A Change Of Scenery

After three weeks in Tucson, we were ready for a change of scenery. So yesterday morning we fired up the Cummins diesel engine in our Winnebago and hit the road, headed for Yuma.

It was close to 11 a.m. when we left the Pima County Fairgrounds RV park and even though morning rush hour was over, traffic was still pretty hectic, especially in the section along Interstate 10 that is under a perpetual state of road construction that never seems to end. Once we were away from the metropolitan area things got better and we rolled right along, and before we knew it we were getting onto Interstate 8 and headed west.

There isn’t much to see for the next 165 miles or so but cactus. Lots and lots of cactus. Or cacti, I guess, if one wants to be completely correct. These saguaros can grow to be between 40-60 feet tall and can live to be as much as 200 years old.

We passed Gila Bend without stopping because, well, we’ve been to Gila Bend. Nuff said?

Actually, it’s not all that bad. The Elks lodge there has dry camping, there is a nice little Passport America RV park, a good Mexican restaurant, and the last time we were there they even welcomed aliens. At least the ones from outer space!

There wasn’t much traffic as we motored along, and except for one potty stop, I never touched the brake pedal until we started the short climb over the top of the mountains just east of Yuma. The downhill grade was easy with our exhaust brake and before we knew it we were taking the Foothills Boulevard exit and headed for our friends Charles and Chris Yust’s lot. They are working a vendor booth at the Big Tent in Quartzsite, helping RVers with their insurance and extended warranty needs.

Charles and Chris handle all of our insurance needs, and we trust them to tell us what we need to know when making insurance decisions. Having been burned by one of the big outfits in the RV insurance industry after our burglary a few years ago, it’s nice to know they have our back.

You know you’re in Yuma when you see water stations like this all over the place. The water here is terrible and most folks use bottled water.

We plan to chill out here for a few days, catch up on some writing and maybe visit with some folks. We have a lot of friends in the area and we know we can’t get to everybody, but we’ll try.

So far almost 100 people have signed up for this week’s Free Drawing for an audiobook of Birdsongs, by my friend Jason Deas. It’s the first book in Jason’s excellent Benny James mystery series, a fast-paced mystery centered on former FBI agent Benny James, who hoped to retire to a slower paced lifestyle on a houseboat but finds himself drawn into a murder investigation. All you have to do is click this Free Drawing link and enter your name in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn Sunday evening.

Bad Nick has been way too quiet lately, but he’s back with a new Bad Nick Blog titled I Have To Laugh. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Life is too short for fake butter, cheese, or people.

Check Out Nick’s E-Books In Our E-Book Store

Click Here For Back Issues Of The Gypsy Journal

Click Here To Subscribe To The Gypsy Journal