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We stayed in the side lot at the Cocopah Casino south of Yuma for six nights and then moved to BLM 14 day land
west of Yuma and just south of I-8 at the Sidewinder Road exit. There are a few areas where people are camped
here…some are at a Coast to Coast park…some are in an area where you pay a fee for the whole season and
we are in the free area 1.6 miles west of the freeway exit. We are probably about a 1/2 mile from the freeway and
the only time that we could hear the noise from it was in the early morning. The other noises here are related to
military activity. There is a military base nearby and there are lots of jets and helicopters flying around. At night
there are ATVs droning up and down the road looking for illegal aliens…it feels a bit like being in the middle of a
Mad Max movie with no shooting.
There are probably another 50 rigs parked up and down this dirt road and we have met some really nice people.
A woman, Elizabeth, we met in Gila Bend last December as we were getting ready to leave for Panama was
camped in Yuma and is now out here with us. She loves to play her keyboard and in the afternoons we are
treated to strains of lots of familiar songs.
The town of Algodones, Mexico is nearby. As soon as you cross the border there are pharmacies, optical, dental
and medical offices, food stalls, and vendors selling the ubiquitous tourist schlock. The town is dedicated to
providing medical and pharmaceutical services to the snowbirds. It is amazing!!! While we have been here I have
gotten new glasses…progressive bifocals, transition lenses that change color in the sunlight, exam and frame for
$145…the same glasses would cost me more than $400 in the States. Colleen had some dental work done that
probably would have cost her 2 to 3 times as much in the States. We were also able to pick up medicine for the
dog at a fraction of the cost and without a visit to a vet’s office.
We have been spending the time taking care of paperwork business and trips to Algodones. Sorry that I don’t
have any tales of corrupt cops or encounters with landslides obstructing roads or anything else exciting. Life in
the US in a motorhome is seeming pretty tame…so….we are leaving for Mexico after a visit to see my family in
California. We should be crossing the border on the 10th of January give or take a day and meeting a friend in
the Yucatan by the 16th to look at a piece of property. We will stay south until spring and then who knows what we
will do. We were going to go to Alaska in the spring but now we are not so sure that is in the cards for this year.
Since we returned to the States we have met many people who have said that they would like to travel in Mexico
but were unsure about it and would like to go with someone else the first time. So, if you are out there reading this
and want to go on short notice, then write back. It will be a fast trip to the Yucatan and then you would be on your
own for as much time wandering around as you like. By the time we get to the Yucatan you will be seasoned
Mexico travelers.
Today, December 16th we are going back to Rover’s Roost at Casa Grande for the night to dump, get water, and
do laundry and then to Phoenix tomorrow. From there we go to Prescott and then, in the Jeep to Clark, CO near
Steamboat Springs to spend Christmas with Colleen’s family. Then it’s off to CA to see my family and then down
to Mexico.
From Casa Grande Colleen made a trip to Phoenix on the 17th of December to pick up her glasses and to find a
spot for us to boondock for a few days while we did some last minute shopping and then went to Empire Power
Systems to leave our rig for the week we would be gone to Steamboat. They were going to do some preventive
maintenance and our coach would be safe for the week we were gone. While she was there she discovered that
the shopping madness would make it nearly impossible to find a boondock spot in a shopping mall parking lot, so
we decided to just stay in Casa Grande until it was time to go to Prescott and then up to Steamboat.
On the 21st we drove up to Prescott, spent the night at Colleen’s niece Cate’s house and then early in the
morning of the 22nd we met the other Regans and started the 750 mile drive to Steamboat and Clark, CO. On the
way we were in time to pick up Colleen’s father at the airport in Hayden where he was flying in from Detroit and
then finish the drive to Clark. Most of the 750 miles were great weather with only a little light rain and snow. That is
a long dang way to drive in one day.
