Settled In At Yuma

When the alarm went off at 7:15 yesterday morning, we both wanted to throw it out the window and roll over for another 400 winks. I mean, what the heck good is a measly 40 winks going to do anybody? But alas, it was one of those days when we had to act like grownups and be responsible. We needed to  get ready for our trip to Yuma, so we reluctantly got in gear.

Anytime we are getting ready to travel, after sitting still for a while, we have things that need to be put away so they don’t fall over and get broken, or become a deadly missile if we were to have an accident. Terry did a lot of that the night before, so once I had grabbed a bowl of cereal and checked my e-mail, she finished up, while I went outside to disconnect our utility hookups, rolled up our window awnings, and read the electric meter.

Back inside, I started the engine, brought in our slide rooms, and then retracted our HWH leveling jacks. I pulled out of our site, we hooked up the Explorer to our tow bar, did a light check, and were on the road by 9:15.

We had an easy 55 mile run south to Casa Grande, where we pulled into a shopping center and unhooked the Explorer so I could drive into town to pick up the rally T-shirts from our screen printer, while Terry stayed with the motorhome. In less than an hour  I was back, we were hooked up again, and back on Interstate 10.

Just south of Casa Grande, we got onto Interstate 8 and drove another 55 miles to Gila Bend. There is a lot of road construction on that stretch of roadway, and the lanes are uneven. I didn’t realize just how uneven they were until I had to move over into the left lane to pass a slow moving vehicle, and we bounced around when we dropped down three or four inches, then did the same thing after I had passed and pulled back into the right lane. I’m glad we weren’t going too fast, that could cause an ugly accident!

We stopped in Gila Bend long enough to hook up with our pals Greg and Jan White, who had pulled out of their campground and were waiting for us in their American Eagle diesel pusher, then both RVs got back on the road, headed west. It was another 120 miles to Yuma, and we cruised along at 60 miles per hour, only slowing down when we climbed up to Telegraph Pass, in the Gila Mountains just east of Yuma.

While we stopped at the Flying J for fuel, Greg and Jan continued on to the fairgrounds, a few miles further west. By the time we had topped off our tank, at $3.65 a gallon (ouch!), and made it to the fairgrounds, Greg and Jan, and Tom and Barbara Westfield, had their toads unhooked and were waiting for us in the front parking lot, which has been blacktopped since we we here last year.

After welcoming hugs all around, I checked in at the office to let them know that we were here with our advance rally staff, and then we all got parked next to a set of horse barns on the back side of the fairgrounds. We only have 20 amp electric and water here, but we’re out of the way of a gun show that is being held at the fairgrounds this weekend, and then the Good Sam rally that starts next week.

Once we were parked and hooked up, we did what all RVers do whenever they get together, we went out to eat! Yuma has a good selection of restaurants to choose from, and since Miss Terry had been wanting Mexican food, we went to Chretins, which has been serving hungry travelers and locals since 1946. For our rally last year, they donated a couple of meals for door prizes, and we believe in spending our money with the businesses who support us.

We had a good time eating and catching up with our friends. Tom and Barb are experienced RVers, and a couple of months ago, they took the plunge and became fulltimers. Barb said they must be doing something right, because they haven’t killed each other yet! 🙂

Since I was in the presence of techno-geeks, I took advantage of the situation and picked Tom and Barb’s brains about apps for my Android phone, downloading a neat free app called Google Sky Map, which lets me point my phone at the sky, and it shows me what all of the stars and constellations are that I am looking at up there. I also downloaded a free app that Greg recommended, called Poynt, which is great for finding everything from movie times and restaurants, to the cheapest gas and diesel fuel, wherever I am.

Another fun free app I downloaded is C:geo, which works with the Geocaching website, to let me find geocaches near me, and then use my phone’s GPS feature to take me right to it. Isn’t technology a wonderful thing? During our Gypsy Gathering rally, Barbara will be leading a panel discussion titled Are You Smarter Than Your Smart Phone,  that will teach folks all kinds of neat things they can do with these high tech gadgets.

Between now and the rally, we’ll be busy with a 1,001 last minute details. But I bet we’ll find time to work our way through our list of great restaurants in town too! 🙂

Thought For The Day – We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

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