OUT AND ABOUT IN YUMA

Monday, February 6 – We walked on the East Wetlands Trail this morning in Yuma, AZ.

This is a nice walking/biking trail that runs along the Colorado River. It appears to be a work in progress. Much of the trails, benches, informative signage, etc. is complete, but they continue to do work in the area expanding and improving things. A pretty nice park for the people of Yuma.

Herb Guenther Scenic Overlook.

One attraction along the path is the Prison Cemetery. It is in memory of the inmates who lost their life while serving their sentence at the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma. Of the 3,069 sentenced to the Prison, 111 met their death by disease, accident, murder, suicide and escape attempts.

Another historic site is the Ocean-to-Ocean bridge built in 1915. The Bridge was the first highway span over the lower Colorado River. It proved to be the crucial link that made a southern transcontinental highway possible.

Car bridge on the left; railroad bridge on the right.

After our walk along the river, we drove over to Old Town Yuma.

Many of the store fronts are closed or out of business, but the restaurants and bars seem to be doing a pretty good business.

Hotel Del Sol built in 1927, originally called the Hotel Ming, closed down in the 1970’s. It has fallen into disrepair and has been occupied only by squatters.

Hotel Del Sol (Hotel Of The Sun)

The Roundabout in the center of town.

There are several short plazas that led back to shops and wineries.

We stopped at the Prison Hill Brewery for a beverage and a little lunch. A nice place and pretty busy on a Monday afternoon.

There is artwork on many of the corners.

We met up with RV friends for dinner at Lutes Casino.

Not really a casino anymore, but they are famous for their good sandwiches. We weren't disappointed! Very good food and the interior of this place is nearly indescribable. All kinds of old movie posters, antiques, and one of a kind memorabilia. Stuff hanging everywhere.

First we have to get our photo taken.

We had a great dinner and a wonderful time with friends.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

DENTIST VISIT AND SWAP MEET IN YUMA

Friday, February 3 – We returned to Algodones this morning for our 9 a.m. dentist appointment. This is our first experience with Sani Dental Group.

They have a great idea in the works. A hotel, shuttle from the airport, streamlined appointments, and everything from cleaning to extensive dental surgery.

We only wanted x-rays and cleaning. Unfortunately, we had to get the complete introductory visit which included a registration process, complete 360 x-rays, a dental exam and treatment recommendation, our cleaning, and final payment process.

Each patient is given a card to keep track of the time of each visit. No one is to wait more than 40 minutes for any process.

We both felt the x-ray, exam and cleaning were all done in a professional manner. Unfortunately, it took way too much time. We were in the office for two hours. We had to inform them we had other commitments or we would have been there longer. We felt they took cross selling very seriously and wanted us to commit to additional treatments. Cost: $39.00/each for x-rays and cleaning.

The facility is very clean and very modern.

After our cleaning, we did a little shopping and then headed to the central patio to meet friends Janice and Jerry for lunch. We enjoyed margaritas, some tacos and a few laughs before getting in line to cross back into the United States.

The Margaritas went down very smoothly. The food was delicious.

They really know how to make Margaritas in Mexico. This guy is constantly busy making the national drink.

Adding the Tequila to the mix.

Finishing it off with the Orange Liqueur.

Once again the line to pass through immigration was long. It took us just under an hour to cross back into the USA.

Saturday, February 4 – It is Swap Meet Day here in Yuma, AZ. We hit three of them. Our first stop was at the Yuma Swap Meet. We remember attending this market the last time we were in Yuma and it really hasn't gotten any better. We rank this #2 of the three we attended. Paul did by a package of short bungee cords though.

Seems to be a very popular item at swamp meets.

One of Paul’s favorite stands…hehe.

Marsha doesn’t understand how a gal buys any of these clothes when there isn’t a dressing room to try them on.


Our next stop was at the Arizona Market Place. This was by far the nicest of the three. They also seem to target RV'ers with products they might be looking for. Paul's been watching for a new outdoor chair and he found a nice one at this market. He also bought some LED replacement bulbs he wanted to try. Marsha found a couple items she could use.

Paul doing some “window” shopping.

Socks are a hot item.

Our third stop was at the Yuma Indoor Market which was more like a consignment craft store and not very big to boot! Sorry to say it took last place in our swap meet survey. We were only there about five minutes. The good news was it was close to a place we've been looking to stop at........IN-N-OUT Burger! What a great place for lunch.

We love In-N-Out Burger.


We met up with friends, Laura and Ray, at the Yuma Elks Lodge tonight. They are friends we met at the Houston Elks Lodge and arranged to meet tonight for a couple drinks. They are spending the winter here in Yuma. It was a great time catching up.

We are now in Ajo, AZ. We still have a few things to share about our visit in Yuma.  We will get caught up one day. Just so much to see and do here in the desert state.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

A DAY IN LOS ALGODONES, MX

Thursday, February 2 – We traveled from Yuma, AZ, the short distance to Algodones, MX, this morning. We wanted to find the dentist office where we have an appointment tomorrow to get our teeth cleaned. We also planned to do a little sightseeing and window shopping.

We have been to Mexico border cites numerous times especially Los Algodones and Nuevo Progresso (across the border in South Texas). We found the street merchants here in Algodones a little more aggressive than those in Progresso and prices a little higher. It's still a fun experience.

The Purple Store is our go-to store for medicine and liquor.

The following photos are just a glimpse of Los Algodones, MX.

They have some beautiful patio areas to enjoy food and drink.

We did purchase a couple gifts, and Paul got a couple prescriptions filled. The margaritas were big and great too!

We spent about three hours strolling around town before we decided it was time to get in line for the trip across the border to re-enter the U.S. This is another difference between the two Mexican cities. It takes about 10-15 minutes to cross at Nuevo Progresso. We spent over an hour waiting in line today at Los Algodones. This was the case the last two times we crossed here in the past. Something we can't figure out.

Can you see the end of the line waaaaay down the street? That is where we had to start.

We will tell you about our dentist experience in the next post.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!