From the 22nd to the 26th we spent with all of the delightful Regan family members and played in the snow,
clomped through snow to cut a Christmas tree, went shopping and ice skating, watched old family movies that had
been converted to DVD, ate Nita’s wonderful cooking, and generally enjoyed all of the interactions with 3
generations of Regans. What an effort that family made to get every member of the family there for a reunion!!!!!
Colleen and I think that below zero weather is not too comfortable after spending so much time in the tropics, but
gathering the entire clan is a good way to keep a family whole. We are voting for the next reunion in the winter to
occur in Mexico.
On the 27th early in the am we left to head back to Arizona and stopped in Flagstaff for the night for a slumber
party with five of us and then we continued on to Phoenix the next morning to pick up our rig. We didn’t get out of
there until late and so drove in the dark about 40 miles west of Phoenix to Rip Griffin’s truck stop for the night.
On the 29th we drove as far as Quartzsite and spent the night out in the desert on 14 day land. We wish that we
were going to be there for a while when all the activity takes place. There are lots of vendors getting set up and all
of the RV sales lots were getting ready for the Big Show….looks like it would be a lot of fun…we will miss seeing
Larry and Joyce and other friends who will be there for a time in January.
From Quartzsite we drove to Rancho Mirage to see old friends, Esther and Norm. We spent two nights there
boondocked behind an abandoned Carrows at the corner of Highway 111 and Magnesia Falls. It was a great
location just around the corner from Esther and Norm’s house. We had a really nice visit with them and then left
on New Year’s Day to continue with our California visits.
The only thing exciting that happened this month came as a result of asking in the last travelogue whether there
was anyone who wanted to make the trip with us to the Yucatan. Bill and Laurie, readers of this travelogue and
also fulltime Rvers, wrote to say that they would like to take us up on the invitation if we were serious. We replied
that we were very serious as long as they knew it would be a fast trip down. We have an appointment to look at
some property near the Belize border on the 16th. Once we get there we will be able to be as slow about traveling
down there as we like. We might go back into Belize and Guatemala…who knows.
We are really excited to meet Bill and Laurie in Laredo, TX on January 10th and will cross the border on the
morning of the 11th. Check out their website at www.doylesroadtrip.com The next issue of the travel notes should
be more interesting as we are “back on the road again”….
west of Yuma and just south of I-8 at the Sidewinder Road exit. There are a few areas where people are camped
here…some are at a Coast to Coast park…some are in an area where you pay a fee for the whole season and
we are in the free area 1.6 miles west of the freeway exit. We are probably about a 1/2 mile from the freeway and
the only time that we could hear the noise from it was in the early morning. The other noises here are related to
military activity. There is a military base nearby and there are lots of jets and helicopters flying around. At night
there are ATVs droning up and down the road looking for illegal aliens…it feels a bit like being in the middle of a
Mad Max movie with no shooting.
There are probably another 50 rigs parked up and down this dirt road and we have met some really nice people.
A woman, Elizabeth, we met in Gila Bend last December as we were getting ready to leave for Panama was
camped in Yuma and is now out here with us. She loves to play her keyboard and in the afternoons we are
treated to strains of lots of familiar songs.
The town of Algodones, Mexico is nearby. As soon as you cross the border there are pharmacies, optical, dental
and medical offices, food stalls, and vendors selling the ubiquitous tourist schlock. The town is dedicated to
providing medical and pharmaceutical services to the snowbirds. It is amazing!!! While we have been here I have
gotten new glasses…progressive bifocals, transition lenses that change color in the sunlight, exam and frame for
$145…the same glasses would cost me more than $400 in the States. Colleen had some dental work done that
probably would have cost her 2 to 3 times as much in the States. We were also able to pick up medicine for the
dog at a fraction of the cost and without a visit to a vet’s office.
