Airbase Arizona Museum

Posted on June 9, 2021 by liv2rv

It’s been well over a year since we were able to set foot in a museum. Oh how we missed them! We spent several hours touring Airbase Arizona Commemorative Air Force Museum in Arizona, with friends Dave and Marilyn. Although it was one of the smaller plane museum’s we have visited, it had a number of things we have never seen before.

Below is a replica of a Nieuport 28, built in France, and flown during WWI. It was the first fighter aircraft for the United States.

The plane below is a 7/8 scale flying replica of the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E. 5a, one of the fastest aircraft flown during World War I.

The museum was able to obtain an actual steel artifact from the USS Arizona, which was sunk in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. When the USS Arizona wreckage was declared a national memorial in the 1960’s, a portion of the wreckage was removed so the visitor’s bridge could be installed. The pieces that were removed were stored by the Navy in Pearl Harbor. The Airbase Arizona Museum requested a piece of the wreckage, and the Navy granted their request and they received this piece in 2019.

The North American F-89 Sabre

And the most produced jet fighter type in the world, the Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21PF “Fishbed-D.” (in case you are wondering how I remember all of this, I take a picture of the sign, and then the airplane!)

The museum has several helicopters on display. The Bell UH-1B “Huey” Gunship

The very “slim” AH-1F Cobra SN67-15589

And the Sikorsky H-19 Chicasaw, used during the Korean War.

The Douglas A/B-26C “Invader” was used during World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

The North America P-51D Mustang was a single pilot fighter bomber used during WWII and the Korean War.

The “red plane” is a Frankfort Sailplane Company QQ-3, a remote controlled drone used by anti-aircraft artillery for target practice. 9,403 drones were produced, but there are only 6 left in existence. It was painted red for better visibility in the museum.

Outside the museum, they had a Douglas C-47 “SkyTrain”, used as a cargo troop carrier.

You are able to walk inside this plane. And we quickly realized why they may have it outside, with the windows open. It had a very strong odor of cigarette smoke. According to the plaque (see below), the plane was operated during WWII.

The Boeing B-17G Bomber “Sentimental Journey” was undergoing routine maintenance. You can actually schedule a ride on this plane. It was also one of the few planes that you could walk (or rather “squeeze” through).

This is what I mean by “squeezing” through..

But it does get a bit wider in the back!

The front of the B-17G Bomber from the inside…

And the view of the front from the exterior.

The bay doors below have been signed by many of the brave men that have flown on this World War II Flying Fortress.

They have a display of fighter pilot head gear over the years.

I always enjoy the personalized symbols on the planes

If you are in the Mesa, Arizona area, this is definitely worth a visit. The four of us had a great day reliving history.

Quote for the Day: “If you can walk away from a landing, it’s a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it’s an outstanding landing.” – Chuck Yeager

Honey, we shrunk the RV!

Posted on March 18, 2020 by liv2rv

What a strange month this is turning out to be. We hope everyone is staying safe, washing their hands often, and taking COVID-19 seriously.

Our goal this year was to lose weight. On March 3, we accomplished that goal, shedding over 12,000 pounds! We were up at 6 am to drive to Avondale, Arizona, to drop off our beloved 5th wheel, a 2014 Heartland Landmark, and then pick up our new home, a 2008 Host Everest camper, from Tom’s Camperland in Mesa, Arizona. It was a very long day, and we did not arrive back in Yuma until 10 pm. But everything went well, and we had a good experience with the staff at Tom’s Camperland.

We went from 40 feet of living space, to 11 feet! It has been a bit of an adjustment. Here’s the final view of our 5th wheel when we dropped it off at the dealership.

Bye-bye

And the first photo of us with our “new home.”

The next day, March 4, we began the process of moving our stuff back in!

The above photo shows the stuff we are keeping. We have a number of bins full of stuff that we are keeping, but not taking with us to Alaska (more on that later). Thankfully, our friends Dave and Marilyn, who live here in Yuma, have offered us the use of their shed to store some of our stuff. They figure this way we have to come back to Yuma someday to pick up our stuff! Our friends Bob, Tom and Ellen let us temporarily store our food in their refrigerators.

