Yuma tomba

Took the scenic route on the way to Palm Desert - out of Phoenix (which took more than an hour, for Pete's sake - gawd I hate big cities) on I-10 toward Quartzite, then south on 95 to Yuma.

I saw a side of Quartzite that I haven't seen before - when heading south, it's just big flat and dusty. And there are lots and lots of RVs parked hither and yon - no power, water, sewer, anything. I've said it before and say it again - "dry camping" (no power, water, sewer, TV, computer) to me is the Holiday Inn Express. I can't conceive of parking in a big dusty field in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of other RVs, just for the fun of it. I guess I'm glad there is something for everyone.

And Hwy 95, though it passes thru decent countryside, leaves a lot to be desired. The Alaska Hwy was better is more places that this stretch of road, by a long shot.

The park I'm staying in here in Yuma is pretty good sized - looks like about 300 spaces. One month is $248 and annually is about $1200. Almost worth paying for a year and using it for six. Except for a few minor things.

The RVs are parked right on top of each other - like 10-12 feet apart - barely room to open an awning. There are a lot of Park models here, and a lot of finished 'Arizona rooms' just waiting for their personal RV to arrive, as well as regular RVs and 5th wheels and trailers. I greeted about 20 people as I walked the kids after dinner, and one lady responded. Granted, it's mostly O.F.s (old farts for those who haven't been so insulted before), so maybe they couldn't hear me. No one appeared to be socializing with anyone else either.

But they're already booked up. They had a place for me for one night - of course I'm against a wall so I can only open the slides on one side of the coach. They have a few odd spaces available for the season, but none big enough for a 40' coach.

Which is just as well. Nice weather this time of year, certainly, but if this place is any indication of what Yuma is like, it's not for me. I'm going to look at a couple more places on my way out of town tomorrow, just out of curiosity and just to be fair, but I'm thinking I need to look somewhere else to put down winter roots. (Not that Yuma was really in the running in the first place!)

Gila Mountain RV Park 12325 S Frontage R Yuma, AZ 85367