Friday
After spending time at Lake Havasu we moved North to I40 and crossed the Colorado River into California with fear and trepidation as Sally’s Easter Lily (given by the First Christian Church in Pheonix), which has been such a wonderful plant, was now in danger! From the Federales! We had to pass through the dreaded Agriculltural Border Checkpoint, which clearly states that you may not bring soil into the state of California (unless it is used for plants that have been grown entirely indoors), so Lily may be confiscated as an illegal alien. We were fully prepare to argue that it was an indoor plant, but had no proof since it had been given to us in its mature state. We pulled up at the checkpoint, wound down the window, the officer asked if we had any firewood! To which we answered not and we were on our way with Lily still intact and seated on the back seat of the van. The first town you come to in California is called Needles. We planned to stay here for a night
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Lily the illegal alien
After spending time at Lake Havasu we moved North to I40 and crossed the Colorado River into California with fear and trepidation as Sally’s Easter Lily (given by the First Christian Church in Pheonix), which has been such a wonderful plant, was now in danger! From the Federales! We had to pass through the dreaded Agriculltural Border Checkpoint, which clearly states that you may not bring soil into the state of California (unless it is used for plants that have been grown entirely indoors), so Lily may be confiscated as an illegal alien. We were fully prepare to argue that it was an indoor plant, but had no proof since it had been given to us in its mature state. We pulled up at the checkpoint, wound down the window, the officer asked if we had any firewood! To which we answered not and we were on our way with Lily still intact and seated on the back seat of the van. The first town you come to in California is called Needles. We planned to stay here for a night
April 4th - Buckskin Mountain and Lake Havasu
Thursday We are now heading North along the East side of the Colorado River to visit Lake Havasu. We took AZ Highway 95, which is long and very straight, cutting straight through the Yuma Army Proving Grounds to Quartzsite. (not to be confused with the CA Highway 95, which runs up the West side of the Colorado River, although at one point, in Needles they actually meet on a bridge cross the Colorado). WE now left the Sonoran Desert, seeing that last Saguaro somewhere south of Parker. We stopped just North of Parker at the very pretty AZ Buckskin Mountain state Park, right on the edge of the river. A beautiful park only marred by the enormous number of recreational boats moving up and down the river, jet skis, ski boats, pontoon boats, power boats. Good fun to watch, but a constant noise. We discovered that the river from Parker to Lake Havasu is one enormous water activity centre. Footnote. Interestingly the weather in Yuma was getting noticeably warmer, with the temp creeping above 100F, so the tourist season was winding down for the hot summer. Whereas in Parker, 150 miles North, the temperature was getting noticeably warmer, with the temperature creeping above 100F and yet the summer tourist season was just starting! Go figure. (as they say over here). Lake Havasu and its links to London On Saturday, after our two nights at Buckskin Mountain, which were very pleasant, we were ready to move on. We planned to take a very short drive to Needles, just 70 miles north, but to stop off in Lake Havasu to visit the Famous London Bridge. We found the bridge without any trouble. It was bought by a man named McCulloch in 1968 , dismantled, stone by stone, transported to the middle of the desert and rebuilt by 1971. (Now a theory exists that the guy must have been insane, can’t imagine why). Then they dug a channel beneath the bridge to connect two more bits of desert together. Then they waited until the tide came in (a bit like Noah), in the form of Lake Havasu, which is a reservoir about 50 miles long which has been made by damming the Colorado at the Parker Dam. Now the bridge sits happily spanning a beautiful blue expanse of water. A far cry from its dirty damp days in the middle of London.
