Wednesday, November 16 to Tuesday, November 22, 2022 (Fortuna de Oro RV Resort, Yuma, AZ)

It's hard to believe we have been here for 3 weeks already and are now on the downward side of our month stay. Again, along with routine chores and daily walks, we also had some great fun in the sun!

Wednesday (Nov. 16) morning with our backpacks loaded with water, snacks and lunch, we headed out just before 9:30. We are meeting Cliff and Jo-Anne who are taking us on one of their favourite hikes. We arrived at Hidden Shores Resort to find them in the truck waiting for us. We did a u-turn and fell in behind them as they led the way to Senator Wash Road and the Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA). This is another very popular boon-docking area. We proceeded on the bumpy road well into the LTVA until we came to the wash where we parked.

Along with Cliff and Jo-Anne, were their friends from Hidden Shores, Cam, Kim and Stephen...always great to meet new folks!

After introductions, we all put our packs on, got our walking poles ready...and headed off into Senator Wash...

Heading into a slot canyon.

You never want to be in a wash if there is rain in the forecast, especially in the nearby rocky mountains with little to no soil and vegetation that can absorb the water, quickly creating flash flooding below! We witnessed this a few years ago at our La Posa South LTVA campsite next to a wash in Quartzsite...

The water has left dirt rings on the rocks...

Cliff and Jo-Anne have never seen the wash in this condition before... 

Oh, oh...that's as far as we can go in the wash. 

Time to scramble up the rocks and boulders!

Once up top the walking was much easier...

Steve and Cliff were amazed to find debris from high water above the canyon walls. The raging water flowing through here would have been quite the sight!

Everyone is waiting for a decision as to what route we'll take next...

Normally they would walk another few hundred yards in the wash, then take a left and hike back on the other side of the canyon...

Unfortunately we couldn't go any further because of deep gulley's...amazing how the canyon changes from year to year!

We hiked to the top of the hill and managed to find a road back...

We got back to the trucks and decided to continue our hike in the opposite direction towards Senator Wash Reservoir and have lunch. You can see some of the RV's parked on the cliff top...

It turned out to be further than we thought so we found some shade and had our lunch. In front Cam, behind him are Kim/Stephen, far left Cliff/Jo-Anne, Dianne, Leslie and Dave...

After lunch, Cliff, Cam and Dave headed back to get the trucks while the rest of us continued walking the wash until we came to the entrance to the LTVA...where we waited to be picked up. Although it wasn't the full hike that Jo-Anne and Cliff had planned, it was still great and wonderful to get out hiking again!

 

We followed Cliff and Jo-Anne back to their place at Hidden Shores and continued our visit over a cold brew. Thanks for a great day, we really enjoyed it!

Thursday (Nov. 17) morning, Leslie and I went grocery shopping at Fry's. It had been 2 weeks since we had gone and our fridges and cupboards were getting bare! 

While we were gone, Steve off-loaded the quads in preparation for a ride tomorrow...and then he and Dave took Buster out for a run. They got back after I had lugged all our groceries from the truck to the trailer...good timing, honey! 😊

Happy Hour this afternoon was over at Dave and Leslie's...for Mai Tai's! Since our trip together last May, they have been trying various recipes and perfecting the exact combination that tasted as close to the ones we were served in Hawaii. Main ingredients...white rum, dark rum, triple sec, and Disaronno with a "splash" of lime and pineapple juices...

All ingredients (except dark rum) carefully measured and shaken with ice....and strained into a glass with dark rum floated on top! Ta da...delicious!

Once the sun went down, with a beautiful sunset...

...we moved over to our place for dinner. I had made a pot of chili earlier this afternoon...and Leslie made Red Lobster biscuits, a perfect combination! 

Friday (Nov. 18) morning, I had a different walking partner...Leslie joined me as Steve and Dave got ready to go out for a ride on the quads. Back from our walk and they're ready to go! Dave riding my quad...

Steve here...

Our plan for the day was to explore the mountain trails east of our resort and the towers at Telegraph Pass. We were disappointed to find the road to the top was gated. You can hike this extremely steep cement road to the top though...

We rode to the top of several mountain trails...

Our resort and Fortuna Foothills in the distance...

Dave and I had a great couple of hours exploring the trails. 

