A Walk Along the Once-Mighty Colorado River At Yuma, Arizona

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. Less than 1/2 mile away is the Colorado River and on the other side…the sunniest place on Earth…Yuma, Arizona. I’m here hanging out and enjoying the nice weather. I have several friends in the area. Mary is now expecting to rejoin me here in mid-February.

I’ve been coming to this Yuma, Arizona area coming on to 20 years and have thoroughly explored the area. Rather than go back to these various places and re-create the wheel, (unless I do something different and unusual) I’m electing to republish some of my earlier blog entries while I await Mary’s arrival.

Here’s a reprint of the blog entry from December 23, 2013…

Less than 1/2 mile away is a very famous place of history in the southwestern United States…Yuma Crossing. If you are not familiar with this history, you can read all about it by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

Yesterday morning Randy and I took his truck and drove across the Colorado River to take a walk south along the river on the California side. Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Once a mile wide this once mighty river has been tamed by man. Interstate Highway 8 passes overhead…

Lots of tall brush along the river provides a living place for lots of homeless people…

We got invited into a camp of a 36-year-old man, his wife and small dog…

They have a waterfront location…

A homeless man crosses an irrigation canal…

A deserted house…

Someone still living here…

Heading back north we could see old Fort Yuma on the hill in Arizona…

The first bridge is part of the original Coast-to-Coast Highway. The rear bridge is for the railroad. Just past the bridges on the right is the location of the old Yuma Territorial Prison…

Another view of the bridges…

The original bridge looking towards Arizona on the other side is one-way controlled by traffic lights…

A short distance later looking to the right you can see part of the parking lot of the Paradise Casino. Randy’s RV is #1 and mine is #2…

End of Blog reprint…

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

Yesterday was a sunny day at 75 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 78 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2015

Two Unusual Happenings…

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. Less than 1/2 mile away is the Colorado River and on the other side…the sunniest place on Earth…Yuma, Arizona. I’m here hanging out and enjoying the nice weather. I have several friends in the area. Mary is now expecting to rejoin me here in later January.

I’ve been coming to this Yuma, Arizona area coming on to 20 years and have thoroughly explored the area. Rather than go back to these various places and re-create the wheel, (unless I do something different and unusual) I’m electing to republish some of my earlier blog entries while I await Mary’s arrival.

Here’s a reprint of the blog entry from December 28 2013…

Two Unusual Happenings Yesterday…

Normally I do not like to close the curtains of my motorhome at night…kind of makes it feel like the inside of a coffin. But while here because of the cold nights and having to light the catalytic heater about 3:00 AM, I’ve been closing the curtains to help retain the heat inside the motorhome.

Yesterday morning when I opened the front curtains at 7:30 AM, this is what I saw…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

A hot air balloon in the process of being inflated here in the casino parking lot. I’ve not seen this activity in the numerous times I have parked here. That’s my friend Randy’s travel trailer on the right…

A few moments later it was upright…

A closer view of the adding of the hot air from the gas burners…

Just about ready…

And away they go…

A closer view of the cockpit and passenger basket…

This time of the year the wind is out of the North, so they are heading South. I hope they know what they are doing as Mexico is only about 20 miles south of here….

I hope they have their passports with them!  🙂

Watching all of that activity reminded me of the time Mary and I got an unexpected hot air balloon ride in Gallup, New Mexico last year. You can read about that event by clicking this Blog link… http://wp.me/pDCku-4xW

The other unusual happening occurred later in the morning while Randy, his friend Anne and myself were taking our morning walk over and around the old Fort Yuma Crossing hill. Randy claimed the old railroad inspection station located at the base of the hill was located in Arizona and I said no way! Now, Randy is a well read guy and quickly laid down the challenge of a $5 bet. When we got back to our rigs I did some research on the Internet and much to both our surprises the legal boundary between Arizona and California was not quite where we thought it was. Nonetheless, can you tell who won the bet? I’m the guy on the right holding the newly won $5 in my hand…

The win was especially sweet as Randy is known as one to be tight-fisted about a dollar! How sweet it is!

You can read about the history of the Yuma Crossing by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

End of blog reprint…

Yesterday was a sunny day at 60 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 60 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

One Year Ago Today…

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. Less than 1/2 mile away is the Colorado River and on the other side…the sunniest place on Earth…Yuma, Arizona. I’m here hanging out and enjoying the nice weather. I have several friends in the area. Mary is now expecting to rejoin me here in later January.

I’ve been coming to this Yuma, Arizona area coming on to 20 years and have thoroughly explored the area. Rather than go back to these various places and re-create the wheel, (unless I do something different and unusual) I’m electing to republish some of my earlier blog entries while I await Mary’s arrival.

