A Bit of a Mishap

On Monday we met up with the hiking group from Fortuna de Oro for a planned hike to the location of a B-17 bomber that crashed into Fortuna Peak on June 28, 1944. As you can see, it was quite a large plane.

The plane was doing night training, and something went terribly wrong. All five young crew members were killed in the crash. Some of the large portions of the plane are still on the side of the mountain, as well as a memorial.

Here’s a picture of the memorial from the web. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any of it.

Here’s the trail near the bottom. We weren’t going all the way to the top, but about 1,200 feet up along a ravine. Notice how narrow the path is.

About a mile into the hike, I slipped on some loose rocks and fell a bit down the side. I didn’t fall far, but I felt my right ankle turn and give out. I also scraped up my knee, but I knew I was in trouble with that ankle.

We had climbed about 600 feet in elevation at that point on the narrow, rocky trail. I was going to have to walk back out of there. As long as I put my foot down straight, the pain was tolerable. I popped six ibuprofen tablets, and we began our SLOW descent back down to the truck.

Kevin was wonderful helping me get down. For most of the way, we found that if he stayed in front of me and I held onto his shoulders, we could go step by step. I just watched to find a flat spot to put my foot. Not easy on a steep and rocky narrow path. On some sections, I went down on my butt. In other areas, I was able to hold onto rocks along the side.

It took two hours, but we finally made it back to the truck. By that time, my ankle and leg were quite swollen. I knew it wasn’t broken as I could walk on it. It just hurt whenever I tried turning it.

Near the bottom of the trail, there were quite a few ocotillo bushes growing. They are just starting to bloom. Some people call them lipstick plants. I asked Kevin to stand next to one so you could see how big they are. This one is just starting to bloom.

As we were driving out, there were some others that had fuller blooms on them. Yuma had more rain than usual this winter, so I’m guessing the desert bloom will be beautiful this year.

So, I’m recovering in the recliner with lots of ice, rest and elevating my leg. I like to be active, so the worst part is just being patient until it is better and not overdoing it. Yesterday, quite a few of my other muscles were hurting as well. I’m sure I used plenty of muscles in my left leg, arms and shoulders hobbling back down that mountain.

I’m guessing pickleball is over for this season. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to golf again a week from this Saturday, our last chance in Yuma. I know I won’t be golfing this Saturday. However, my friend Cathy is going to let me ride along in her golf cart, so at least I’ll get out a bit with friends.

It definitely could have been worse. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if I broke my leg. I’m sure I would have ended up on the news with some type of helicopter rescue and a hefty bill. This will just take time and patience.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Felicity, California

I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day. Kevin and I don’t really celebrate, as we feel it is an artificial Hallmark holiday. However, we do celebrate our love for each other every day, and it doesn’t hurt to have a special day to remind us to tell our loved ones how much we love them. Just to make today a little special, we will be treating ourselves to a Dairy Queen blizzard.

Yesterday we visited one of those strange and quirky places that can sometimes be found along American’s highways. Dick and Wanda picked us up and we drove about 15 miles just across the California border to Felicity.

Felicity was founded on May 11, 1986; the community was named after a town mentioned in Jacques-André Istel's book Coe the Good Dragon and inspired by his wife, Felicia. Jacques is the mayor of Felicity. He won election by a vote of 3-0. The county board supervisor allowed a one time vote by an invisible dragon as the third vote.

There is a great description of this attraction at the Roadside America website. However, the basic story is that a rich man, Jacques-Andre Istel, had a vision of creating a town and museum in the middle of the desert in honor of his wife. He created a town named after her, and is building a History in Granite museum. Words that come to mind when thinking of this attraction include unique, educational, interesting, eclectic, determined, visionary and eccentric.

We started our adventure with a little $5 tour by the center’s elderly namesake, Felicia Lee. She told us a bit about the place and showed us a short video. Then she took us into the pyramid structure to show us the spot that has been certified as the Official Center of the World by Imperial County, California and the Institut Geographique National of France. Jacques wrote the children’s book about a dragon coming to Felicity and finding the center of the world to help him convince the county to make the decree. Of course, the center of the world could be anywhere, but we have official certificates stating we were there.