Buckskin Mountain and Lake Havasu
Thursday We are now heading North along the East side of the Colorado River to visit Lake Havasu. We took AZ Highway 95, which is long and very straight, cutting straight through the Yuma Army Proving Grounds to Quartzsite. (not to be confused with the CA Highway 95, which runs up the West side of the Colorado River, although at one point, in Needles they actually meet on a bridge cross the Colorado). WE now left the Sonoran Desert, seeing that last Saguaro somewhere south of Parker. We stopped just North of Parker at the very pretty AZ Buckskin Mountain state Park, right on the edge of the river. A beautiful park only marred by the enormous number of recreational boats moving up and down the river, jet skis, ski boats, pontoon boats, power boats. Good fun to watch, but a constant noise. We discovered that the river from Parker to Lake Havasu is one enormous water activity centre. Footnote. Interestingly the weather in Yuma was getting noticeably warmer, with the temp creeping above 100F, so the tourist season was winding down for the hot summer. Whereas in Parker, 150 miles North, the temperature was getting noticeably warmer, with the temperature creeping above 100F and yet the summer tourist season was just starting! Go figure. (as they say over here). Lake Havasu and its links to London On Saturday, after our two nights at Buckskin Mountain, which were very pleasant, we were ready to move on. We planned to take a very short drive to Needles, just 70 miles north, but to stop off in Lake Havasu to visit the Famous London Bridge. We found the bridge without any trouble. It was bought by a man named McCulloch in 1968 , dismantled, stone by stone, transported to the middle of the desert and rebuilt by 1971. (Now a theory exists that the guy must have been insane, can’t imagine why). Then they dug a channel beneath the bridge to connect two more bits of desert together. Then they waited until the tide came in (a bit like Noah), in the form of Lake Havasu, which is a reservoir about 50 miles long which has been made by damming the Colorado at the Parker Dam. Now the bridge sits happily spanning a beautiful blue expanse of water. A far cry from its dirty damp days in the middle of London.
April 3rd - Playing In The Sand
Wednesday
Determined to have a quiet day we took a short ride to look at the local desert. This is the largest expanse of Sand Dunes in North America, known as the North American Sahara. We only got to the South East corner of this 30 mile stretch of sand dunes, but it was enough to see how amazing the landscape is. We sat for a bit, I went for a walk up a dune to see the view, with the temperature now over 100 degs F in the shade (oh! there is none) it was not a long walk. Then as we sat a guy came up and offered us a ride on his Dune Buggy, well that was a great idea (of course he wanted payment for it) so, Sally went first, donning the crash helmet and thoroughly enjoying herself, she went speeding off over the dunes with Dennis the Dune Buggy Driver. Only to return sometime later still with a big grin, having enjoyed it all the way. Now it was my turn and after putting on the helmet we sped off into the desert, like a modern day Lawrence of Arabia, nothing around us but sand, sand and more sand. Riding up impossible slopes, looking at the sky beneath us as we drove over crests, then hurtling down (what seemed) vertical cliff faces al made for a very enjoyable ride. At one point we stopped in the midst of …. Nowhere! Dennis pointed to a dune and told me that was the spot where they filmed scenes from Return of the Jedhi. There was actually a small gravel patch which had been imported for some reason for the film (to create a stable platform for filming from?). We then rolled over the dunes some more before returning to Sally, the van and safety. We both agreed that this was real serendipity – unexpected good things. We both really enjoyed our trip in the desert. Following this we drove back to Yuma and had our lunch at the small Gateway Park, which is a public beach next to the Colorado River and Yuma State Prison (now closed), right next to the place where trains first entered California in 18 something.