Here’s a reprint of the blog entry from December 27, 2013…

Recently I’ve shown some photos of the area known as the Yuma Crossing. That’s where people have been crossing the Colorado River from California into Arizona heading west for hundreds of years. Once a mile wide, modern man has greatly harnessed its flow. I found these two photos in my archive files taken pre-sunrise in 2009.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The first shows a full moon reflecting off of the Colorado River looking south as Interstate Highway 8 passes overhead…

Looking north on the Colorado River at the two bridges. The closer bridge is the one-lane Coast-to-Coast vehicle bridge and the rear is the railroad bridge…

Both photos were taken from the California side of the river.

You can read about the history of the Yuma Crossing by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

End of blog reprint…

Yesterday was a sunny day at 60 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 60 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2014

Two Unusual Happenings Yesterday…

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. I’m here with my friend Randy Vining and others…hanging out and enjoying the nice weather.

Mary is spending the holidays with her family and is now expecting to rejoin me here in late January.

Normally I do not like to close the curtains of my motorhome at night…kind of makes it feel like the inside of a coffin. But while here because of the cold nights and having to light the catalytic heater about 3:00 AM, I’ve been closing the curtains to help retain the heat inside the motorhome.

Yesterday morning when I opened the front curtains at 7:30 AM, this is what I saw…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

A hot air balloon in the process of being inflated here in the casino parking lot. I’ve not seen this activity in the numerous times I have parked here. That’s my friend Randy’s travel trailer on the right…

A few moments later it was upright…

A closer view of the adding of the hot air from the gas burners…

Just about ready…

And away they go…

A closer view of the cockpit and passenger basket…

This time of the year the wind is out of the North, so they are heading South. I hope they know what they are doing as Mexico is only about 20 miles south of here….

I hope they have their passports with them!  🙂

Watching all of that activity reminded me of the time Mary and I got an unexpected hot air balloon ride in Gallup, New Mexico last year. You can read about that event by clicking this Blog link… http://wp.me/pDCku-4xW

The other unusual happening occurred later in the morning while Randy, his friend Anne and myself were taking our morning walk over and around the old Fort Yuma Crossing hill. Randy claimed the old railroad inspection station located at the base of the hill was located in Arizona and I said no way! Now, Randy is a well read guy and quickly laid down the challenge of a $5 bet. When we got back to our rigs I did some research on the Internet and much to both our surprises the legal boundary between Arizona and California was not quite where we thought it was. Nonetheless, can you tell who won the bet? I’m the guy on the right holding the newly won $5 in my hand…

The win was especially sweet as Randy is known as one to be tight-fisted about a dollar! How sweet it is!

You can read about the history of the Yuma Crossing by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

Yesterday was a mostly sunny day at 72 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 71 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013

Pre-Sunrise Yuma Crossing Photos

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. I’m here with my friend Randy Vining and others…hanging out and enjoying the nice weather.

Mary is spending the holidays with her family and is now expecting to rejoin me here in late January.

Recently I’ve shown some photos of the area known as the Yuma Crossing. That’s where people have been crossing the Colorado River from California into Arizona heading west for hundreds of years. Once a mile wide, modern man has greatly harnessed its flow. I found these two photos in my archive files taken pre-sunrise in 2009.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

The first shows a full moon reflecting off of the Colorado River looking south as Interstate Highway 8 passes overhead…

Looking north on the Colorado River at the two bridges. The closer bridge is the one-lane Coast-to-Coast vehicle bridge and the rear is the railroad bridge…

Both photos were taken from the California side of the river.

You can read about the history of the Yuma Crossing by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

Yesterday was a mostly sunny day at 72 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 72 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013

A Morning Walk Along The Once-Mighty Colorado River

The motorhome is now parked at the Paradise Casino in Winterhaven, California. I’m here with my friend Randy Vining and others. Randy and I have come to this area during the winter for many years.

Mary is now expecting to rejoin me here in late January.

Less than 1/2 mile away is a very famous place of history in the southwestern United States…Yuma Crossing. If you are not familiar with this history, you can read all about it by clicking this link… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuma_Crossing

Yesterday morning Randy and I took his truck and drove across the Colorado River to take a walk south along the river on the California side. Here are some of the photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Once a mile wide this once mighty river has been tamed by man. Interstate Highway 8 passes overhead…

Lots of tall brush along the river provides a living place for lots of homeless people…

We got invited into a camp of a 36-year-old man, his wife and small dog…

They have a waterfront location…

A homeless man crosses an irrigation canal…

A deserted house…

Someone still living here…

Heading back north we could see old Fort Yuma on the hill in Arizona…

The first bridge is part of the original Coast-to-Coast Highway. The rear bridge is for the railroad. Just past the bridges on the right is the location of the old Yuma Territorial Prison…

Another view of the bridges…

The original bridge looking towards Arizona on the other side is one-way controlled by traffic lights…

A short distance later looking to the right you can see part of the parking lot of the Paradise Casino. Randy’s RV is #1 and mine is #2…

Yesterday was a mostly sunny day at 67 degrees.  Forecast for today is sunny and 71 degrees.

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 500 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273?authkey=Gv1sRgCKrvzqm8-IKGdA

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013