I have never been to Yuma. I don't think I have ever been to Arizona, or even east of San Diego. So this is all new territory to me. The first thing that strikes me about Yuma is that there are a LOT of RV's here. Snowbirds from the Northwest and Canada seem to relocate to Arizona for the winter. Also, did you know that 80% of our winter supply of lettuce comes from Yuma? Who knew?? All I can say is this place must be dead during the summer. Except for rattlesnakes, that is.
When we checked in yesterday, the guard was dealing with a bee nest problem. I don't know the details, but I suspect a queen bee and her subjects had bunched in a nearby tree or some such. The guard told us he would much rather deal with rattlesnakes than with bees. I said to him, "Do you shoot 'em?" And he said no, he grabs a snake by the neck and sticks it in a bucket, then relocates it to the desert. The desert happens to be on the other side of the wall around the park, but I would hope he takes them a little farther out.
We visited the San Diego Museum of Natural History last week (I do plan to write a post about it), and learned that many different minerals and gemstones are to be found in the hills just to the east of San Diego. Driving on I-8, I could believe it. The hills are full of rocks of all sizes. Geologists must love this area. This photo was taken of a hill next to a rest stop:
What I didn't know, but quickly learned, was that as we drove farther east we saw more and more rock piles. I wouldn't call them hills or mountains, I would call them giant piles of rock, as if the gods were playing with and sorting rocks in some unknown pattern.
I even took a video of the area as we drove along. Some might consider it barren and boring, but it was fascinating to me as I had never seen the area before. If you have sound, you will hear the parakeets chattering in the background, competing with the radio.
The mountains eventually dwindled away and we hit the desert:
and then sand dunes that seemed to stretch on forever:
Today we are not doing much. The winds are howling outside, and the sand is blowing. It's not a full-blown dust storm, but as the day goes on the winds are supposed to increase, and already visibility is limited. The mountains to the west are beautiful, and were quite clear yesterday. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos then. I took a couple today though - one this morning, and one this afternoon. You will be able to see the difference in clarity.
Tomorrow we head for Tucson. We had hoped to cross the southern U.S. in a leisurely fashion, but this is not going to happen because of all the unanticipated time we spent in California. So we pretty much have to scoot across, with no more than 1 to 3 nights in any one place. We want to be home by the last week of April, so have one month to get there. Why? Mostly to do gardening, but also for a program I would like to attend at ANS (Academy of Natural Sciences) at the end of the month. Philadelphia has had one of the warmest winters on record, and my garden will be totally out of control in no time at all!