Playing In The Sand
Wednesday
Determined to have a quiet day we took a short ride to look at the local desert. This is the largest expanse of Sand Dunes in North America, known as the North American Sahara. We only got to the South East corner of this 30 mile stretch of sand dunes, but it was enough to see how amazing the landscape is. We sat for a bit, I went for a walk up a dune to see the view, with the temperature now over 100 degs F in the shade (oh! there is none) it was not a long walk. Then as we sat a guy came up and offered us a ride on his Dune Buggy, well that was a great idea (of course he wanted payment for it) so, Sally went first, donning the crash helmet and thoroughly enjoying herself, she went speeding off over the dunes with Dennis the Dune Buggy Driver. Only to return sometime later still with a big grin, having enjoyed it all the way. Now it was my turn and after putting on the helmet we sped off into the desert, like a modern day Lawrence of Arabia, nothing around us but sand, sand and more sand. Riding up impossible slopes, looking at the sky beneath us as we drove over crests, then hurtling down (what seemed) vertical cliff faces al made for a very enjoyable ride. At one point we stopped in the midst of …. Nowhere! Dennis pointed to a dune and told me that was the spot where they filmed scenes from Return of the Jedhi. There was actually a small gravel patch which had been imported for some reason for the film (to create a stable platform for filming from?). We then rolled over the dunes some more before returning to Sally, the van and safety. We both agreed that this was real serendipity – unexpected good things. We both really enjoyed our trip in the desert. Following this we drove back to Yuma and had our lunch at the small Gateway Park, which is a public beach next to the Colorado River and Yuma State Prison (now closed), right next to the place where trains first entered California in 18 something.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Yuma Crossing
Tuesday April 2nd
We arrived in Yuma and are staying at a very nice RV park, quite quiet as many of the Canadian Snowbirds have now left to return home for the summer.
Yuma is tucked right into the bottom left hand corner of Arizona. It is there because it is one of the few places where one could reliably cross the Colorado river. It is also the highest navigable point on the Colorado, so food and material could be shipped from the sea some 240 miles to here. These two factors meant that in the 19th Century it became the East West Route of choice to get to California. It also became the army supply depot for the whole South West, stuff was sent round the Horn and then distributed via mule train to the army forts. Once the railroad came the geographical reason for it went away, but it still remains a very important army base. It has the famous Yuma Proving Grounds, where military equipment of all sorts is tested. The original supply base, or Quartermaster Stores, is now a State Park, so we visited it in the morning, which is of course where we found out all this information. We were also fascinated to learn that Yuma is the place where the Colorado was first dammed to provide irrigation for the agriculture. The city proudly boasts that it grows 90% of the leaf salad in the U.S.A. It is the Lettuce Capital of the world!.
Today we had fixed up to visit with some British people we had met in the laundry at Whispering Palms in Tuscon. We arranged to meet in Applebee's, where we had a very pleasant lunch, talking over the travels we had been on. Talking away the day is very tiring so siesta time called.
We arrived in Yuma and are staying at a very nice RV park, quite quiet as many of the Canadian Snowbirds have now left to return home for the summer.
Yuma is tucked right into the bottom left hand corner of Arizona. It is there because it is one of the few places where one could reliably cross the Colorado river. It is also the highest navigable point on the Colorado, so food and material could be shipped from the sea some 240 miles to here. These two factors meant that in the 19th Century it became the East West Route of choice to get to California. It also became the army supply depot for the whole South West, stuff was sent round the Horn and then distributed via mule train to the army forts. Once the railroad came the geographical reason for it went away, but it still remains a very important army base. It has the famous Yuma Proving Grounds, where military equipment of all sorts is tested. The original supply base, or Quartermaster Stores, is now a State Park, so we visited it in the morning, which is of course where we found out all this information. We were also fascinated to learn that Yuma is the place where the Colorado was first dammed to provide irrigation for the agriculture. The city proudly boasts that it grows 90% of the leaf salad in the U.S.A. It is the Lettuce Capital of the world!.
Today we had fixed up to visit with some British people we had met in the laundry at Whispering Palms in Tuscon. We arranged to meet in Applebee's, where we had a very pleasant lunch, talking over the travels we had been on. Talking away the day is very tiring so siesta time called.
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| From Drop Box |
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Easter Sunday in Phoenix
We have enjoyed being in Phoenix and so stayed on for a few more days than we had planned. On the Saturday night our neighbours invited us to go eat with them at a Mexican restaurant, it was great fun, I had the Chimychanga, Sally a shrimp salad with rice, very nice. Lots of laughs at how three couples with such different backgrounds can have such similar ways of handling their relationship with each other.
