Today we did some exploring. I have never seen a city with so many RV parks as Yuma. I don’t know if they hold the world’s record for such things, but they just might. One of the Escapees we’ve been camping with has been coming to this area for 16 years. He was just chock full of tips on free camping. Seems the true boondockers don’t even want to spend the money to camp at the LTVA’s.
Then we did our last minute shopping at WalMart, topped off the propane tank and set out for the Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA).
In order to get to the Imperial Dam area from the AZ side, you drive through the Army Yuma Proving Grounds. Per the signs, every tracked vehicle and cannon developed for, and since, WW-II has been tested here. There is an interesting exhibit of some of the machines and guns tested.
Parts of the Imperial Dam LTVA are in Arizona but the majority is in California. CA is in a different time zone but, by convention, AZ time is used in this area. There are a number of camping areas like Cozy Cove, Kripple Creek, Hurricane Ridge, and another half dozen or so. The administrative area with the dump station, water fill, dumpsters and permit office is located in the South Mesa camping area. GPS 32.90139 -114.49599. We bought a 30 day camping permit for $80. This permit is good for all the different LTVA’s, including, of course, those around “Q”.
We spend the day camped on the shore of the Senator Wash Reservoir. If you want to stay overnight there, you need to pay an additional fee of $15/night. The folks in the office told us to just spend the day there and then move to one of the other camping areas before sunset. That’s just what we did. Gopher had a fun time playing stick in the reservoir, plus it washed some of the desert off her.
About 5:00 Gopher and I were sitting outside and two “wild” burros came wandering up. They didn’t much like barking dogs, so I put Gopher inside. They walked right up to me and just stood there. I got an apple and cut it in two and gave each half; that’s exactly what these two mooches had in mind. I didn’t want to give away any more apples so I took a zucchini and cut off two pieces. Burros don’t like zucchini.
Wednesday, January 3, 2012
We like it here so decided to hang around until it’s time to move to “Q”. I got up just before sunrise, took a few pictures then drove down to the shore of the reservoir with Carol still tucked warmly in bed. We went exploring some of the other areas, like Squaw Lake, but liked the Senator Wash Reservoir the best. Here we’ll stay.
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