We have made great progress, and this was our view yesterday, March 17. The two big chairs will be going to Dave and Marilyn’s when we leave, as well as our grill.

Here’s some interior and exterior photos of our new home, that we took at the dealership. Once we get a little more settled in, I can take some more photos of how it looks with our stuff.

The camper has three slides. This view shows the propane, batteries, and a slide-out tray for storage. It also has a 2500 watt generator, and a 150 watt solar panel, to keep the batteries charged.

Having three slides, very unusual for a 2008 model, makes the interior feel less cramped. It has a side entry door and the couch and u-shaped dinette both fold into beds.

It has a small kitchen, but the two drawers below the stove are very deep.

I was pretty adamant about having a “dry bath” not a wet bath, which provides a separate shower.

The bed is a full queen, but the way it’s oriented, means you have exactly 60 inches of width. I’ve bumped into the wall on the right a few times. Sometimes Dan keeps the closet door (the mirrored doors) open when he sleeps, so he has a little more elbow room. There is an emergency escape hatch on the roof above the bed. It’s pretty easy to open and get out if necessary. Hopefully we will never need to use it!

The only modification we have made so far is changing out the old 25 pound 19-inch television, to a 28 inch 7 pound LED-TV. We did this to not only get a better quality picture, but also so we could hook up our channel master DVR which needs to use a HDMI cable.

WORK UPDATES

COVID-19 has certainly created a lot of changes here at Westwind RV. The majority of the residents here are from Canada, and they have made a rapid mass exodus over the past 10 days. Normally people start departing around the third week of March, but with all the uncertainty, many have left early. With Canada shutting it’s border down, and a mandatory 14 day quarantine for anyone returning to Canada, the park has rapidly emptied out. We wish all of our Canadian friends very safe travels home. There are a lot of folks from Washington and Oregon here. They are in no hurry to leave!

Next week we are supposed to have a Westwind work camper appreciation dinner with the owner of the park, and new managers. Who knows if they will still have this large gathering? Although there have not yet been any confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yuma County, Imperial County just to the West of us, in California, has had several confirmed cases. And with testing finally ramping up, who knows what things will look like next week.

For the past several months, the golf course has been holding 50/50 raffles at the dances, as well as a raffle and golf outing, to raise money for Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. This is an annual event, and this year, over $6,600 was raised, a record amount! Here is a photo of our golf course pro shop staff with the local Shriner’s donating the check. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun as well.

Art, Terry, Jonell, Debbie, Henry, Dan and Yuma Shriner’s

ALASKA UPDATES

The reason we downsized to a camper was for our trip to Alaska. As of now, we still plan on going. Our plan was to cross into Canada on May 18. Today, they closed the border in Canada to US Citizens. A lot can happen in two months, and it is certainly going to get worse as the number of confirmed cases rapidly increases each day. We have not made a plan B yet for the summer. We feel fortunate to have our health, our families are safe, and if we can’t go this summer, so be it. It’s better to stay safe.

Our friends Tom and Ellen were planning on going to work in Skagway Alaska for the summer, but that has been cancelled. Skagway is a major port for the cruise ships. And since the ships are not allowed to dock in Canada until July at the earliest, they stores would not have any customers until late in the summer. They are currently looking for new summer jobs. If you need two hardworking work campers, let me know.

Now go wash your hands!

Quote of the Day: “Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon.” – Doug Larson

A busy start to the new year

Posted on February 16, 2020 by liv2rv

Happy belated New Year and New Decade!!

You would think with working just two days a week, we would be living the life of leisure, and having a lot of free time on our hands, but we have just been busy, busy, busy. This is turning out to a year of change for us, and it has been both exciting and stressful. So let’s get caught up…

On Christmas Eve, we picked Dan’s parents up at the Mesa Airport, about a three hour drive from Yuma. Dan’s brother and sister-in-law, Gary and Julia, rented a house in Tempe, Arizona, for the week of Christmas. Their three daughters were also able to fly in for Christmas. It was nice to spend the holidays with family! Thank you Gary and Julia for inviting us over for Christmas, as well as the matching “Minnesota Go Jump in the Lake” t-shirts that we all received!