View all
So we are staying here for Easter Sunday. I had spotted a very interesting looking church round the corner from our RV Park - The First Christian Church on 7th Ave. It is a very interesting building, Frank Lloyd Wright designed it for a Seminary somewhere else, but it was never used until this church came along and used the plans (in 1971) for their new church. The building itself is a wonderful piece of architecture, however on checking our their website it also seemed to be a good church community, so we decided to go there for their Easter Sunday Service. It was a really good service, very free, great music, with a good challenging sermon. Sally and I were both quite moved.Following the service, and lunch in Wildflower Bakery, I took Sally to a 'local' (13 miles away) park, called McCormick Railroad Park. It is a community park which has lots to do with trains, it is run by volunteers. It is also the place to go for Ester Sunday Picnic with the family, there seemed to be thousands of people there. It was great fun. We rode on the miniature train, which goes right round the park, we (being the train load in general, as well as us) waved at everyone, they waved at us. It was great to see so many families out in the sunshine with their picnic stuff BBQ's, coolers, toys, skateboards, kites. There is a small carousel, a whole load of train museum stuff, including the Presidential train from 1921. It is also the resting place for the Arizona Merci Boxcar, talked about in a previous blog, so we saw that. They also have a pavilion for Model Train Layouts. There are 4 layouts set up by local model train clubs. we were entranced by these toy trains, the level of detail and the sheer scale of them. What was to be a quick look turned into a couple of hours. We were even invited to go into the club members area to look in more detail at one train layout. Thank you to a guy named Paul, who showed us round. So once more we had a great day and returned to our trailer tired but happy.
Tomorrow we move on to Yuma.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Merci Train UPDATE!!!
I do so enjoy discovering things.
While looking into the Merci Train we both had the feeling that they were familiar, but could not place where, or if we had seen one before, So I returned to the Merci Train website and checked more carefully the locations of the boxcars in all states we have passed through. Using Google maps, satellite views and Street view I could then cross reference the locations with our photos. I looked again at Jackson, we were so close to that one. The boxcar in Bristol, Tennessee was close to us, we may have driven past it, but the map shows that it's location cannot be seen from the road. Lastly I looked at Louisiana. The boxcar was displayed at the Old State Capitol, well we had visited the new State Capitol, but could not recall going to the old one. However as soon as I brought it up on Street View I recognized the building, so then checked on our blog archive - found it on 21st October 2012. We had heard about the Downtown Friday Concerts, a series of concert held in a public square, just by the Old State Capitol Building Friday evenings, this week was to be Zydeco! So we had driven into Baton rouge after lunch and parked the car nearby. As we arrived early we had toured the Old Capitol and then gone for a coffee. I re-read the blog. But while I have recorded our visit to the Old State Capitol, there was no mention of the Merci Boxcar and no photos of our visit. In fact I had been quite dismissive of the exhibits there, with the exception of the fine staircase.
So I then checked the Photo Albums on Picasa and lo and behold, there was and album showing our visit and a careful search showed that in the background to a couple of the pics and one video is the Louisiana Boxcar!! More than that, I then searched through our photo archive and found it! We had actually had a look at it and examined it close up, but I had not included the picture in the blog. So here are those pictures.
Oh I am so easily pleased!!! But I had tracked down that little niggle. Yes!
While looking into the Merci Train we both had the feeling that they were familiar, but could not place where, or if we had seen one before, So I returned to the Merci Train website and checked more carefully the locations of the boxcars in all states we have passed through. Using Google maps, satellite views and Street view I could then cross reference the locations with our photos. I looked again at Jackson, we were so close to that one. The boxcar in Bristol, Tennessee was close to us, we may have driven past it, but the map shows that it's location cannot be seen from the road. Lastly I looked at Louisiana. The boxcar was displayed at the Old State Capitol, well we had visited the new State Capitol, but could not recall going to the old one. However as soon as I brought it up on Street View I recognized the building, so then checked on our blog archive - found it on 21st October 2012. We had heard about the Downtown Friday Concerts, a series of concert held in a public square, just by the Old State Capitol Building Friday evenings, this week was to be Zydeco! So we had driven into Baton rouge after lunch and parked the car nearby. As we arrived early we had toured the Old Capitol and then gone for a coffee. I re-read the blog. But while I have recorded our visit to the Old State Capitol, there was no mention of the Merci Boxcar and no photos of our visit. In fact I had been quite dismissive of the exhibits there, with the exception of the fine staircase.
