Time to leave...

Wilf, Sonya, Paul

Paul's sister, Sonya and husband Wilf, were here for a couple of days.  It was great seeing them and totally enjoyed their company.  Unfortunately their schedule was tight so we didn't do a great deal.

We took them out to the Imperial Date Farm, one of several around here and treated them to a date shake.  Wilf graciously declined but was coaxed into taking a sip.  It is a big attraction here, there are always hordes of people there no matter what time of the day you go.   Also had the opportunity to watch some of the workers trim shoots from date trees.

Wilf and the not so wild burros

Then we started our trek out to the desert, while enroute we had a bonus of finally seeing wild burros.  Paul and I have been coming down for 4 years and this was the first time ever that came upon the little beasts of burden.

They were quite docile, in fact Wilf was petting one, it was obvious they had a pretty good life and had been around humans a lot.

Admiring the scenery

We continue on to Castle Dome Mountain, and bumped down the rocky, dusty path, actually it is a road only wide enough for one vehicle, preferably one of the 4x4 variety, cars would not have the clearance.  The objective was to get far enough off the road so they could enjoy the desert flora and snap a few pictures.

The ladies from Cocopah took our clogging instructor, Janice out for lunch in appreciation of all her hard work and efforts in teaching us those neat steps.  Which isn't all that easy at times!!

We went to the Garden Cafe.  It is very unique and shall call quaint. It is a outdoor restaurant with a huge canopy of trees overhead with the sounds of birds flying and chirping.  It was beautiful day and the wind was a gentle breeze.  About 15 or so ladies were able to come; loved the camaraderie, the food was excellent so all in all it was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.  Must admit we all cleaned up pretty good.  

Everyone is leaving...

Paul brought the motorhome up to our site; then the cargo trailer.  For the past few days, all the sewing paraphernalia, clothing was sorted as to what will stay and goes home.  No matter how much planning goes into this, always something will be forgotten.  This past week lots have left Cocopah, for the most part the park is resembling a ghost town.

What seems to be increasing in numbers is the doves that are abundant all over Yuma.  We will be heading home the middle of this week hopefully Wednesday.  It is a bit later than what we originally planned but not by much. A waterline valve had cracked and would like to get it repaired before we leave.  The RV parts person wasn't all that optimistic about getting the part.   If we don't, it means no access to water other than the water we have packed with us. It could prove to be an interesting jaunt home.

Yellow Prickly Pear

Good Morning....

I really don't mind leaving a bit late...as it has given me an opportunity to take some pictures of the cacti in the park.  So in my quest of looking for things to take pictures of I found another variety of Prickly Pear Cactus that produces beautiful yellow blooms.

In bud

My most coveted cacti picture is of a small Saguaro Cactus that had three huge buds.  Should say, I think it is a Saguaro.  I found it in full bud,  about three days ago, so on a daily run I would check it to see how close it was to actually blooming.

In bloom

Then yesterday in the late afternoon it was in full bloom and had already started to wilt.  I couldn't believe it, for the just the day before it was still in bud.  Somewhere I had heard or read that the blooms last only a day. There was quite a strong breeze blowing which didn't help when trying to keep everything in focus.  They were so pretty, I will have to find out if it was really a Saguaro.

That pretty much sums up things at the moment, and in a few days we'll be leaving.  Which means I had better get busy and finish off the last minute cleaning of the 5th wheel and putting things away.

I saw this and thought to myself how true, so I will share it with you..."Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance".  

So there you go, until next time...