January 2004 .............

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument: In the park there are two roads, one 17 miles and the other much longer. Last time we were there we took the 17 mile trip and it took almost three hours. The longer road is now closed for repairs, not sure for how long. This is the only place North of Mexico that Organ Pipe Cactus grow. There is also an abundance of Teddy Bear and Jumping Cholla Cactus. Both appear very soft and fuzzy, however if you get close they seem to "jump" at you. They have barbs on the ends and once they are attached it almost takes an act of God to pry them loose. Saquaro Cactus and the Creosote bush must be the hardiest because they are everywhere. If you pinch the leaves of the Creosote bush the smell of creosote is very strong. When most cactus is small it grows by a "nurse" tree, the tree shelters it and gives it nourishment. As the cactus gets larger it will take all the nourishment and water and eventually kill the nurse tree. Update: 2010 the longer road has been closed because it's so close to Mexico.

January 2004 .............

Yuma: Planned on staying for a month, however the wind never stopped blowing and the golf course in the park wasn't very good (Westwind RV & Golf Resort), the T's were rubber mats, so we left after two weeks. The town square in Old Town is well worth a visit and the produce that's grown there is very good. Yuma is very dusty, guess it's just not our cup of tea. Took a side trip to KOFA National Wildlife Refuge, drove down a dirt track that took three hours to drive 20 miles. Laurel drove and had a ball, however ran over a Teddy Bear Cactus when pulling off the track to let someone pass going the other way. Parts of the cactus were still sticking in the tire two weeks later, messing with cactus is not a good thing to do. As we were leaving the refuse we came to a Mining Museum, drove up and discovered it was closed. Looked in the door to see what was there, then looked over the fence to see the old buildings. Another mistake, a guy came out with a rifle and asked "what do you want?" Told him we were just looking, he informed us it was closed, it was private property and we should get out. He didn't point the gun at us but we got the message and left quickly. Just another adventure on the road!

January 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010.............

Sky Dive Arizona: East of CG in Eloy. It's a neat facility that has classrooms, a bunk house, rec hall, pool, restaurant, bar, general store, equipment sales and sky diving instructors, and the largest drop zone in the world. There is also camping and RV hookups. There are over 150,000 jumps made each year, they have 5 airplanes and can take up to 140 jumpers at one time, and average 340 flying days a year. There is no charge to watch, just take a lawn chair or blanket. First time jumps with an instructor are around $140., with your own equipment average $18. a jump. When we returned in 2007 we found they have added a SkyVenture Tunnel, that simulates skydiving. The Put this on your "must see" list as you travel around the country. Visit their web site at www.skydiveaz.com

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