On New Year’s Eve, we drove Dan’s parents, Joan and Stu, back with us to Westwind RV and Golf Resort in Yuma, as they were able to rent a park model for the month of January. We didn’t have to worry too much about them, as they had a busy month of activities, with golf, dances, block parties, and cards. We enjoyed spending time with them, during their “free” time!

Fridays and Saturdays have been busy with work, as well as volunteering at the Friday night dances, and attending the Saturday night concerts in the ballroom with Tom, Ellen and Bob. Dan and I are both involved in several golf leagues on our off days. I have played more golf in the last three months, then I have in ten years. We sell tickets for the 50/50 raffle at the dances, to raise money for Shriner’s Children’s Hospital. Last year they raised close to $5000 from the raffle, and this year we should exceed $5,000.00. Here we are with Henry and Terry, the Golf Shop Managers (and former co-workers of ours at Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota).

We have seen several excellent concerts, including a tribute to John Denver (which my sister LuAnn would have loved)…

as well as an excellent tribute to Linda Ronstadt.

We did manage a few trips up to Quartzsite, one for the annual RV show, and another to meet up with friends Wendy and Terry (met them work camping at Luton’s Teton Cabins). And Wendy and I managed to find another “big chair” to sit in.

Today we had a ‘Mardi Gras’ parade in the park. We decorated one golf cart, to represent the golf course. Since we were in the parade, I only have a few pictures from the staging area of some of the other decorated carts. In addition to candy, we threw (gently) golf balls to crowd gathered in the park to watch all the decorated golf carts. Here we are, ready to go!

Some of the other floats…

CHANGE IS COMING!

As I have previously mentioned, we will not be working this summer (our first time in 6 years). We will spend the entire summer in Alaska traveling with friends Karen and Al, as well as two other couples (one of which we just met this week in Yuma).

We have spent the past month or two seriously looking at various RV’s, as we don’t plan on taking our 5th wheel to Alaska. We have looked, and talked with dealers in Oregon, Michigan, Las Vegas and several in Arizona, regarding Class A’s, Class C/B’s and truck campers. Ultimately, we decided to go with our original plan of getting a truck camper. It will make it easier for us to get into many of the smaller campgrounds, allow us to boondock (camping without hookups) more often, and make us much more mobile.

This year, Westwind RV enforced the rule of no truck campers allowed in the park. So we spoke with management regarding our plans of picking up our camper in March. They advised that we would not be allowed to stay in the park. Our friends Dave and Marilyn, who have a house in Yuma with a 30 amp hook-up, were kind enough to allow us to park at their place, for the month of March, and then we would leave. We told our managers in the golf shop that we would only work through the end of March, and skip the two weekends in April that we were scheduled to work. We had also advised them that we would not return next year, as we would not be allowed to stay in this park with a truck camper. And, we did not want to rush to purchase something else after our Alaska trip. They were fine with all of this.

Well, three days after we got all the details squared away with everyone, the corporate owner of Westwind (he owns several RV and mobile home parks), fired the managers here. And the next day, among many rule changes, they changed the rule regarding truck campers. Any type of RV is now welcome at Westwind RV.

So now we can stay at the park and finish out our commitment for this season. Our last day will be April 11. We are still leaning towards not coming back next year, as we need to see what happens with all these management and rule changes.

We have been super busy going through our 5th wheel and making piles of “stuff going to Alaska” and “stuff to keep, but not going to Alaska.” Downsizing from 400 square feet to 80 square feet has been challenging, and a bit overwhelming. Sometimes I just have to sit down and stare at all of our crap…I mean stuff! Fortunately, Dave and Marilyn will let us store some stuff at their house. They are such wonderful friends! (we promise that someday we will return and pick it up!). Of course we still have stuff at my sister Margie’s, brother Brian’s, and Dan’s parents to sort through as well…someday!

Here’s a quick peak at what we have put an offer on, and will pick up next month. A 2008 Host Truck Camper. Once we pick it up, I will have a blog with more pictures, as well as an update on the downsizing!