And here we are with Dick and Wanda standing on the center of the world spot inside the pyramid.

There is a very unique sundial on the property modeled after Michaelangelo's Dawn of Creation painting in the Sistine Chapel.

In the above picture you can see the pyramid where we stood at the center of the world. Behind the pyramid are the granite panels that make up the Museum of History in Granite.

Steel bars and concrete are poured as the base for the granite panels. Each panel weighs over 400 pounds. At the back you can see the church. Jacques felt that the town’s church had to be at the highest point, so he trucked in 150,000 tons of earth to build a hill for the church.

Here are Kevin and I on top of the hill at the base of the church. Its not really crooked, but Dick had a little trouble seeing the camera screen with the bright sun behind him :) We spent an hour or two reading many of the granite panels. You could easily spend days here reading all of them, but it gets mighty hot out in that desert sun.

Here’s the view of the panels from the top of the church hill. If you look closely, you can see the pyramid in the background, and some people reading some of the granite panels. The panels are about as tall as a person. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it to see better.

Many of the panels are not completed yet. The museum relies on donations and volunteers. Some of the finished panels teach you about the history of California, Arizona, the United States, Korean War, and the French Foreign Legion. The most ambitious project to date is the hundred panel depiction of the History of Humanity. So far, they have only completed the panels up to 800 AD. Lots more work to be done on those.

Here are a few panels that I thought were particularly beautiful.

Near the entrance is this portion of the original spiral staircase from when the Eiffel Tower was built in 1889. In 1983, 500 feet of the staircase was replaced and cut into 20 pieces. This is piece #12 purchased by Jacque in 1989 as a reminder of his native city.

This really was quite an amazing place. We haven’t seen too much advertisement for it, and that’s kind of a shame because I definitely think it’s a place worth spending a few hours at. The mayor and his wife are quite elderly. Who knows if the project will be completed and what will happen to it in the future.

Today we golfed with a group of friends. Here are Wanda and I enjoying another beautiful day in Yuma.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Still Here

I haven’t been in the mood to do much blogging lately. Mainly because we’re not doing too much new. We’re just thoroughly enjoying our time here in Yuma with good friends and wonderful weather.

The last week has been quite warm. Temperatures have been in the 80s. On Monday we tied a record high of 88 degrees. When I see what is going on in other parts of the country, I am so grateful that we can spend our time in this wonderful warmth and sun.

We have been playing some pickleball, golfing, spending time in the pool and just enjoying life. Not too exciting, but oh so wonderful!!

I finally got around to creating my annual collage for 2014. I use it as my laptop desktop background, and I really enjoy reliving the previous year through these photos.

We’re off to shuffleboard soon. After that I’ll head to the weekly farmer’s market to pick up wonderful fresh fruits and veggies. I’m really going to miss that when we leave here. Last week I picked up a bag of grapefruit that are so sweet and delicious.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

A Blogger Get Together

I’ve been following the blog of Kevin and Ruth for a few years now. They are a couple around our age from Canada who have been spending the last few winters in their motorhome in Mexico. They have also been to Africa and South Korea in the past two years. They read my blog too, and we occasionally leave comments for each other.

They were going to be near Yuma for a few days, so we made plans to get together for an in person meeting. It’s funny how small the RV blogging world is. We’ve met several fellow bloggers in the past. You feel like you already know these people, although you’ve never met them in person. You know about their families, their travels, their ups and downs, and their opinions. However, meeting in person is always a treat.

We enjoyed meeting Kevin and Ruth, and we commented on each other’s accents. When you only know people through reading their words, its nice to hear get to hear their voices.

An added treat was that two other blogger couples joined in this get together. Kevin and Ruth were kind enough to host this little gathering at their RV. They were set up at the Pilot Knob LTVA just across the Arizona border in California, about 20 miles west of where we are staying.

