Solar Panels

In just a little over a month we will be leaving Yuma and heading out on our second season in our 5^th wheel.  We have spent the winter traveling a little and playing a lot.  We recently returned from a long weekend in Ventura, CA where we visited our friend Heather and Jim aboard their 50 ft catamaran.

Now it is time to get serious about repairs and upgrades to our rig.  Kirby is happy – he has projects!  His largest project is the purchase and installation of solar panels.  So many of the places we want to go do not have electricity available.  Last season we purchased a generator which we used daily while we were at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument last month.  But a generator uses fuel and is noisy.  Solar panels are quiet!

After much research we hit the road for Phoenix where we purchased two- 250 watt panels, loaded them into the back of the truck, made a stop at Home Depot for some tie downs and returned back to Yuma.  It was an easy trip of about three hours each way and we got to see some new country.

Here is Kirby standing next to one of the panels so you can see how big they are - and they are very heavy.

Someone had to go up on the roof and it wasn't going to be me!  A couple of the guys came over to give Kirby a hand at getting them up there.

Here they are all mounted and ready to go.

Life in the Desert

We have been in Yuma, Arizona for three months now and are almost feeling like locals.  When you move around as often as we did last year three months staying put is a long time.  We have found our favorite grocery stores; we frequent Sam’s Club and we know what stores are at the mall.  We have made friends, been to parties, taken lots and lots of bike rides (there are no hills in Yuma!) and are getting to know the desert.

Our day to day life here is very easy and fun.  I really do love our bike rides.  We go for an hour or so and just wander all around the residential streets.  At first there was very little traffic but now we have noticed that at the height of the winter season, the streets are busy all the time.  I read that Yuma’s population doubles in the winter.  Many visitors come just for a couple of months or so.  January and February are probably the busiest.

Kirby and I enjoy each others company and often will sit around the fire and enjoy the evening together.

We have visited the Flea Markets a few times.  Some places would call them Swap Meets.  Whatever they are called, they are mostly stuff we don’t need but it is fun to go and look.  Last week we found a wonderful produce stand.  Yuma calls itself the winter agricultural center of the US with acres and acres of produce growing in the winter.  So we were pleased to find some reasonably price high quality fresh veggies.  And as a bonus, on the weekends they sell fresh local made tamales!  We picked up half a dozen last weekend and they were great!

And speaking of tamales, a few weeks ago I was able to go to the Somerton Tamale Festival.  Kirby had a cold and didn’t feel up to going so I went with my sister and her husband (who live just down the street).  It was awesome!  If you like tamales, you would be in heaven at this place. There were 40 tamale vender booths.  So – that means to try them all you would have to eat at least 40 tamales!  I tried two or three, found a winner and bought some to bring home.  It is really an event not to be missed if you are in the Yuma area in December.

Remember back when we were in Utah and had that blow-out?  We finally had our repair work completed and don’t have to feel embarrassed by the way we look.  CJ’s in Yuma did a great, efficient job in not much time at all.  We were there about eight in the morning and dropped off our “home”.  Then we spent the day having a great breakfast a Mimi’s Café, visiting some Yuma parks, walking along the Colorado River and doing some shopping.  Around three we picked up our “home” and went home!  It didn’t even hurt too much.

The Colorado River

Winter seems to be the best season of all for sunrises and sunsets.  I am still in awe the desert sky.  Most days we have pure sunshine but sometimes at sunrise or sunset there are just enough clouds to give a gift of color.  And the stars at night!  Ah!  This has to be the best place of all to spend the winter!

Fall Update

I have had a few complaints that I haven't posted in a while so I thought I would write a little update on what we have been doing the past few weeks.  First off let me say that we are loving living in Yuma, Arizona.  I really didn't know if I would like it since it is so "BROWN".  But there is a lot that makes up for that.  I absolutely love the sky.  It is big, it is blue, the stars are vivid and the sunsets and sunrises are stunning!  I love the open spaces, the fun friendly people, the great shopping and more.

We begin each day by walking Jake, our dog.  Then we get on our bikes and ride all over our neighborhood for an hour or so.  No hills!  An "old person's" dream!  All the homes are different so we never tire of the views.  I am really into this retirement thing!  Yuma has a few "Flea Markets" where you can get everything and anything you might desire from food to clothing, to furniture to cute little gadgets that you never knew you needed.  It is great entertainment!  Oh, and we found a pub downtown with about 20 different brews on tap.  What a great find - we will certainly go back.

My daughter and I have birthdays just a few days apart so in order to celebrate like we are used to I flew back to Charleston, SC to visit with my wonderful family.  We had such a good time visiting, taking walks, getting a steam bath, visiting with friends, watching TV together, lunching out and shopping.  It was wonderful to be back with them after all these months.  (Kirby and Jake stayed home and kept the home fires burning!)

We have made some friends in Yuma and were invited to a great costume party for Halloween.  We had a blast coming up with our costumes - Trailer Trash!

Our bestest friends from Nova Scotia, Canada, Rick and Tanya, came for a long weekend and we exhausted ourselves trying to pack so much into three days.

So, as you can see, we have been keeping busy in Yuma.  I will try to update regularly so you won't get discouraged!

Tomatoes in May!

While the rest of the country is trying to thaw out from late winter freeze and snow and ice, we are enjoying Red’s vine ripened tomatoes here in Yuma, AZ!  He said that he planted them last November and had to cover them once during the winter when the temps approached freezing.  So here we sit in the beginning of May eating these lush little guys!  It has been over 100 degrees recently so they are getting rather frazzeled.  We are eating them as fast as we can! 

Water

This is the desert, right?  There is water but it is so hard we just can't drink it even with a water filter.  These little stands are all over town.  It is easy and not too expensive.  Certainly cheaper than buying it by the gallon at the store.  Kirby has ordered something simple to soften the water going into our rig to try to protect our pipes and equipment.  I am in a constant battle with hard water deposits in my bathroom and kitchen.  But the desert is so lovely and I the sky is so big and blue!

Yuma, Arizona

This is the view out my front door here in Yuma.  I love all the shades of brown and the textures.  The neighborhood is very interesting.  All of the lots allow a home, a mobile home or up to 2 RV’s.  I have never seen zoning like this before and it is quite interesting.  Each morning I ride my bike around the many streets and enjoy the beautiful homes and the desert landscaping.  Each one is unique.  Some of the homes fill the lots.  Some lots have simply an RV parked on them.  Some have an RV and a small casita with a washer/dryer and storage.  Most have awesome views of the mountains.  My sister’s lot has a gazebo in the middle, a storage unit with a spare refrigerator and another building that has a washer/dryer, a bathroom with shower and a futon for guests.

Yuma has a population of about 100,000 until the snowbirds arrive in the winter.  Then it doubles.  I think most of them are gone now so we are seeing the better part.  I think it will feel much different in the winter.  (We will be here again in the fall and may stay the winter with all the other snowbirds.)  We have been visiting here for years and years.  Sometimes we would stop and spend the night at a motel on our way to or from Mexico when our boat was there.  We even owned a rental home here for a few years. We have seen the growth and the change.  There is a new fantastic hospital downtown which with all the old people probably gets a lot of business.  They built a big mall after we headed east.  Our grocery store is probably the largest, most well stocked store I have ever seen.  I could spend hours in there (and all my money) – if you can think it, they probably have it.  I had forgotten that the produce in the west is better than on the east coast.  (I don’t know about the mid-west)  It is less expensive and fresher.  I am loving that!

So, for now we are here in Yuma and enjoying family!