We hope all is well with everyone! Until next time!

Quote of the Day: “In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or step back into safety.” – Abraham Maslow

An Electric Parade for Christmas!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by liv2rv

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our readers! And safe travels for those who will be traveling during the holiday season.

We really enjoy working two days a week in the golf pro shop here at Westwind Golf and RV Resort. It’s a very low stress job! The weather has cooled down (lows in the 40’s, and high’s in the mid 60’s) making it much easier to tell the difference between a Canadian snowbird (still in shorts) and a year-round Yuma resident (pants, gloves, earmuffs, and a winter coat!)

Last Saturday was the Foothills Off-Road Vehicle Club’s annual Electric Light Parade. Members decorate their jeeps and other off-road vehicles and go from RV park to RV park at night to show off their vehicles, and to collect donations for the Yuma food pantry. This year there were a few hot rods added to the parade, which were a big hit with the crowd. Enjoy!

Quote for the day: “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” – Bob Hope

Back to work for the Winter

Posted on November 24, 2019 by liv2rv

Life is pretty good in Yuma, Arizona, the sunniest place in the United States! The park we are working at, Westwind RV and Golf Resort, is slowly filling up, as the Canadian and American snowbirds make their way south. We are about half full, and should be close to capacity in January. It has been a lot of fun catching up with the many friends and co-workers we met last year, that have returned again for another season. In addition, our friends Tom, Ellen and Bob have joined us this year at Westwind to work. They all seem to be enjoying their jobs, and the warm, but not humid, weather.

This year, we have new jobs, which we are both enjoying. Last season I had a paid (minimum wage) job in the office, three days a week, and Dan worked three days on the golf course, which covered our site rent, and all utilities. This year, we are working in the Golf Pro Shop, two 10-hour days a week. We really enjoy working just two days, Friday and Saturday. Here’s a few pictures the inside of the Pro Shop.

It’s small, but we have a great view of the first hole out the window that you see above on the right.

Our view

We have seen many “interesting” shots off the first tee!! Here are some views of the course, which is a nine-hole Par 3.

This is the first hole straight ahead, with #3 on the left, and #9 fairway on the right. One of Dan’s duties is to fish out all the balls in the pond (and there are many!).

In exchange for our two 10-hour days, we receive our site for free, all utilities, and a $640 voucher each month which can be used at the onsite restaurant, golf shop, and concert tickets. Our duties are taking tee times, selling merchandise (clothing, hats, gloves, golf balls), and keeping the patio area outside the Pro Shop clean. It’s as easy as it sounds! I don’t miss working in the office, but I do miss working with Lori and Roy. We were able to get together for dinner, and talk about future work camping opportunities and places to explore. We both have a lot more travel adventures in our future!

Another bonus of coming back to Yuma is getting together with friends Dave and Marilyn, that own a house here. We have had several get togethers, and met up for the Howling at the Moon on November 12. It was Tom, Ellen and Bob’s first experience, and they all seemed to enjoy the strange little gathering in the desert.

Howling at the Moon

Bob, Jim, Carol, Marilyn (Dave behind in blue shirt)

Ellen, Tom and Dan as sun was setting behind

The sunsets in Arizona are always full of color

And then it was time to start “howling!” If you are ever in the Yuma area, and it’s a full-moon, you need to partake in this free festival!

We hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. It looks like most of the country is going to be hit with some storms, so stay safe!

Quote for the Day: “Of all possessions a friend is the most precious.” – Herodotus

A quick trip to Page, Arizona

Posted on May 16, 2019 by liv2rv

We had a one-day stop in Page, Arizona, with our friends Tom and Ellen, and certainly made the best of a rainy day, with a quick trip between storms to see Horseshoe Bend Overlook and tour Lower Antelope Canyon. The scenery was spectacular, even if the weather was not co-operating.

HORSESHOE BEND OVERLOOK

Horseshoe Bend Overlook is where the Colorado River makes a 270 degree bend around the rocks in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. I’ve seen many photographs of this area, but never really knew where it was. The orange rock is Navajo Sandstone.

After you park and walk up a small hill, you are greeted with this view. If you look closely, you can see dozens of people in the middle right of the picture.

