Yuma, AZ

Yuma was a surprise to me. I imagined a dry and dusty desert town, plunked down at the border of California and, therefore convenient, but without much going for it. Yuma has a lot more going for it than just convenience and a short love affair with the RV craze. The town is situated beside the Colorado River, in a little valley with mountains to the east, north, and west. The main town is placed on gently rolling terrain to the south of a large agricultural valley. A large flat separates Yuma downtown from the Foothills 'suburb'. Foothills is the true RV town--most lots in Foothills have two full RV hook ups and either a 'stick house,' as the locals call them, a mobile home, a stationary RV with or without outbuildings, or just camped RVs. Admittedly, the desert does not have the awe inspiring beauty of Joshua Tree or surrounding Tucson, but all desert has its charm. Vast > brush land, cut with lively mesquite populated washes. The mountains to the east of Yuma always give you scenery to look at. Although we have lucked into seeing them with a healthy tint of green from all the recent rain, even gold and brown they have a rugged style.

Yuma was a traditional crossing point in the Colorado River for the Quechan Indians. Yuma was colonized by Spaniards seeking an overland route to their Baja California missions in 1697. Father Eusebio Francisco Kino, a Jesuit priest discovered that California was not an island and established a land route from Arizona into California. The Spaniards established a mission in Yuma in 1776. After the Mexican war, the United States came into possession of the huge tracts of land that today is called Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Yuma remained an important way-point in the crossing of the Colorado River. In 1877, the Southern Pacific completed a railroad line from San Diego to Yuma, crossing the Colorado River and making Yuma a major shipping point. The original town site of Yuma was laid out in 1854 and originally called Colorado City.

Yuma is definitely a place the beginning RVer feels home. The population of Yuma swells exponentially in the winter months and the whole pace of the town pulses to the rhythms of the snowbird. You have to get used to the new hours--a little hint--don't go to the Laundromat or grocery store at 11am on a weekday and think you'll miss the rush. Restaurants are slammed after 4PM and the whole town slows and quiets after 6pm. Shopping in the Foothills area, a 50-year old is the youngster. It took Greg and me over a week to finally find a place filled with under 30s--Barnes and Noble--we even saw green hair there!

You are not stuck for shopping and things to do around here either. The main town is fully stocked with the American shopping mainstays--Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, etc. A new shopping plaza north of town holds more shopping. There are two large flea markets that are open Fri through Sunday (the new 'flea' is also open Thursday). Yuma is an RV repair and stocking paradise with many RV supply and repair stores--or if you don't want to drop it off, mobile RV repair that come to you. Indeed, we are told that we will come to you is a very popular thing for many businesses to offer--anything from putting a skirt on your 5th to washing your vehicles in your yard. Algodones, Mexico is just over the border and you can drive nearby and just walk across the border--no pesky Mexico insurance to worry about. We are going on Wednesday--I'll let you know how it goes! Yuma has about 10 golf courses, a shooting range for everything from bow-and-arrow to machine guns north of town, ...the area is an off-roaders dream with the bombing range to the south (no longer used for 'real bombs' just lasers--you need a permit to go on), miles of desert road and the sand dunes to the west.

Yuma is giving me the chance to settle down and start to enjoy my unemployment. I find it a bit difficult to just relax and not constantly be moving.