Off to Yuma

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Jim Melvin

Thanks

I would like to thank everyone for the thoughtful comments concerning my Mom. I am so lucky to have so many friends like yourselves.

Finally off to Yuma

I was finally able to pick up my rig at the Ford dealer where they fixed my steering box, upgraded my A/C and did my front brakes. Then I went back to Doheny State Beach for 2 days to get organized and purchase food. My sister Bev took me to Costco and Trader Joe’s where I really stocked up. I packed up on Friday morning to make the drive to Yuma. Glad to get out of all the traffic in So CA.

Cool driving

I am sure glad that the Ford dealer was able to fix the A/C. Since my rig is an older model they could not just add freon, but had to upgrade to the latest freon they now use in all the new vehicles. It was getting hot crossing the desert and both Chica and myself were nice and cool.

Mittry Lake

I headed straight to Mittry Lake where I met up with friends who were already there. Jim and Gayle, Debbie, Chris, Jeanne, Barbara, Suzanne and Kim were already there and Chica and I moved right in. Martin and Charlie arrived later and it was good seeing them. It sure was fun meeting up with old friends as well as some new ones as well.

Chica also met here friends Sophie and Elvis as well as Rupert and Eliot, Katie and Riley. She was really glad to see them.

Visited Stan

The next day I drove over to the Paradise Casino to visit Stan who was a fellow camp host last summer at Baker Lake. He had called and mentioned that he would only be there another day or two so decided to stop in and pay him a visit. He is going back east to Mississippi. It was good seeing him before he left.

I also need groceries so headed over to Fry’s to restock my new refrigerator.

Off on a hike

A few of us left on a hike about 9:00am to avoid the heat. It was a hike I have done many times before so knew where we were going. This is a pic of our rigs looking back from our hike.

I will take more pics of the area and Chica once I get my camera charged up.

I am glad to be back on the road and meeting up with friends.

Spotted my first bear

Posted on June 9, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Getting settled into job

I am finally getting into a good routine with my camphosting job. My day is busy but I am able to schedule all my duties without killing myself. I make 2 rounds of each campground checking to make sure everyone has paid and are in their correct sites. Then there is 2 pit toilets per campground that must be attended to. Also each campsite must be cleaned and raked after each camper leaves.

But Washington is so beautiful and it makes my job so much better. Everything is really green up here and when there is no rain it is fantastic. It is so nice to be parked here for the entire summer.

Hi Yogi

I saw my first bear while driving on the road just about a 1/2 mile from one of the campgrounds I am responsible for. He/she was going up a ravine just to the side of the road. I didn’t have my camera handy so couldn’t get a pic. Bummer! I am sure that is not the only bear I will see up here over the summer.

I did come within 10 feet of a deer and he did not appear to be the least bit frightened of me. He just strolled off into the bushes.

Checked out a forest service road

There was a forest service road across from one of my campgrounds so had to see where it goes. I get a lot of hikers wondering where are some good hiking trails so I do my best at finding the trailheads just off of forest service roads. This one was just a one lane dirt road that lead way up the mountain.

I followed this road up about 3 miles where the road ended. The scenery was magnificent.

Relaxing in the sun

This is Chica’s favorite spot. She loves laying in the sun.

Weekends are busy

On the weekends the campgrounds are almost full. This past weekend was a free fishing day. Not sure what that meant but there were certainly a lot of fishing people. Then on Sunday night everyone goes home and it is usually slack through the week. However July 4th is approaching and it should be very busy.

New Jetpack

I just upgraded to the latest hotspot Millenicom offers in the hopes that my connection would improve. I had one of the very first hotspots they sent out. It was a Samsung and there was another upgrade after that which I didn’t get. Using my sleek I do have 4G occasionally but not very often and sometimes even the 3G was quite slow. Not enough to upload pics. I will find out later if there is an improvement.

Waiting for the rig

Posted on April 22, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Been a while since I last posted

Sorry it has been so long but have been busy getting ready to head up to Washington for my new camp host job. I traveled to Southern California where I have been spending time with my sister Bev and brother-in-law Bob. I spent 2 nights at O’Neill Park in Orange County and then took my rig into the Ford dealer near by to have a few things checked out. They are very busy this time of the year so I have left it there while they ordered parts. My front end needs work and it also needs service as well.

