Day 27-Sunday, 25 Jan 09 - Yuma, Arizona

Photos: (1)This little girl decided dog was 'boring' for a pet so she has a goat! She dragged it around like a puppy and spent lots of time riding it. Too funny! (2)These horses had come from up north and were enjoying the sun and warm weather. They chased each other and had a great time. (3)'Cyclone' didn't let anyone ride him. What an ugly brute! (4) Steer wrestling is a dangerous sport. We saw a couple of injuries and not a surprise as it's all fast and furious.

We stayed in Apache Junction for a couple of nights and for the best part, the weather was cloudy with showers most of the time. When the sun did come out, I went to the pool (80 degrees) but hardly had time to get the lotion on before it clouded over again. We have been so used to having good WiFi at the sites we've stayed in that we really got cranky with the awful service in the KOA at Apache Junction. Wayne persisted but was so frustrated with the whole thing that we left a day earlier than planned.

We met with a friend of Wayne's from the gym at home who bought a trailer here last year and spend the winter in Apache Junction. Marcel & Michelle Goldfinger are just the sweetest couple and invited us over for breakfast and a tour through their trailer park. It was very nice and we even looked through a couple of trailers that were for sale. They sell very quickly as the price is right and the sad truth is that many of the owners are older people who just find the winter trip too much now. We looked at a very nice 2 bdrm unit ($10,000) but as much as we like their park, thought we'd keep on moving and see what happens.

I was determined to see a rodeo and found one on the internet in Buckeye. We pulled in to the fairgrounds and paid our weekend entrance fee ($10) and then saw a sign for 'RV Parking'. We knew it was for participants but, like, who wouldn't think a small RV from Ontario, Canada might not be participating??? We had electric and water hook-up, which was more than sufficient and were able to see the bronc riding and bull riding that evening, both of which were terrific. What we didn't think about was bringing a flashlight with us for the 1/2 mile walk back to the RV so it was a rather mushy walk in the pitch black (through endless piles of manure)when it all ended. We were up early and walked back over to see the calf & steer roping and thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Another checkmark for the bucket list! Cowboys are just the nicest, friendliest, cutest things on earth and we met a couple who were more than willing to give us the 'business' on rodeos. Lots of fun! We still have the lingering odor of horse & cows in the van but less than this morning.

We decided that we would head for Yuma--a place we'd never been and is supposed to be the most consistently warm place in the US and the snowbirds swell the population considerably. I think there are 3 RVs for every resident car and the most pages for RV parks/resorts in the guide book. We like what we've see so far and will stay here for a couple of days. Right now we are in an 'overflow' area and if the weather stays nice, we may ask for a nicer site and stay for a few more days. The bigger RV resorts are booked solid with people who come for the winter and reserve their sites the previous year. The KOA here is filled for the winter and on our way back from the grocery store, we saw a 'No Vacancy' sign in front of our park...Blue Skies RV Park. We are within walking distance of a medium-sized mall so runs to the grocery store & Dairy Queen isn't a problem.

It would be nice if we could stay until the weather gets a bit warmer in California...we are only about 250 miles from San Diego. I'd like to go through northern Arizona on the way back to see the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert again but it will depend on the weather...it has to get a lot warmer there...I think they still have snow! We've already decided Las Vegas is also going to be a stop on the way home.

We are still keeping eyes open for that 'special' place when we'll nest for a bit. We know we don't want to be a one of those huge resorts and finding an apartment or mobile home for a longer rental doesn't seem to be possible this late in the winter.

All in all, still having a great time and seeing lots of wonderful sights. We are paying our neighbour to hook in to his WiFi and it's nice and strong so we will be making phone calls over the next couple of days. Until next time, love and hugs to all xx