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All those people were looking at this:

Horseshoe Bend Overlook

If you look really close at the above picture, down at the bottom of the middle, you may notice a couple of yellow kayaks. Here is a zoomed in photo:

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Yes, there were people tent camping right on the bend. And, there is even an outhouse down there (not sure who gets to clean that!). I think this would be an amazing spot to kayak and tent camp overnight at. Not sure if this requires a special permit or not.

Even though they charge $11.00 for parking, it is definitely worth a stop to see this overlook…even in the rain!

LOWER ANTELOPE CANYON TOUR

We were scheduled for a late afternoon tour of Lower Antelope Canyon, but it was cancelled due to the rain. Flash flooding is a serious concern, and several people were killed a few years ago when the canyon flooded before they could get out. This is why the only way to enter the canyon now, is with a guided tour. Fortunately, we were able to reschedule the next morning.

Lower Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon, made out of Navajo Sandstone. The tour takes about one hour, and you will walk approximately one mile. There are stairs leading down into the canyon, and back out of the canyon. In between, you have many slots to pass through. It’s not recommended for people who are claustrophobic, but the beauty of the canyon may keep your mind off the fact that you are in a small space. My photos really do not do justice to the colors of the sandstone.

Going down into the canyon

There are many narrow passages…

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Lots of different formations made over time by the wind and water coming through the canyon…

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The light shining down from above, creates different shades of color throughout the day…

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Canyon Arch

Before they added stairs, visitors would climb up the rocks using the gouges in the rocks shown below.

We had a great time during our all too brief visit to Page. There are many things to do in the area, and we are considering stopping back in the fall on our way back to Arizona. But work beckons, so we had to keep going on our journey. Stay tuned…

Dan, Jonell, Ellen and Tom

Quote for the Day: “All the lessons are in nature. You look at the way rocks are formed – the wind and the water hitting them, shaping them, making them what they are. Things take time, you know?” – Diane Lane

Sedona: visiting a Chapel and a Castle

Posted on May 8, 2019 by liv2rv

We have arrived in Moran, Wyoming for our summer work camping job at Luton’s Teton Cabins. I still have to finish up on our posts about our drive up to the Tetons from Arizona. Today’s post will finish up our brief trip to Sedona, Arizona, where we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross, and Montezuma Castle.

CHAPEL OF THE HOLY CROSS

The Chapel was inspired and funded by a local artist, Marguerite Brunswig Staude, and completed in 1956. She wanted to build the Chapel as a monument to faith. The view of the Chapel is impressive, approximately 250 feet tall.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Sedona runs the Chapel, and holds Taize Prayer services on Monday evening. That is the only service that is held in the Chapel on a regular basis. Weddings are permitted, but many restrictions apply. A small parking lot is at the base of the Chapel, and there is a long, winding walkway up to the entrance.

Walkway to Chapel entrance

The view of the area is stunning.

Parking lot and surrounding scenery

The interior of the Chapel is small, and there is a gift shop in the basement.

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The Chapel is a stunning place to visit, say a prayer, and remember loved ones. The plaque by this angel states “And He shall give his angel charge over you to keep you in all ways.”

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MONTEZUMA CASTLE

South of Sedona, in Camp Verde, is Montezuma Castle National Monument. Between 1100 and 1300, Southern Sinagua farmers built a five-story dwelling into a cliff about 100 feet above the valley floor. It is believed the building had a total of 45 rooms. The Castle became a national monument in 1906, and up until the 1950’s, visitors were able to climb up ladders to view the Castle up close.

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The bushes in front of the cliff are the Creosote Bush, among the oldest plants on Earth. Creosote has been used to treat everything from toothaches to chicken pox.

A 45-room “Castle”

They believe this area was chosen due to it’s close proximity to water, and native vegetation that they could live off of. Beaver Creek is just a few hundred yards from the cliff.

Beaver Creek

After the park service discontinued letting people climb up 100 foot tall ladders to view the Castle up close, they built this diorama so visitors could get a better idea of what life was like in the Castle.