Chica and Lando

Lando is Bev and Bob’s dog and Chica got to know him last Christmas while we were there. So they are now getting more and more familiar with each other and sharing each other’s toys at times.

We took them to the nearby park to run in the grass. They had a great time together.

Chica even enjoyed playing in the swings and slides area.

Birthday party at the beach

One day we were invited to a friend’s grandson’s birthday party at the beach. The weather was great and the party was fun.

Things I have done in the past several days.

Hiked with Bev at a nearby park.

Visited my Mom at their annual Easter Egg Hunt for the little kids.

My Mom is doing well and was really glad to see us. I will take Chica over to see her tomorrow.

Getting rig ready

Bev has been very helpful in getting my rig organized. I definitely needed a woman’s touch in there and she definitely supplied it. I had already installed shades in three of the windows, but needed curtains on both the door and in the kitchen window. We bought the material and she sewed some drapes for me.

While the rig is parked in the dealers lot ready to be repaired, we have gone over there several times and they let us do things inside the rig. First of all I got rid of a lot of unneeded junk.. I finally removed the back valance and tossed it. Bev is also going to make some curtains to replace the old curtains Lazy Daze they had installed in the rear.

Today we went and installed some of the curtains. I forgot to take any pics so will have to show you in a later post. They really turned out nice and I am very pleased with them. I can’t begin to thank Bev enough for all the work she has done.

Repairs tomorrow

The dealer said they will be working on my rig tomorrow and finish it up by Wednesday. I may move it back to O’Neill Park for a couple of days and finish it up and then begin my journey up to Washington. I am supposed to be up their by May 14, but am planning on getting there on the 10th to get organized in my new campsite.

Chica’s Birthday

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Chica’s Big Day

Yesterday we celebrated the day that Chica and I first met each other. It was on February 25, 2013 that we both came into each others’ lives. Since that day we have traveled in 2 countries, 2 provinces, and 10 states and almost 10,000 miles. We have been in 100+ degree heat in Libby, MT and -4 degree cold in Fernley, NV. But it has been a wonderful experience for us both. Her she is trying to play with her friend Elvis.

I bought a big cupcake for her and we lit the one candle.

I’m not sure she knew what was going on but she was sure hamming it up for the camera.

Then I got the presents out. I am not sure she is too keen on a new collar, but I’m sure she will like it better then the one she has. She also got a small beaver and a small ducky. She really likes both the beaver and the ducky.

It was really a fun day.

Produce Stands

One big advantage of staying in the Yuma area is the great produce stands they have. We got to going to one that was not too far from us and had very fresh produce and really good prices. I didn’t really stock up as I wanted to cook it when it was really fresh. So I might go into town and stop here on the way home. This one was located on Hwy 95 just south of 7E.

Martha’s Gardens

A couple days ago we all piled into Jim and Gayle’s car and decided to check out Martha’s Gardens. They have all types of dates there in many sizes of boxes. It was very nice with lots of places to sit and eat.

However they were very expensive so we decided to buy dates at the smaller produce stand shown above. The dates there were very good.

Yuma Water

The water we got from the RV park was not very tasty and we heard that water in the area is not really good. That must be the reason that you see water stands everywhere throughout the Yuma area. Normally you get 5 gallons for a $1. We even found one stand where you get 5 gallons for $.50. What a bargain. Here we are getting a supply of drinking water.

Jim, Gayle and Debbie depart

I have had a wonderful time with Jim, Gayle and Debbiie. Thanks so much for showing me such a great time. Chica had a great time with Sophie, Elvis, Rupert and Elliot as well. They left this morning for more adventures in California. Chris and I are left. I have a couple more dental appoints the first week in March and will probably head to Phoenix/Mesa area the second week to meet up with my son and attend some Spring Training games.

The weather here has been fantastic since I arrived here on the 3rd, however it is scheduled to rain this weekend so that will help keep the dust down. It should also bring out the desert flowers. I will take a few hikes before leaving to get more pics.

