Yuma to Tucson

We left the city of Yuma and at the urging of a couple who were cleaning the Bureau of State Parks offices (no one else was home), headed north to the Picachu Peak State Park.  They warned us that we would travel on a dirt road for much of the trip and we did indeed drive about 60 miles north of Yuma into the desert on very dusty roads.  Lots of ATV fans of all ages here, as there were in Alaska, who were ripping around over the dunes, washes and hills and we saw hundreds of boondockers parked where ever they felt like camping.  We were curious to see what we were getting into, because what we'd seen for the first 20 miles wasn't impressive....dirt, flat dirt with the odd cactus and scrub.  The further north we drove, the prettier the scenery and eventually we left the ATV's behind and we saw the most beautiful mountain ranges in every colour and shape imaginable.   We had been told that the park was set up to self-register, however when we arrived at the "gate", we were met by a wonderful woman in her '80's, driving a John Deer rig that was fantastic!  She did our registration for us and told us that she and her husband are from the northern U.S. and come to the park every year from October to April,  to act as camp hosts.  She told us that parks have lost a lot of funding from the Feds,  and so they volunteer their time, as do many people across the country.  Only the rangers and state park authorities are paid.

We heard that there would be few, if any facilities, so you can imagine our delight when we picked a lovely camp site,  and near it were solar showers and composting toilets.  A short walk brought us to the Colorado River and we were surrounded by the beauty of the scenery below.  All native species of fish are gone now, due to the many dams along the Colorado, impeding their progress along the river,  and so fishermen come to fish for huge carp and other fish introduced by man.  Native grasses are beginning to take hold again, with the help of the volunteers and rangers who spend hours planting and nurturing.  

American Coot on the Colorado River

Picachu was a mining town in the 1800's and the cemetery
of the miners and families who lived here....Spanish and English.

Our site

Shade is provided at this site.  In summer, temperatures
rise to over 100F

As I was cooking dinner, I heard someone speaking with Bob, commenting that we were "far from home".  A nice guy from the closest camp site and from Vernon, BC.  He visited several times in our few days at camp and gave us lots of places to visit in Arizona.  He and his wife come here every year and spend at least a month in this, their favourite remote park.

The camp host had told us that we could run our generator from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.  We only used it to make coffee in the morning, then we remembered that someone said we were back in California, not Arizona in this park but we weren't certain if this was true....so we waited the extra hour, just in case.

Our BC buddy told us that the rangers who live in the park carry glocks.  We asked why on earth they needed them, and he said that sometimes "undesirables" come along the river or come in by truck.  Glocks....lovely!  We didn't ask if they used them on a regular basis.

Haven't given up on wine and romantic dinners!

Beside our site, beautiful willows and cottonwood trees.

Terrific hiking here!  We saw scat from the wild burrows
and horses, offspring of those animals
 that that were left behind after mining was exhausted.
We didn't see any of them, however heard that when they get braying,
it's crazy!  We did hear lots of coyotes however.

Desert flowers beginning to bloom

Colorado River

A beautiful sight as we climbed Picachu Peak

And he wasn't shy.  We also saw White Tailed Kite, cow birds and
California Quail and lots of lizards.  

 After we left the park, we headed back to Yuma, to pick up some supplies.  Bob had read about Medjool dates being grown here and found a wonderful little shop in a trendy section of Yuma, that sold bags of dates.  It was here that we tried our first date shake and it won't be our last!  Delicious!  So are the dates out of the bag and we eat them like candy.

We had thought it would be fun to visit Quartzsite, the other '60's home (besides Woodstock) of hippies, spiritual quests, nudists and crazy festivals.  The festivals still happen there and we thought we would spend a couple of days.  We were horrified as we drove from the south of town and saw that the town was nothing more than hundreds and hundreds of RV's spread out all over the desert and the town.  It's a time-warp town with many retro hair styles and clothes.  We couldn't wait to get out of there and didn't even step out of the truck but chose to head further north to a beautiful state park along the river.  It was lovely!

And we found more American Coots...