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For the past several years, I have been getting “stamps” at all the places operated by the National Park Service that we visit. Our friend Ellen decided that was a great way to keep a record of the places that her and Tom visit, and she purchased her own National Parks Passport book. Here is Ellen getting her very first stamp of Montezuma Castle! This year they also have a 100th anniversary stamp of the death of Teddy Roosevelt, in addition to the regular stamps.

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Quote for the Day: “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

A quick trip to Sedona

Posted on May 1, 2019 by liv2rv

After a relaxing week at Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf resort in El Mirage, Arizona, we headed north to Camp Verde, Arizona, where we met up with our friends Tom, Ellen, Kathy and Steve. They are on their way to the West Yellowstone, Montana area for their summer jobs. We stayed at Distant Drums RV Resort, a very nice park, and conveniently located to everything we wanted to see. There are so many things to see and do in northern Arizona, that we may have to consider a summer work camping job here just to see everything! (it’s at a higher elevation, so the temperatures are not so hot in the summer).

We took a drive up to Sedona (about 15 miles north of Camp Verde) and did a short hike to view Cathedral Rock from Oak Creek Park.

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Steve, Kathy, Ellen, Tom, Dan and I

Cathedral Rock in Sedona

old pump house and water wheel

The trail winds around Oak Creek river, and many people have stopped to stack rocks, which is called cairns.

Cairn rocks

We did attempt to watch a sunset over the rocks in Sedona. The sunset itself was a bit of a dud that night, but the color changes on Thunder Mountain were nice.

Thunder Mountain before sunset

As the sun was setting….

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Long shadows, followed by the rocks lighting up from the setting sun…

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Dan decided to photo bomb my sunset pictures!

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Stay tuned, more to come from Sedona

Quote for the day: “Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.” – Mattie Stepanek

Winter work camping is done!!

Posted on April 27, 2019 by liv2rv

We have finished up our 6 months of work camping at Westwind RV and Golf Resort in Yuma, Arizona! It was our longest work camping job that we have done since we started our journey in 2013. And we’re going to do it again (for 1 more year) this fall! This season, Dan and I both worked 3 days a week, Thursday – Saturday. Dan worked 24 hours each week, on the golf course. In exchange, we received our full hook-up site, including all utilities, for free. I worked in the office, for minimum wage (currently $11.00/hour in Arizona) averaging about 28 hours/week.

In total, I made approximately $8,000 for the 6 months of work (I haven’t received my last paycheck yet, so I don’t have the exact gross pay figures). Our expenses were minimal, as we did not have to pay anything for 6 months of rent/utilities. Laundry was not included, and we spent $225.00 at the on-site laundry facility in the park. We probably could have found a cheaper laundromat, but the convenience of walking to the facility outweighed the expense. But the real benefits of being in one spot for so long is all the wonderful people that you meet. Dan enjoyed working with the full-time year round staff on the golf course and in the maintenance department. I had great co-workers that made the job fun (shout out to Lori and Roy!!), and a very patient office manager, Kathy. We never seemed to stop learning…

This fall, Dan will only be working 16 hours/week, 3 days a week. In exchange, we will receive our site for free, but will have to pay for electric/utilities. He requested this, because he often finished up his work by lunch, and had to spend the afternoon making “busy work.” Being a former math teacher, he ran the numbers, and it wasn’t worth working 32 extra hours per month to cover electric/utilities. It amounted to getting paid just over $4/hour. I will be back in the office, and the minimum wage in Arizona is set to increase to $12/hour next January. So that’s a nice perk, as most winter jobs do not pay.

In addition to having a positive experience at Westwind, we decided to come back for several other reasons. We are planning on going to Alaska in 2020, but not to work, just to play tourist. Having an income over the winter season will help to offset the loss of income in the summer. Also, we really enjoyed getting together with our friends Dave and Marilyn. It was a pleasant surprise when we found out they had moved to the Yuma area and next season our friends Tom and Ellen will be joining us as well. Tom will work in Guest Services (helping to park RV’s, read electric meters, and whatever else is needed) and Ellen will be in the mail room. In exchange for their hours, they will receive their site for free, including utilities, and a voucher which they can use at the onsite restaurant, golf shop, and concert tickets (only the office is a paid position).