The two other couples were Ray and Cindy from Utah and Janos and Maggie from Canada. Although I had not been a reader of either of their blogs in the past, it turns out Cindy is a quilter and Ray does her quilting on a long arm machine. Janos and Maggie are originally from Europe. We all had much in common, and their was plenty to talk about for the two hours we visited.

Ray and Cindy are on the left, then Kevin and myself, Janos and Maggie in the back, and Kevin and Ruth on the right. What a group of great people!!

Although, I’m not complaining, the weather this past week hasn’t been the greatest. We had rain on Monday all day and again on Thursday night. It’s been cloudy and a bit cool all week. Just not what you expect in southern Arizona. But don’t feel too bad for us, the sun is coming back today and next week will be in the 80s. Yippee!!!

We played pickle-ball with Bernie and Cathy again and will be golfing today. Tomorrow Dick and Wanda are coming over to watch the Super Bowl. Should be a good time even though our team isn’t in it.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Farm Smart Visit

On Friday we drove about an hour west to El Centro, California with Dick and Wanda to do a tour at The University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Desert Research and Extension Center, or Farm Smart for short.

The farm consists of about 250 acres where research is done in areas of irrigation, pesticides, different types of plants that will thrive in the desert, and even livestock feed. The program began and 9:30 am and ended at 2:30 pm.

There were probably about 70 people on the tour that day. We had a little cooking demonstration of carrot and ginger soup, and then got to sample it. Quite tasty! There is a group of researchers from the University of Wisconsin that comes here and does research on carrots of all things. They are growing lots of different varieties including purple, blue, and red carrots.

Next, we got on a wagon to tour the farm fields. I forgot my camera, so this picture is courtesy of their website.

We learned lots of interesting facts including how this area called The Imperial Valley, which only receives three inches of rain a year, can grow all of these wonderful vegetables. Water comes from the Colorado River. Farmers have to pay for the water. They actually have to call and reserve the water, and then it is released to their fields through canals with gates by the Water Authority.

During the winter this area along with fields in the Yuma Valley supply about 80 percent of the vegetables consumed in the country. Next time you are at the store check to see where that lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli came from.

Along the irrigation ditches we saw several burrowing owls. Our guide told us there is quite a large population of them here in the winter. I sure wish I would have brought my camera. Here’s a picture from the web that looks very much like what we saw.

At the end of the field tour, we were taken to a field where we could pick our own vegetables. Each of us had been given a very large bag and were let loose. Choices included head lettuce, romaine lettuce, green and red cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, swiss chard, beets, cilantro and radishes. We picked quite a bit, and will be eating some delicious fresh vegetables for the next few weeks.

Thanks to Wanda for taking our pictures. Here I am working hard to tear the tops off of the beats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here we are with our bounty (and muddy shoes).

After all that hard work, we were treated to a delicious chicken taco salad for lunch. Then, we went into a classroom for a power point presentation with more information. Each day during the winter months 8 to 10,000 Mexicans are brought across the border to work the fields. They are paid $9 an hour and are insured. They have to be ready for pick-up in Mexico at 3 am and are then transported across the border in white school buses pulling trailers with port-a-potties. In recent years, some machines have been invented to do some of the back-breaking work. Every day as we drive around the Yuma area we see the buses parked near the fields with lots of people working out in the sun picking vegetables.

At the end of the day we were treated to an ice cream sandwich and door prizes were given away. All of this for $20 a person. There are similar tours in the Yuma Valley through the University of Arizona, but they are twice as expensive. I’m glad we did the Farm Smart tour. It was an informative and enjoyable day.

Last Wednesday Dick had a dental appointment in Mexico so we tagged along. I was able to buy a pair of no line bifocal prescription sunglasses for $39 including the frame. Can’t beat that deal.

