Yuma LTVA, Winter 2025

Dale's daughter Karen and her husband Damon retired last year and began to travel in an RV part time. This past fall, they left freezing snowy Erie, PA and headed southwest to a warmer winter climate. After a slow paced cross country trip, they ended up in Quartzsite, where Dale spends much of his winters.

I got to have a short visit in December when I dropped Hanna off with them on my way to Disneyland for my annual Christmas trip. As we talked, I made plans to bring my Minnie out to camp with them in January. They told me they would be in the Yuma LTVA by then, and that made me happy. I prefer the Yuma area over Quartzsite mostly because of the more interesting terrain, but also the proximity to a city, Mexico and lots of fun things to explore in the area. So following the busy holidays and a couple of doctor's appointments, I made my way west. 

They had a nice roomy site, but all the level spots were taken. ;-) I found the best of the rest and with some maneuvering and a few big boards, I got to where I wouldn't roll out of bed. Evening campfires with S'mores commenced.

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The wind howled most of the time I was there, with just a few breaks late in the week. The first several days were the worst, and we mostly just retreated to our respective rigs to wait out the weather.

Hanna looks like she could take off and fly!

Dale's solar panels blew over one day.

Finally, four days in we decided to brave the storm and go for a hike through a slot canyon. I had never been on this kind of hike, and it sure was challenging walking over that rocky gravelly surface without twisting an ankle. But it was a very cool area and I now have that in my experience bucket. 

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A couple of days later, we visited the Cloud Museum. This collection of vintage automobiles and antique equipment was really interesting and we had fun wandering through and reminiscing on how our parents and grandparents managed to survive on that ancient technology.

An early model motor home, circa 1930s

Karen inside the old motor home

Karen played Post Mistress in the old P.O.

I'm sure glad we don't have to do laundry like this anymore!

My current sewing machine is a little more modern than this!

 

This looked like the old bus we moved from NY to AZ in.

On the way back to camp, we stopped at Camp Laguna Desert Training Center adjacent to the Yuma Proving Grounds. I couldn't help but reminisce about my trip with Nathan and Steven and how enthralled they were with the Minuteman Missile site near Badlands, South Dakota, so I took a bunch of pictures to send to them. They both responded "Cool!" which is impressive from teenage boys.

We had been dreaming of date shakes, and Martha's Garden Date Farm offered not only date delights, but also a tour of their 8000 Medjool tree farm and operation. We learned a lot about the labor and time intensive attention it takes to deliver those sweet "jewels" to their customers. It also gave me a new perspective on my own palm trees in my front yard. They don't produce edible dates, but they do share some of the same growth patterns.

I made Date Rugelach after I got home.

Late in the week, Dale, Damon, Gemma and I drove over to the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge. Karen was coming down with a bug and stayed back at camp to sleep it off (more about that later.) The Visitor's Center was pretty nice, but not dog friendly so Damon waited outside with Gemma. The docent was very talkative and informative. After a few minutes, I went out to watch Gemma so Damon could go in and hear her spiel. Then we wandered around the grounds a bit and made our way along a one mile trail to Meers Bay off Martinez Lake. It was a nice afternoon and hike, and they all went back the next week after I left so Karen could see it, too.

The next day, Damon and I both came down with the same bug that had plagued Karen, and I decided to pack up and scoot home before I got too sick to make the drive. I got home in time to unload my Minnie, shower, and hit the couch for the next three days.

It was a great winter break, and I sure enjoyed spending time with Karen, Damon and Gemma. (Dale too, but I see him more often.) They have promised to come back out this way soon and camp again. I encouraged them to try it in the spring, summer or fall when we could all camp up on the Rim or in the White Mountains. Arizona has more to explore than just her beautiful deserts. It's definitely a four season state.

Note: Some of these photos (pc:kr) are Karen's, stolen from her blog, and posted with her permission.