Yuma and Quartzite

January 01-08-2018 thru 01-14-2018

Monday – Left Cotton Lane around mid morning and headed toward Yuma. Headed west on I-10 then turned south and took 85 down to Gila Bend then I-8 to Yuma. We ended up dry camping at the Quechan Casino RV parking lot and parked along the north side. Had left over pork roast for supper and enjoyed ice cream in the casino for dessert. We were worried there would be a lot of generators running at night but all was quiet.

Parking spot at Quechan Casino

Parking spot at Quechan Casino

Tuesday – Headed to Algodones for our dental appointments at Amazing Dental. Dennis was getting a bridge and I went for a cleaning. We arrived a little early so filled out some paperwork then waited about 20 minutes before they called us. My cleaning went well ($25 exam plus $30 for cleaning). Dennis was very happy with his experience as the doctor was very careful with the Novocaine shots, he hardly felt a thing. They prepped the area and he will go back tomorrow to finish. Afterward we walked around the town and stopped for bite to eat. We bought a new blanket for our bed as well as some liquor (Kahlua $7.75, Brandy $6.53, Vanilla $1.25) and Albuterol (3 for $6) for Dennis. We got back to the camper in early afternoon and then it started to rain. First real rain we have encountered since we have been down here. That's OK as they really need the rain here.

New blanket

Cool! Its reversible!

Booze and booze filled chocolate!

Wednesday – Dennis had a follow up appointment at noon. We went back over the border to the dentist and he was done in less than an hour. So far he is real happy with his procedure. The total cost with a cleaning was $805. Not too bad. Later that afternoon we went to Imperial Date Gardens to purchase some Medjool dates. They are sooo good and good for you. Here is some information about the Medjool date.

The date is one of the oldest cultured tree crops with some records indicating it was cultivated more than 5000 years ago. The date was introduced to the western hemisphere by Spanish missionaries in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries. The Medjool date originates in Morocco. It was first introduced into the United States in 1927 and first planted in southern California. In 1944 the first Medjool date trees were planted here in the Bard Valley (Yuma).

Date plants are dioecious, the male flowers that produce pollen, and the female flowers that produce fruit are borne on separate tress. On the date farm the pollination is done by hand. The fruit is thinned by hand while still young and again once more when more mature. This helps to ensure their large size. Prior to harvesting a bag is slipped over the each bunch of dates to protect the fruit from light rains, bugs and birds. The dates are harvested by hand in late August through early November. They must have a moisture content of 30% before they can be shipped. Dates contain no cholesterol, almost no fat or sodium, and are rich in potassium, iron and fiber.

Thursday & Friday – Thursday we moved to SKP Kofa Ko-op RV Retreat southeast of Yuma. We moved to this park so we could dump our tanks and fill with water before we head to Quartzite. We were going to stay one night but enjoyed the outdoor hot tub so much the first night we decided to stay two more nights.

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Ahhh! Sunday morning dip in the hot tub!

Citrus grove near Yuma.

Saturday – Attended the Yuma Woodworkers Event at the Yuma Community Center then spent the rest of the day relaxing at the camper. I made curried chicken soup for supper.

Sunday – Quartzite here we come! Left the park in the morning and headed north on Hwy. 95. We arrived on Plomosa road around noon. We saw signs for several Escapees groups but not Chapter 21 which is the Arizona Chapter. We met some of these Rvers in Benson and wanted to hang out with them at Quartzite. We didn't find them at first but after parking and walking around a bit we discovered them a little ways away. We moved the camper closer to them with a nice view of the mountains to the east.

Boondocking at Quartzite

Dry camping at SKP Kofa Ko-op

Playing corn hole with our friends.

View from our camper.

Where we are parked: Quechan Casino RV parking lot – Gravel boon docking area adjacent to the casino. No facilities except for a few dumpsters. The Casino security patrols the area which is nice. It is only 2 miles from the Mexican border.

And....

SKP Kofa Ko-op – Dry camping area site 5 – This area has no hook-ups but the fresh water spigot was nearby so we were able to get our hose to it to fill our tank. Cost for dry camping -$7.50/day plus $10.00 to use the dump station. There are 154 full hook up sites and 11 dry camping sites. The facilities include a clubhouse with pool tables as well as a pool, hot tub and laundry.

And....

Quartzite Plomosa Road Short Term Visitor Area – (33.7674661,-114.1694770) We parked at the extreme eastern edge of the visitor area. The Escapees Chapter 21 folks were a short walk away. This is free dry camping area with a 14 day limit.