I also got a painted metal sun sculpture. I really don’t have room for it, but I just loved how it looked with the sun shining on it. I wasn’t going to buy it, but as soon as you look at something, the vendors are making deals. This started out at $35. As I was walking out the door, the guy kept dropping the price. When he got to $20, I couldn’t resist :) We’ll have to find a place this summer at Derge Park to display it outside our fifth wheel.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. We golfed with a group of friends at Fortuna De Oro RV Resort. We’ve been doing this most Saturdays and really enjoy the game, weather and company. My knees are feeling much better, so this week we’ll be playing pickle-ball again.

Today its raining, which is rare for this time of year. We’ve had rain a few times since we’ve been here. I’m thinking there will be lots of blooming cactus this spring.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Yuma Crossing Bike Trail

Yesterday we drove to Gateway Park in downtown Yuma to ride our bikes on the Yuma Crossing Bike Trail. The three mile paved trail runs along the Colorado River and a wetlands area. It is not a loop so we actually rode six miles out and back.

With all the desert around us here in Yuma, it was refreshing to see some fresh water. I didn’t realize there was a wetlands area here. Part of the bike path is between the wetlands and an irrigation canal.

This egret was enjoying a beautiful sunny southern Arizona day.

There were a few ponds along the way. We saw mostly American Coots, but there were also a few ducks swimming around.

The Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge is next to Gateway Park. The bridge is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. At the time of its opening in 1915, the bridge provided the first safe, economical crossing of the river at Yuma, and it was the only vehicle bridge across the Colorado River for 1,200 miles. It was a critical link in joining the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans with a highway. Can you believe it only cost $72,150 to build!

Only one lane of traffic can cross at a time so there are stop lights at each end. There have been several restoration projects over the years, but it is pretty amazing that it is still in operation after 100 years. In fact, the original timber was covered in concrete and remains to this day.

There is a second bridge behind the Ocean to Ocean bridge that I believe is for trains. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will see the six foot tall letters with the name of the bridge. Hanging from the center of the bridge was a doll hung by its neck. What’s the matter with people!

We chose to go biking yesterday rather than join the Monday hiking group because my knees have really been bothering me. I did some research online and found that hiking down a steep slope is just about the worst punishment you can give your knees. That’s just what we had done the week before.

I have some arthritis in my knees, but they’ve never really given me much trouble. I thought I could just ignore the pain and keep going, so we played pickle-ball last week, and I went to Aqua Zumba. No wonder my knees weren’t improving. My research said I need to rest and elevate them. So, I’m taking it easy this week. I figured biking wasn’t too hard on them as I wasn’t putting as much pressure on them.

On Sunday Dick and Wanda came over again to watch the Packers play the Seahawks for a spot in the Super Bowl. The Packers were winning all the way through, and it looked like our team was headed to the Super Bowl again. Kevin and Dick were even making plans to go to Phoenix to take in some of the activities the week before the big game.

Unfortunately, our team totally self-destructed in the last five minutes and ended up losing in overtime. That was sure a big disappointment. Oh well, baseball season is just around the corner.

This morning I saw this hot air balloon out the window as I was reading blogs on my computer. We’ve seen quite a few of them in the area since we’ve been here. I saw an ad to ride in one for $250 a person. I believe I’ll continue enjoying them from the ground.

As you can see, the sky is blue. Our weather has been fantastic this past week with highs in the upper 70s and lows around 50. Next week is predicted to be more of the same. I am so grateful to be able to experience winter here in Yuma. I so love my daily dose of sun!!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

*Rosetta Translation*

I’m guessing with all the traveling full time RVers do, there are times you may be in need of a translation service.

My family could have used such a service when my mom received some documents from Germany that we needed to fill out and return after my dad passed away. Luckily, our documents had some directions included in English, so we were able to muddle through. But, I’m sure there are times when that’s not the case.

I have come across a company at http://www.rosettatranslation.com that will professionally translate legal, medical, financial and technical documents in all major languages. The list on their website included twenty-four languages.

You never know when such a service might come in handy!