We are off to the repair shop. They are to run diagnostics tomorrow morning.  In the mean time we will call their parking lot home.  It’s right under the approach for the Army Airstrip, nice huh?

From the bluffs in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge we can trace the blue green ribbon that is the Colorado River as it curves its way through the mountains.  The greens of desert oasis plants blanket the floodplain and splash up the washes that dot the rock strewn mountains that contain this section of river.  It was windy again today so the birding wasn’t very successful but the stroll was nice.  It looks like it might be a good kayaking place too so we’ll have to return again, maybe a little earlier in the season when wintering waterfowl are still here and the weather is a bit calmer.

Painted Desert trail is a nice small scale badlands walk with lots of rock color and the amazingly weird looking hoodoos.

We packed up, stowed the slide, and headed for the lot to pick up the trailer. The engine quit.  Hmmm, did that once before but thought it was a fluke.  It restarted ok.  Here we go.  Again it stops.  Not good!  Starts, idles a while, then stops.  It seems to heal so we start off.  Nope, rolling down the road it stops again.  And again.  We are just a couple miles from the park so we return and Kent begins the search to find the problem.  That search rather quickly turns into a search for “where is the nearest International dealer”.  I leave the gory details to him; suffice it to say, we will be exploring Yuma a bit longer.  I will probably even get to visit the county fair.

Doesn’t this sound like fun?

2.2 miles with a 1050 foot elevation change then back down? We checked out Telegraph Pass trail.  Most of the elevation is gained on really steep sections of a paved access road that winds its way up to a cluster of towers at the mountain top.  It is really prettier than it sounds since the road and trail follow a rugged wash dotted with cactus.

Views from the top were pretty amazing even through a bit of the dust caused haze. Rich green of irrigated fields lies in stark contrast to the red ragged mountains.

We stopped to catch our breath near the top and a humming bird entertained us among the ocotillo blooms. As we neared the very top a faint bleat drifted up from below.  Again.  Again.  No sign of the source until a young Big Horn Sheep lamb appeared atop a nearby ridge.  Adorable.  He disappeared as quickly as he arrived.  We hung out hoping he would make another appearance but no such luck.

The lamb stayed in hiding but a ram posed beautifully on the ridge high above us as we made our way back down. It was a pretty good hike and the critters made it even better.

As is the case all along the Colorado, water management has and still does play a huge part in everyday lives.  The river, down to the very last drop, is dammed and channeled.  De-silting and desalinization plants have been installed to condition the hard working waters.  There is even a huge underground inverted siphon that carries water under the Colorado River bed from California to Arizona fields.  Riparian habitat conservation has not historically been a priority so most has been lost.  Only recently Yuma has begun restoration of riverfront in town with creation of wetlands parks.  It is a start but much more to do.

Yuma was first settled as the best natural crossing of the wild Colorado.  Protection of the settlement and the supply route into the SW territories made it a significant army outpost and supply depot.   The Quartermaster Depot is well worth a stop.  Our guide did a great job telling the story of this place as materials movement evolved from overland from the west coast, to steam ship around Baja to rail.  Pretty impressive.

Of course, the trains came through here too

Pivot point plaza preserves the one remaining relic of early rail travel across the river. A huge concrete pylon that provide the support for the early pivootong bridge that let steamships pass.

So says the fellow at the visitor center. He was talking about Lutes Casino with the byline “Where the Elite Meet”.  Supposedly they gambled in the basement years ago but it is not a casino nowadays…they claim occasional billiards and dominos but it was pretty quiet when we were there.

Everything is fried —well not EVERYTHING but just about, including my beef taco that was rolled and deep fried. Kent tried the special, a burger with everything including a hotdog on top.  Interesting, but he was not overly impressed.  The early American junk décor is entertaining and the wait staff attentive.  It was a fun stop.

It is warming up and the thousands of northerners are heading out. We are trying out an Escapee Park, SKP KOFA KO-OP.  It is a quiet park on the edge of town right up against orange and lemon orchards and truck farm fields.  The regulars are friendly and welcoming.  A few stay here all summer….not I with highs above 115F.

The best thing – the neighboring site has a very popular hummingbird feeder. It has six feeding stations.  In the evening there are as many as 9 birds vying for them.  It is quite a sight.  They make a surprising amount of noise too.