Toothless in Yuma on Valentines Day

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Me and my valentine sleep in…

I awoke this morning late. Chicka was still asleep but jumped up and demanded I let her out immediately to do her duties. Good girl!!

Toothless in Yuma

My non tooth is doing well and healing properly. Haven’t had to take only one pain pill the first day, but none since then. Whenever I think of pulling teeth, it reminds me of when I had Chica neutered. The vet mentioned that she still had some of her baby teeth and wondered if I wanted to have those extracted as well. I agreed and when I picked her up the vet/dentist gave me a baggy with 6 extremely tiny teeth. She was not a very happy girl and she would not let me come within 10 feet of her for almost a week. Very hard to do in a 26 1/2 foot RV. I wonder now if they gave her Novocain for dogs.

Back to some hiking

Jim and Gayle were going on a short hike and asked if I wanted to go as well. I was ready to go after sitting out a couple of days. We hiked past the lake and up to where we should have found the trail to cross the canal on our previous hike.

We walked on the road next to the lake.

We got to the canal which had been our nemesis on our last hike.

As hot as it is there are still many plants and trees blooming.

Hiking Great Egret

We even spotted this Great Egret just hanging out by the side of the road. It did not seem to concerned by us walking so close.

Record Temperatures

The news last night mentioned that Arizona was experiencing record temps throughout the state. It is in the low 90’s here in the Yuma area. Hot but not unbearable. In the afternoon Chica likes to lay on a pillow which is a bit cooler.

Mittry Lake Hike

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Short hikes

I took a couple of short hikes with Gayle and Jim just after I arrived at my new home overlooking Mittry Lake. We found a trail that led up to some cairns and other interesting things. On the way we crossed over a spillway on the canal. This is a vital key to a hike we took later in the week. I will get to that later.

We followed a trail that led up into the hills. There were several rocky points where we crossed a wash, but no big deal.

Then we got to a spot with lots of cairns and even some Cristmas bulbs hanging from a cactus.

We could even see Imperial Dam LTVA from here.

This was the stopping point for both hikes as we then turned around and followed the trail back. On the way I was able to get a pic of some of the beautiful foliage.

Where did the trail go?

Yesterday Jim and Gayle Life’s Little Adventures Debbie and myself were met by Boonie of Occupation of Independence and Glenn of To Simplify as well as Ted of Life With Kurumi and Chris Ford who also camped with us at Quartzsite. Plus the dogs Coffee Girl, Rupert and Elliot. I didn’t take Chica as many of the rocks were bigger then her.

We started out on the same trail as we had taken before. Once we hit the cairns and Christmas bulbs we decided to continue down the trail.

The trail was well marked and somewhat easy for quite a while.

We found many flowers in bloom along the way.

Where’s a bridge?

Then it got confusing. We could see the canal from the top of the hills, but couldn’t see any place to cross it. Boonie, Glenn and Ted had gone ahead of us and we weren’t sure which way. Remember the first photo in this post. That’s the canal we had to cross. So we took what we thought was the trail to a spot where we could cross the canal. It wasn’t much of a trail, but it seemed our way out. I saw Boonie, Glenn and Ted walking on the other side of the road. They spotted me and were yelling to go higher. So that is what I was doing. I still could see Gayle on the trail much lower and she was telling me to go lower. HELP!

Too Risky!

I took Gayle’s advise and went back down to the trail. Then it got very risky and we decided it would be much easier if we went back on the trail we came in on. You must realize that I am no where near the hiking ability of Gayle and Jim. They are very experienced hikers. So I was getting very tired and all three of us were running very low on water. We really hadn’t planned to hike as long as we did. It was now about 12:30 to 1:00 and it was getting hotter. Then all of a sudden Gayle spotted a car on a bluff not too far from us. The guy (Steven) said he would get us back to our camp so we made our way over to him. I didn’t get a pic, but this was the terrain.

Thank you Steven!!!!

All three of us piled into his car and he had to drive 4 miles back to the bridge that went over the canal which was the road leading to Imperial Dam. Then 5 miles back to our camp. He even gave us something to drink. What a great guy! He was just about getting ready to start fishing in this great spot along the canal when he spotted us. What a good Samaritan!!!