For those interested I created a GoPro photo album of our ride. Once in the album click on the first photo and advance through as some photos will have a caption on the bottom left of the photo. 😎

Leslie and I were doing something fun today too...going shopping at the Yuma Palms Regional Center. Neither one of us get much of a chance to shop...other than for groceries. So with a plan in place to each find a new purse (along with a few other things we wanted to look at), we hit 3 stores without much luck. Hungry by this time, we enjoyed soup, salad and breadsticks at the Olive Garden and then made one final stop at JC Penny where there happened to be a 'Black Friday' sale! Amazing discounts...with one being 60% off purses...sweet! We both ended up heading home with new handbags!

Just after 3:00, RV friends and fellow BCer's, Darrell and Kelly, arrived for a visit. They are from 150 Mile House in central BC and spend their winters here in Yuma. We walked up to the pool area where there was "Music on the Patio" and happy hour.

We haven't seen them since the last RV Dreams Boon-Docking Rally quite a few years ago and enjoyed a couple of hours catching up...great seeing you both again!

Saturday (Nov. 19) and Sunday (Nov. 20) were pretty much "chill" days. It was really windy out so Steve spent time downloading and editing pictures while I puttered around doing chores and then worked on a blog update.

The plan for Monday (Nov. 21) morning was a hike up Telegraph Pass, just east of here. Dave, Leslie and Steve headed out at 10:00 but I stayed home with my left leg elevated and my knee wrapped in an ice pack. This is the knee that I had replacement surgery on 3 years ago. It was fine until I stood up late yesterday afternoon and I could hardly walk on it...very stiff and swollen! No idea what that is all about other than I must have twisted it somehow and angered the muscles/tendons around it. Never thought I'd have an issue with it...I had been more concerned about the right knee. It was much better this morning, but still swollen and stiff, so no hiking for me today!

Steve here...Dave loves to run so he left Leslie and I in the dust!

Our destination was the base of Telegraph Mountain with the towers in the distance... 

Ahead you can see how the road steeply zig zags it's way up to the towers...

Well not only is Dave running but has also decided to hike to the top! Leslie phoned him and he was already just a couple hundred yards from the top!

It took Leslie and I about 1:20 to hike to the fence and back, and shortly after Dave showed up. It took him 1:33 to complete 8.2 km/5 miles to the top and back...what a champ!

The hikers were back a couple of hours later and after some rest/showers, we all headed to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch. The remnants of our wings... 

Tuesday (Nov. 22) morning, Steve and Dave decided to go to the Cloud Museum north of Yuma. Leslie and I were not particularly interested so they dropped us off at the Yuma Palms Regional Center again to do more shopping.

Steve here...

I heard about the Cloud Museum just across the border in California years ago and we've passed by it several times on our way to and from the now closed Imperial Date Shake location just up the road. 

Johnny Cloud started the collection in 1989 and includes cars, trucks, tractors, power and hand tools, household equipment, boat engines, wheels, items from local businesses, and much more. The collection is vast, overwhelming, well organized, and incredibly impressive! (Well worth the $10 entrance fee.)

Dave checking out an old motorhome. Not as nice as the one you showed us the other day Dave! 😂

RV's have certainly improved!

Cloud Farms Truck...

Look at these old bikes...

Pretty cool still having his dads old truck...

The owner Johnny Cloud hung around with us quite a bit answering many of our questions. He's third generation at Cloud Farms and is a pretty interesting guy!  

I was surprised when I entered this building as to how many vehicles were in there and they all run...

He sends his cars to Mexico for painting...

Opposite side of the building...

I used to have the exact same red and white Johnson 18 engine...a great motor!

This is only one row of many rows of Ford Model A's and T's...there are hundreds of vehicles! I asked Johnny why are most of the vehicles Fords. He said there are more of them and it's easier to get parts. Said he was told by a collector from New Mexico that this was probably the largest collection of old Fords in the world.

This museum was far from what I expected and well worth a visit if you're in the area. To prevent a photo heavy blog...for those interested I've made a photo album link. Captions will only appear if you click on individual photos. 😎

We were home around 1:30 and after a bite to eat, Leslie and I decided to continue our fun day by doing laundry 😂...a chore that seems to come around too often. While we were doing that, Steve was busy working on picture editing from today and updating this blog.

The four of us ended our afternoon by sitting in the sun with a beverage...and discussing what the plans are for our final week here. Stay tuned!