So I then checked the Photo Albums on Picasa and lo and behold, there was and album showing our visit and a careful search showed that in the background to a couple of the pics and one video is the Louisiana Boxcar!! More than that, I then searched through our photo archive and found it! We had actually had a look at it and examined it close up, but I had not included the picture in the blog. So here are those pictures.
Oh I am so easily pleased!!! But I had tracked down that little niggle. Yes!
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Downtown Phoenix
Friday
We decided to visit downtown Phoenix today.
Phoenix is the State Capital, which means that it has the State Capitol building. In this case the original building is now a museum. As so few people were visiting we were given a personal tour round the building by one of the volunteers, which was very interesting.
The building reflects Arizona is many ways, it is quite pretty, but small and AZ has always been minimalist its political process (history of public lynchings may have a bearing here). It also prides itself (as I am sure most states do) on going its own way. It was the last area of the 'contiguous 48 states' to receive statehood, February 14th 1912, with New Mexico beating it by a month. It is probably the most active in its support of the 2nd amendment. Incredibly rich in mineral resources, it is the second largest produce of copper, after Chile, in the world.
The State Capitol is now a museum which has exhibits which display much of Arizona's brief history. Very much to the fore is the fate of U.S.S. Arizona ( sunk in the raid on Pearl Harbor, now a monument in Pearl Harbor and a symbol to all Americans).
Frank Lloyd Wright used to live in Phoenix in the winter and there are several of his buildings to the East of Phoenix. He also designed a new State Capitol for Phoenix, a beautiful building, but the design was not adopted as it was too expensive. The newer, functional, precast concrete jungle buildings so common in the early 60's, now surround the the old capitol.
Among a number of interesting exhibits was some of the contents of Arizona's Merci Train Boxcar. Also an exhibit about the Harvey Girls, as well as a photographic exhibit about Native Americans in the 19th century.
Following our tour round the Capitol we strolled the lovely gardens which surround it. The gardens are full of memorials to historical events. We read the time line of the Vietnam war, which now makes for horrendous reading with more than half a million US troops fighting there, it really does seem a senseless war there now.
We decided to visit downtown Phoenix today.
Phoenix is the State Capital, which means that it has the State Capitol building. In this case the original building is now a museum. As so few people were visiting we were given a personal tour round the building by one of the volunteers, which was very interesting.
The building reflects Arizona is many ways, it is quite pretty, but small and AZ has always been minimalist its political process (history of public lynchings may have a bearing here). It also prides itself (as I am sure most states do) on going its own way. It was the last area of the 'contiguous 48 states' to receive statehood, February 14th 1912, with New Mexico beating it by a month. It is probably the most active in its support of the 2nd amendment. Incredibly rich in mineral resources, it is the second largest produce of copper, after Chile, in the world.
The State Capitol is now a museum which has exhibits which display much of Arizona's brief history. Very much to the fore is the fate of U.S.S. Arizona ( sunk in the raid on Pearl Harbor, now a monument in Pearl Harbor and a symbol to all Americans).
Frank Lloyd Wright used to live in Phoenix in the winter and there are several of his buildings to the East of Phoenix. He also designed a new State Capitol for Phoenix, a beautiful building, but the design was not adopted as it was too expensive. The newer, functional, precast concrete jungle buildings so common in the early 60's, now surround the the old capitol.
Among a number of interesting exhibits was some of the contents of Arizona's Merci Train Boxcar. Also an exhibit about the Harvey Girls, as well as a photographic exhibit about Native Americans in the 19th century.
Following our tour round the Capitol we strolled the lovely gardens which surround it. The gardens are full of memorials to historical events. We read the time line of the Vietnam war, which now makes for horrendous reading with more than half a million US troops fighting there, it really does seem a senseless war there now.
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