Mittry Lake and Thanksgiving

 Most of you know we are members of an Escapee birds-of-a-feather group called the Boomers. Every year a group of Boomers meets at Mittry Lake for Thanksgiving. Another group meets there at Christmas and New Years. We decided to spend Thanksgiving with the Boomers at Mittry Lake near Yuma, Arizona. Our route from Lake Havasu took us south on US95 through Quartzsite where we will be in January with many, many other RVers. In fact as we drove through, some people are already there for the winter.

It only took about 2 hours for us to get to Mittry Lake. Once there, we had to find where the Boomers were parked. We were told that we would see them on a hill after a big turn in the road. Well, we could see them, but figuring out which dirt road to take to get up the hill was another matter. Bob found a place to park where we could unhook the car and drive the roads to find the correct one to take the RV.

 There were already four other rigs parked on the hill. We found a spot and set up before joining the others for Happy Hour (every afternoon Boomers get together with their beverage of choice and snacks to share along with camping stories).

 Tuesday Bob and I explored the area north and east of Mittry Lake by geocaching. Yuma Army Proving Grounds was at the north end of Mittry Lake. Bob was excited to see vehicles he used displayed near the entrance.

 Wednesday is Boomer Movie day in Yuma. Boomers wintering in Yuma and those at Mittry Lake meet at the local theater to see a movie. We saw the movie Lincoln, but we wished the movie had been Skyfall. After the movie we ate at 5 Guys to celebrate one of the Boomers' birthday.

Thanksgiving Day there was a good sized group for the potluck. Everyone brought something to share. A good time was had by all. This is a portion of our group.

 Friday we went with our friends Connie and Larry to Los Algodones, Mexico. I have never seen so many dentist offices or pharmacies! So many American snowbirds go to Los Algodones for meds and dental work that the town has a celebration welcoming them back to the area every January!

Speaking of snowbirds, Florida has nothing on Yuma. Yuma is the snowbird capital. It is also the leafy green capital of the U. S, Of all the green leafy vegetables eaten on the U.S., 90% come from the Yuma area. I was amazed at how they grow lettuce. If you buy the bag of mixed lettuce in the grocery store you can count on it being grown side by side in the field. Workers cut it and box it for processing all in one fell swoop.

     

Another day we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison Historical Site. 

This is how mug shots were taken at the prison.

Each cell held 6 prisoners. They switched from wooden bunks to iron bunks after bed bugs and other critters became a problem.

 

 It was interesting to visit the museum and read about why the prisoners were incarcerated. Most of the women were jailed for adultery. One woman stabbed her unfaithful lover, then cut his heart out and threw it in his face--she got 6 years for manslaughter. One man was a polygamist and he got two years. Only two prisoners escaped and were never caught or seen again.

 

 One couple who joined us for Thanksgiving at Mittry Lake were not Boomers. Anton and Annuka are from the Netherlands. Anton designed and built their rig. Annuka helped with the interior. They have been all over the world on their many trips. Their first trip 6 years ago was through Europe and the Middle East to India, Nepal, and Tibet.

 Bob and I did some hiking around the area. This is a picture from the mountain near the campground. Ours is the one nearest the VW camper.

 Of course it was time for another full moon. It was above the mountain before dark.

 Bob and I also visited the Quartermaster Depot in Yuma. Living quarters, offices and vehicles were on display.

 This 1913 Ford is on a section of wooden planks that were used to make a road across the sand dunes. If you went faster than 10 mph, the car would bounce off the road!

 This Ford was modified into a truck to transport farm goods in California.

 We enjoyed our time at Mittry Lake, but our tanks are getting full, time to find the dump and fresh water so we can move on down the road.