It took 6 months, but I finally saw my first rattlesnake and roadrunner at the end of March, while playing golf with Dan, Roy and Lyle (who is from Canada and rented a park model a few doors from us).

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A zoomed in view, as it was much smaller (thankfully) than I expected!

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Needless to say, you must keep the ball in the fairway!

It was hard to get a photo of the roadrunner, so this is a bit blurry. They move fast, and are not as big as I imagined (must have been all those cartoon road runners I watched growing up….beep beep!) And yes, they can fly, but usually just run around.

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I’m not sure what I prefer, dealing with alligators while golfing in Florida, or rattlesnakes in Arizona. I think I’ll stick with the safest alternative, Max. He doesn’t bite!

What’s next?

We have a month to wander around until we start our summer job, back at Luton’s Teton Cabins. We spent a week near Phoenix at Peublo El Mirage Golf and RV resort (very nice), just relaxing, and are now near Sedona for a few days. We have met up with Tom and Ellen and Steve and Kathy who are all on their way to West Yellowstone for their summer work camping jobs. I will have a new post about the Sedona area in the not too distant future.

I’m not sure what the name of this cactus is, but it was in full bloom at the RV park in El Mirage. We were told it only blooms for one day each year. Since we were leaving the park the next morning, I was not able to go back and verify if the flowers were still in bloom. It was beautiful though!

Quote for the day: “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

Yuma Territorial Prison

Posted on April 20, 2019 by liv2rv

We have finished up our work camping in Yuma, and have moved on to the Phoenix area for a week of relaxation. I will do a final post on our work camping experience, but I wanted to finish up on our Yuma posts first. We always enjoy visiting museums and historical sites, and spent a few hours with our friends Dave and Marilyn visiting the old prison in town.

On July 1, 1876, the Yuma Territorial Prison opened its gates for the first time to prisoners, and continued to accept prisoners, both male and female, until it closed in 1909. The last prisoners were transferred to the new Arizona State Prison in Florence, Arizona.

The prison has an interesting history, and is worth visiting if you are in the Yuma area. Many of the original cell blocks remain, but a lot of the buildings and exterior walls have been demolished to make room for the railroad, or were destroyed in a fire. This is a photograph of the prison complex when it was in full operation. At the time, the Colorado River came right up to the rocks.

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The main guard tower was reconstructed on its original site. The Sally Port remains intact, as well as the buildings behind it, which are not visible on this photo.

Main Guard Tower

The Sally Port is where the prisoners entered/exited the prison. It was large enough to hold a covered wagon, with both doors locked, for unloading the prisoners.

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Six prisoners were assigned to each cell, and in 1901, iron bunks were installed, since the wooden bunks became severely infested with bed bugs.

Marilyn, Dave and Dan

This is the exterior of the six-person cell blocks. The cage on the left is part of the “incorrigible” ward that was built in 1904, and consisted of five steel cages.

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When prisoners misbehaved, they were sent to the “dark cell,” where they endured 24 hours of darkness, along with snakes and bats. As part of the guided tour, you go down the hallway into the dark cell, to experience what it was like. As we discovered, the bats are still there…they didn’t like the flash photography (you can see a few in the photo on the right)

The Yuma prison was “co-ed”, and twenty-nine women spent time in prison (many for adultery). They had a separate cell that was a bit “nicer.”

The prisoners, not surprisingly, hated the place, but the local community thought the prison was more like a country club. The museum contains a lot of interesting information about the prisoners, life at the time, and a display of weapons.

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The Yumans perspective:

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The prisoners perspective:

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In 1910, the Yuma high school burned down, and classes were held in the prison from 1910 – 1914 while a new school was being built. When the Yuma high school football team upset a team from Phoenix, those fans complained it was ‘criminal’ and the school decided to adopt the nickname “Criminals.” That name remains in place today, and their mascot is the face of a hardened criminal. It’s the only school in the country where you can rightfully call the students criminals!

Quote for the day: “He who opens a school door, closes a prison.” – Victor Hugo

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Category Archives: Arizona