At 10:30. we were on the road, heading to Quartzsite. Planning to "boondock" - dry-camp - in the desert there for the night.
Along the way, we stopped at Parker Dam, which created the reservoir that is Lake Havasu. Although it is not classified as a wonder of the modern world, it is a spectacular engineering feat in its own right. The trouble is, you can't see what makes it so. It is 320 feet high, 235 feet of which are below the riverbed, making it the "deepest dam in the world". It is a concrete arch-gravity dam across the Colorado River that was built between 1934 and 1938. Unfortunately, due to post 9/11 security concerns, it is closed to RVs and trucks.
The weather remained windy and chilly as we continued on to Quartzsite.
At 12:50, we arrived in Quartzsite and stopped at the RV Show site for lunch. Some vendors are still there, so we wandered around the stalls. Decided to continue on to Yuma, since it was cold & windy and we would prefer to have hookups!
On the way heading south to Yuma, we saw lots of RV's dry camping in the desert! However, that was not for us today.
We entered the Yuma Proving Grounds, which is an immense area where equipment and ammunition are tested.
A few miles further on, we found we were passing fields of crops! In the desert! Most people think of Arizona as a big, dusty desert, they are surprised to learn that agriculture is Yuma County's number one industry - and that Yuma is North America's winter vegetable capital. That's because several things come together here. Plentiful sunshine, rich soil and good water. With mild winters and more than 350 days of sunshine a year, Yuma County enjoys the longest growing season in the country!
Growing more than 175 different crops every year, Yuma agriculture is a $3.2 Billion industry.
At 4:50, we arrived at Southern Mesa RV Park, south of Mesa. It has Wi-Fi!
Winds have subsided and temperatures are supposed to return to normal tomorrow.
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