...and another hole

A very civilized park

..and more Coots

Next morning, we took a run up the road to Lake Havasu...
the home of....

the London Bridge 

Very pretty out there on the lake

We stayed the night at Cattail State Park and hiked, and hiked

Yup, that's Bob, leaving me behind to take pics..."it's ok Bob...
don't worry about me.  I can fend off  rattlers and scorpions
single-handed!"

Clear and turquoise/green waters

Exiting the canyon, we hear putt, putt and lo and behold!

I really, really love these California Quail

More desert flowers blooming.

Oh yeah....I LOVE the quail

We enter the Tonto National Monument on the way to Tucson

Steep roads and some curves that only accommodate one
vehicle at a time

Look to the upper right in the photo and you will
see a gathering of people, looking from the road down into
the gorge.  We could hear their voices from where we stood,
 expressing shock.

This is the reason...so many wrecks. It seems that many didn't
make it around the sharp curve

See the truck wayyyy down there??

Overwhelming slopes rising from the road

A little daunting coming around this, and every curve

Crazy cactus

We know why it's called the "Painted Desert"

.Surprisingly, at the bottom of the canyon, a lot of trees beside
a stream

Exiting the canyon, we pass the Roosevelt Dam

We had heard that there were some "deals" to be had by boondocking in a casino parking lot for the night.  Bob did the research and we learned that we could stay for free in the parking lot, get a free dinner each and gambling cards worth $10 each.  We thought we would try it out at the Harrah Ak-Chin Casino on the edge of Phoenix.  We pulled into the lot near some campers and large rigs, and Bob went into the casino to ask where we should park, and to enquire about the deals.  He was told that he was already a member and couldn't get another card or dinner.  He came back to the van and asked if we had been in a casino in Windsor in 2010.  We had not, and we went back to the registration desk to tell them so.  It seems there is another Bob Habkirk in Aylmer, Ontario who had been to a Harrah casino in Windsor.  All was rectified and both of us received free dinners, $10 each gambling cards and free parking on the lot.  We both chose one-armed bandits, betting $1 at a time.  I ran through my mine in no time and of course Bob being Bob, got a bonus amount on his card and walked away with enough to give us two nights accommodation in a nice campground!  Wonder how the other Bob did on his card in Windsor!  The meal (buffet) was great and we had a good sleep.  We had breakfast at the grill early the next morning and it was fascinating to see the grey faced people who haunt the place in the early hours.  Of course, they probably thought the same of us.  It was also a bit of a shock to find that smoking is still allowed here.  There was a fairly small smoke-free room, and it was indeed smoke free.  It was fun and I doubt that we'll be doing it again.  

Kokopelli is the south-western character loved here.
He appears in gardens, on the sides and doors of houses and on jewellry and wine labels!
We bought this wine from the shop at the campground in Tucson.  We decided
to spend a few days in one spot and explore the area.  This resort is really diverse, comprised
of smaller campers, large rigs, kit homes and permanent homes and it covers a huge
area.  There are more activities offered than we have ever seen and there are 3 pools,
pickleball (google it!), tennis, golf, yoga, zumba, pilates, clog dancing, ballroom dancing, tap dancing as well as silversmithing, stained glass, pottery, fusing and quilting.  I commented that this is a precursor to
retirement residences like Valley Vista.  We've been attending 2 hours of yoga in the mornings
and Bob played billiards with some guys he met.  We aren't ready for spending our winters like
this yet...but we can see ourselves living like this at some point.  Great people ranging an age from 50's to 90's and so there is so much to do that you could never be bored or lonely.

Beauty spotted on one of our walks around the resort

Courts filled with pickleball players

Pretty entrance to the resort

A market is held here every Wednesday and there had to be
over 200 vendors and terrific prices.  

Hey...isn't that........

View of the mountains from downtown Tucson

The weather was a bit bracing for a few days and we even saw a few of those fluffy white things drifting to earth.  Back to lovely temperatures again and we're off to New Mexico after yoga class tomorrow morning.  

Wishing everyone a wonderful Valentine's Day and also a terrific Family Day weekend.