We all got back and sat around the camp for a while exchanging stories and relaxing. It was a great day in that I met so many new friends and Coffee Girl as well. Next time I go hiking I will be sure to take more water and a snack bar.

Mittry Lake

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Left Quechan Casino

Monday I left the casino and headed to Mittry Lake via Walmart in Yuma. Mittry Lake is on BLM land just about 5 miles from Imperial Dam. At Walmart I picked up a few groceries and a set of trekking poles. I had borrowed a pole while hiking outside of Quartzsite and found it very helpful so decided to get my own.

Then it was on to meet up with Gayle and Jim (Life’s Little Adventures) and Debbie. They have a great spot on a bluff overlooking the lake and they saved a spot for me.

It is a great spot and very level. I am planning on being here for a few weeks as the price is right ($0).

Tuesday Jim and I drove over to the Christian Service Center just outside Imperial Dam to look for a lift kit for Jim’s solar panels.

Unfortunately they didn’t have what he was looking for but they did have lots of solar panels, batteries and inverters of all sizes. On our way back we decided to drive around and check out other camping areas and found several that had great views such as this one.

Hiking in the area

There are a lot of great hiking trails in the area and yesterday we were looking for some nice trails. We found one that went way up into the hills. Someone had taken the time to decorate it with rocks and even had Christmas bulbs decorating a cactus. I forgot to take my camera so didn’t get any pics. I will try to remember it the next time.

Dental Appointment

I mentioned that I was going to go with Gayle and Debbie to the dentist on Tuesday. I was wrong as their dental appointment was on Thursday. I called the dentist to make an appointment, but the soonest I could get in would have been next week. I then mentioned that my friends had dental appointments on Thursday so they fit me in at the same time. How nice was that? So tomorrow I will be getting up early (for a change) and heading to Mexico and my new dentist.

Weather has been great

This is the best weather I can remember since my first year coming to this area. There have been a few cloudy days, but no rain and most of the days have cloudless blue skies. Great solar! It has been in the 70’s and next week it should be going into the 80’s.

Crystal Hill Hike

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Jim Melvin

More Hiking

We decided to take a turn into the Kofa Wildlife Refuge that was on the road a few miles before the Palm Canyon turnoff. It led to Crystal Hill on a long washboard road. It was even further than the Palm Canyon Road which was about 7 miles.

At one time there was a campground back there, but only saw one camper. The road is pretty rough so getting a rig back there would cause a lot of shaking of everything inside.

Here we are all making our ascent to the peak.

We all made it to the top. It was a very nice view.

Sara at the top with the mountains in the background.

On our descent we ran into this very small cactus.

Also got a few flower pics but there weren’t too many flowers in bloom.

We also found this old mine that had been blocked off so that you couldn’t enter it.

The group all meeting at the bottom in the wash.

It was a great hike and all 12 of us (and 2 dogs) enjoyed it. The road was very dusty going to and from and my Sami is now covered in dust both inside and out. Another GREAT day in Quartzsite.

Hiking to Palm Canyons

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Jim Melvin

Palm Canyon Hike

The other day a bunch of us drove the 23 miles down to the Palm Canyon turnoff and the 7 miles on a washboard gravel road to the Palm Canyons trailhead. It was only a 1/2 mile hike up the canyon to the spot where you can see the palms growing on the walls of the canyon.

This is looking in the opposite direction out to the Chocolate Mountains.

A bunch of us gathered at the trailhead.

You can see the palms growing out of the rock.

A couple more pics of the canyon.

Sara checking out the canyon.

We met this couple coming down the trail. I knew them from Amazon. Funny how you always manage to find friends in the most out of the way places.

Some of the group decided to hike further up the canyon.

A better shot of the palms. It is amazing how they grow up there among all the rocks.

We are planning another hike to a trail we passed before the Palm Canyons trail so stay tuned.

Chica takes a walk

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Jim Melvin

Chica takes me for a walk

I have been on the lookout for raptors or any large birds. I have seen a raven once and a couple of grouse but that is it. I would expect to see more hawks in this area, but apparently they are elsewhere. I did this so that Chica could go off her leash and run. She loves to run and hike. Most of the time she will stay right at my side, but there are occasions when she will want to run ahead.