Say Goodbye to the "Q!"

I took this photograph one morning waiting for the sun to come up over the mountain. When it did, there was too much cloud cover by then to see, but this was beautiful nonetheless.

Last evening we spent our last night sitting around the campfire with our friends. It was a bittersweet time because I really hated to leave, but we have more places to see and more friends to visit. We had already extended our stay by one day, so it was time for us to move on. We said our goodbyes this morning as our friends were headed to Algodones, Mexico, for the day to check on dental procedures. I told Bob and Betsy I would let Chiquita, their dog, out before we left so she would be in good shape by the time they returned. About 10 o'clock, we pulled out into the street and hooked up and rolled slowly away from Rainbow Acres. This is really a great place to stay while in Quartzsite and we appreciate the hospitality of The Texan and company.

We drove on down to Yuma, which is less than 100 miles. It is a straight shot down 95 with a couple of interesting views. We drove through LaPosa North and South, which are 14 day fee areas on the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. The fee is because you have both water and a dump station available. There were RVs everywhere, but very few. That will change daily as people pull in to spend time in this desert oasis. Continuing on we passed through the Yuma Proving Grounds and the Imperial Dam cutoff. Just before we got into Yuma we passed the towers for the "Bridge to Nowhere." This 800-foot-long suspension bridge spanned the Gila River when it was built in 1929, and was named McPhaul Bridge in honor of Henry Harrison McPhaul, "the only Yuma resident who ever became an Arizona Ranger." But it was considered to be too flimsy for modern traffic, and when a dam was built upstream in 1968 the river was diverted and the highway was rerouted over a much smaller bridge. The bridge is closed to all traffic, but you can view it from the gate. We were there a couple years ago.

Once we got into Yuma, we pulled into the Flying J for fuel, saving 30 cents a gallon over what the truck stops in Quartzsite wanted. We pulled into the parking area then and called John, our friend who is giving us a place to park in the foothills alongside his 5-er. We fixed lunch and waited on John who arrived and escorted back to the site. It's a good thing because the foothills subdivision is built with a golf course in the middle and several arroyos or washes pass through which you cannot cross. So it takes making the right turns to get to where you want to go. We parked and got setup. This is a beautiful spot with a lot of RV's in this area. While we were talking, Pam and Smokey called and wanted to meet us for dinner tonight. We all met at the Mad Chef and had an excellent dinner. It was great to see everyone again, but I forgot my camera, so we don't have a picture.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Arizona marketplace. . . a giant flea market.

Till next time. . .

Dale