoes and cranberries, Peggy did scalloped potatoes and a salad. All together we had an excellent meal. We all finally went back to our own coaches about 8:30 or so after a great day and evening.

Monday, April 1^st, the first quarter of 2013 finished! We had originally planned to leave early today for some geocaching, but Jackie woke up at 3:00 with some kind of stomach bug and was up and down all night sick. She was still very sick in the morning, so we stayed home. The Babcock's had planned to leave today, but they decided to stay for a couple more days to spend more time with us. They and the Bullock's went out and cached most of the day while I stayed home and took care of Jackie. She was sick all day and still sick when I went to bed.

Tuesday, April 2^nd, Jackie is still really sick. She slept all day yesterday and all night, except for the frequent trips to the bathroom. I finally got her up and out of bed to have some chicken broth and crackers. She watched TV for most of the afternoon, but still had stomach pain. She stayed up for most of the day, finally going back to bed around 9:00 or so, still not doing well. If she is not better tomorrow we may have to go to urgent care. Jackie had a little bit of soup for dinner and I had a cocktail outside with the rest of the gang. I later went over to Ray and Suzie's for dinner, ham and cheese sandwiches made with the leftover ham from Easter.

Wednesday, April 3^rd, Jackie had a better night, not having to get up to go to the bathroom. She is no longer throwing up, but still has severe diarrhea and stomach pain. She finally decided she wanted to go to the urgent care, so I found the closest one in Yuma. We got there and there was only a couple of people in the waiting room. It still took half an hour for her to get in to see the doctor, or PA, on duty. When she came out she said that he diagnosed it as a stomach flu that is going around town right now. He said that he has seen many, many cases just like hers. He prescribed a couple of medications for the nausea and diarrhea. We stopped at a local pharmacy and got the prescriptions and I went to the store for some more chicken soup, which the doctor also told her to eat, along with toast.

After the visit we went back home and Jackie rested the remainder of the day, trying to get better. I had cocktails and dinner right outside our coach with the Babcock's and the Bullock's. Peggy and Vernon made some cheeseburgers and Peggy made a macaroni salad that was very good. It's too bad Jackie couldn't eat any. After dinner I went back to our coach and we watched TV until bedtime. Hopefully, Jackie is on the road to recovery now.

Thursday, April 4^th, Jackie was a little better when she got up. The worst of the symptoms have passed, but she says her stomach still hurts. I did get her to eat a whole can of chicken soup for lunch, along with some crackers and white soda. She had the same thing for dinner and didn't show any signs of throwing up. Ray and Suzie pulled out this morning, heading for home near Temecula. Jackie felt really bad that they stayed over for three days here in Yuma and she didn't get to do anything with them. Friday morning I think Jackie turned the corner. She woke up feeling much better, not great, but better, than she has all week. By lunch she was hungry enough to make a couple of scrambled eggs and some sourdough toast. She still wasn't up to going out of the coach, so we stayed home all day. For dinner I made some chicken pot pies and she ate most of two small pies, her normal meal. I think she is finally better. Yea!

Saturday, April 6^th, our last full day in the Yuma area. Jackie was feeling much better, probably at 90 percent now and feeling a bit of cabin fever. I spent a couple hours in the morning getting the outside ready for travel, putting away the flagpole and other decorations. After lunch Jackie and I drove into Yuma to do some shopping and just get out for the first time in nearly a week. We stopped at a couple of craft stores so Jackie could try and find some things she needed. We also stopped at Target. We didn't end up buying anything except some toilet paper at Target, but it was good to get out of the coach for a few hours and get some exercise.

After shopping we went back to the coach and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. At 5:00 we had happy hour with Peggy and Vernon outside and Jackie had her first, albeit light, cocktail since last Sunday, and came outside and socialized. Yea! We later had dinner with them in their coach. Peggy made up a batch of homemade macaroni and cheese that was wonderful. We also had salad and garlic bread and Jackie ate some of all of it. I think she is over the sickness and now just needs to get the digestive tract back to normal. About 8:00 we went back to our coach for the rest of the night.

Sunday, April 7^th, another travel day and a day of parting company with our friends. Peggy and Vernon are leaving today too, but they are heading north out of Yuma, working their way back to their home in northern California. We got out early, about 9:30, and started west on I-8 to our next destination, San Diego, California. We finished the 170 mile trip about 1:00 and got checked into the Sante Fe RV Park, which is right off the I-5, not too far from Mission Bay, pretty much in the heart of the San Diego area. We stay here almost every year because Jackie's brother lives here.

We got parked and settled in and about 3:30 Jackie's brother Dennis came over for a visit. We only get to see Dennis once a year or so, but Jackie talks to him on the phone all the time. We had a nice visit, catching up and talking about family and our travels. Dennis had to leave about 5:30 and we spent the rest of the night watching TV.

Our arrival here in San Diego marks a good point for us to close this chapter and get it published. Being in San Diego also serves as the “official” point where our 2013 summer travels start. We kind of break up our travels into summer and winter. We tend to spend most of the winter, starting in September or October, in the southwest, Nevada, Arizona and the California desert around the Coachella Valley. The summer is when we travel to other areas of the country. This year we will be on the west coast again, up through California, Oregon and perhaps Washington. We had maintained this pattern every year except for our first full year on the road, 2006, when we spent the winter in Florida.

We will publish again in a couple of weeks as we chronicle this year's exploration of this great country of ours. I am going to close out this episode with one of my favorite quotes, from “Through the Looking Glass,” by Lewis Carroll.

One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. "Which road do I take?" she asked. His responses was a question: "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter." Take a road, any road, friends. Just keeping on moving though life. See ya soon.