Sunday, February 12, 2017

Emerald Cove

We can only stay for two weeks at a time at any of the Colorado River Adventures RV Resorts. Normally, we would have to stay out a week before going back into a CRA resort or pay for the week. Because we are new members, we can move to any of their resorts without paying for a week or staying out a week. For our next stay, we chose Emerald Cove in Earp, California. We got a site right on the Colorado River and the weather just keeps getting better and better. Spring has arrived in the desert Southwest!


Our first visitor to our new site in Emerald Cove RV Resort

The view from Kay's studio window. 

The view from the lower bunk. Jake's view to the world. 

Our first sunset at Emerald Cove RV Resort. 

 Our first sunset at Emerald Cove RV Resort. 

 Our first sunset at Emerald Cove RV Resort. 

So relaxing by the Colorado River.

 Love the view here.

 Time for a hike through the BLM land across the street from the campground.

 Rugged hillside ridge.

 The hills are turning green. Spring has arrived in the desert Southwest.

 Rugged terrain.

 Deseret plants turning green.

 Deseret plants turning green. 

 Rugged hilltop path.

 Can you see the burros? Jake alerted on them while were on the path at the top of the hill across the valley.
 These two wild burros were grazing just below us as we were walking along the hilltop trail.

 It was up there on the ridge, so I had to take a picture of it.

 It was a nice hike.

 There were several of these on top of the ridge, A round circle of stones with no apparent purpose.

 Some patriotic soul put the flag on top of the ridge. They even put two solar spotlights to light the flag at night.

Our last sunrise at Emerald Cove RV Resort in Earp, California.

We saw wild burros almost every day when we left the campground.

 Our new administration at work.

 Sometimes they blocked the road.

They are so cute. 

 Really cute.

 Sometimes they come right up to the truck.

 Sometimes they come right up to the truck.

You know you are in the boonies when the mail is delivered to the Post Office by donkeys.
Yes, we went to the Post Office in Earp and this burro was just hanging around.
Hoping to get a job, I suppose.
😏😏😏😏😏

Life is good.  Thanks for stopping by. Leave us a comment so that we can stay connected.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Yuma

Southern Arizona is much warmer than Northern Arizona, partly by distance and mostly because of altitude. Kay is much happier now.

While we were at Mittry Lake, a couple from RVillage contacted us and we got together for lunch. I love the RVillage website because it helps connect people. We had lunch on Main Street in historic downtown Yuma. While we were there, they asked if we had ever been to Mexico. Of course, we had not. Two days later, we were having lunch in Los Algodones, Mexico.

Linda and John Wilde
at Lutes Casino

Originally we had planned to leave Mittry Lake right after Kay's birthday, but we had someone give us a coupon for three nights free at Yuma Lakes RV Resort. We accepted the conditions and we are now benefiting from our new membership in Colorado River Adventures. Colorado River Adventures (CRA) has 10 parks in Arizona, California and Mexico.

After buying a membership, we stayed two more weeks at Yuma Lakes. One of the amenities is inexpensive breakfasts and dinners. One evening, quite by chance, a couple sat down with us and we started chatting. Cindy and Bob are retired school teachers from Nevada. We found out that they liked to play cards and made a date to play cards at the clubhouse the next evening as our trailers are not set up well to play cards. We took our beers, wine and cards and had a grand time. While chatting, we found out that they had never been to Mexico, so we set a date and time for a tour of Los Algodones.

Cindy and Bob Rooley
in Los Algodones

That was not to be our only trip into Mexico. While chatting, we mentioned that we had thought about going to the CRA resort in El Golfo, Mexico. We thought it would be better to take the trip with at least one other couple.  The next morning, the four of us went to El Golfo RV Resort in our truck. We left Jake in the trailer because we had neither the necessary health certificate nor the room for him. We had lunch in the town of El Golfo de Santa Clara at a local restaurant and it was terrific. We enjoyed our trip and decided that we would make plans to travel together with our trailers next year when we both return to the Southwest for the winter.

Yuma was an interesting town to explore. Out favorite restaurant is Julieanna's Patio Cafe. The food was great, but the atmosphere was unbelievable. I will let you be the judge. Here are the pictures.










Almost caught up. We have left Yuma and are in Earp, California. But that's a post for another day.

We are glad you stopped by.  Leave us a comment so that we can stay connected.







Sunday, January 29, 2017

Happy New Year 2017

I am slowly catching up with our travels. When we were in Cottonwood, Arizona, we had several nights below freezing. I filled the fresh water tank, disconnected the hose and turned on the tank heaters. Of course, I only did that after my fresh water froze up one night. I guess I didn't let it drip fast enough. Problem solved.

Well, that solved only the first problem.  The second problem was an unhappy camper who expected the weather in the Southwest to be warmer. I figured out a solution for that: lower altitude and 200 miles or so South. We decided to go to Mittry Lake and do some boondocking on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. This was a good decision. Kay was hoping (praying) for an adequate site. We got one of the best sites available. Unbelievable!!!!!!

We arrived December 29th and stayed until January 8th. It was the best place that we have ever camped, including state parks, national parks or private campgrounds. It was quiet and secluded. An "L" shaped jetty allowed us to walk out and enjoy the view while being surrounded by water. It was about 5 to 6 feet wide and about 200 feet long. Oh, and the best part was, it was free camping. Here are some of our pictures.

Sunset at Mittry Lake

Egrets on the jetty.

Our campsite at Mittry Lake


Even a rainy day has its own beauty.


The view to the Northeast from the jetty. The birds in the water are American Coots.

View to the Northwest from the jetty.

 The sunsets at Mittry Lake were awesome.

 The sunsets at Mittry Lake were awesome.

  The sunsets at Mittry Lake were awesome.

  The sunsets at Mittry Lake were awesome.

 The sunsets at Mittry Lake were awesome.

The sunrise was impressive, too.

The sunrise was impressive too.

The sunrise was impressive too.

The sunrise was impressive too.

The sunrise was impressive too.

The sunrise was impressive too.
 Sunrises were harder to get. I had a tendency to sleep through them.

 What a way to bring in the New Year

So relaxing.

We wish you were here with us.


Sometimes we had our coffee while watching the sunrise.

 The birds were up early, too.

Having a motivational coach helps get me going.
Thank you, Kay.

Our last campfire at Mittry Lake.

 Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.


 Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

  Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

  Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

  Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

 Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

  Our last sunrise at Mittry Lake.

This was only the beginning of our stay in the Yuma area. We made new friends and stayed much longer than we originally planned.

Thanks for dropping by. Leave a comment if you are enjoying our adventure. It helps keep us connected.

Russ and Kay