We have been spending the time taking care of paperwork business and trips to Algodones. Sorry that I don’t
have any tales of corrupt cops or encounters with landslides obstructing roads or anything else exciting. Life in
the US in a motorhome is seeming pretty tame…so….we are leaving for Mexico after a visit to see my family in
California. We should be crossing the border on the 10th of January give or take a day and meeting a friend in
the Yucatan by the 16th to look at a piece of property. We will stay south until spring and then who knows what we
will do. We were going to go to Alaska in the spring but now we are not so sure that is in the cards for this year.
Since we returned to the States we have met many people who have said that they would like to travel in Mexico
but were unsure about it and would like to go with someone else the first time. So, if you are out there reading this
and want to go on short notice, then write back. It will be a fast trip to the Yucatan and then you would be on your
own for as much time wandering around as you like. By the time we get to the Yucatan you will be seasoned
Mexico travelers.
Today, December 16th we are going back to Rover’s Roost at Casa Grande for the night to dump, get water, and
do laundry and then to Phoenix tomorrow. From there we go to Prescott and then, in the Jeep to Clark, CO near
Steamboat Springs to spend Christmas with Colleen’s family. Then it’s off to CA to see my family and then down
to Mexico.
From Casa Grande Colleen made a trip to Phoenix on the 17th of December to pick up her glasses and to find a
spot for us to boondock for a few days while we did some last minute shopping and then went to Empire Power
Systems to leave our rig for the week we would be gone to Steamboat. They were going to do some preventive
maintenance and our coach would be safe for the week we were gone. While she was there she discovered that
the shopping madness would make it nearly impossible to find a boondock spot in a shopping mall parking lot, so
we decided to just stay in Casa Grande until it was time to go to Prescott and then up to Steamboat.
On the 21st we drove up to Prescott, spent the night at Colleen’s niece Cate’s house and then early in the
morning of the 22nd we met the other Regans and started the 750 mile drive to Steamboat and Clark, CO. On the
way we were in time to pick up Colleen’s father at the airport in Hayden where he was flying in from Detroit and
then finish the drive to Clark. Most of the 750 miles were great weather with only a little light rain and snow. That is
a long dang way to drive in one day.
From the 22nd to the 26th we spent with all of the delightful Regan family members and played in the snow,
clomped through snow to cut a Christmas tree, went shopping and ice skating, watched old family movies that had
been converted to DVD, ate Nita’s wonderful cooking, and generally enjoyed all of the interactions with 3
generations of Regans. What an effort that family made to get every member of the family there for a reunion!!!!!
Colleen and I think that below zero weather is not too comfortable after spending so much time in the tropics, but
gathering the entire clan is a good way to keep a family whole. We are voting for the next reunion in the winter to
occur in Mexico.
On the 27th early in the am we left to head back to Arizona and stopped in Flagstaff for the night for a slumber
party with five of us and then we continued on to Phoenix the next morning to pick up our rig. We didn’t get out of
there until late and so drove in the dark about 40 miles west of Phoenix to Rip Griffin’s truck stop for the night.
On the 29th we drove as far as Quartzsite and spent the night out in the desert on 14 day land. We wish that we
were going to be there for a while when all the activity takes place. There are lots of vendors getting set up and all
of the RV sales lots were getting ready for the Big Show….looks like it would be a lot of fun…we will miss seeing
Larry and Joyce and other friends who will be there for a time in January.
From Quartzsite we drove to Rancho Mirage to see old friends, Esther and Norm. We spent two nights there
boondocked behind an abandoned Carrows at the corner of Highway 111 and Magnesia Falls. It was a great
location just around the corner from Esther and Norm’s house. We had a really nice visit with them and then left
on New Year’s Day to continue with our California visits.
The only thing exciting that happened this month came as a result of asking in the last travelogue whether there
was anyone who wanted to make the trip with us to the Yucatan. Bill and Laurie, readers of this travelogue and
also fulltime Rvers, wrote to say that they would like to take us up on the invitation if we were serious. We replied
that we were very serious as long as they knew it would be a fast trip down. We have an appointment to look at
some property near the Belize border on the 16th. Once we get there we will be able to be as slow about traveling
down there as we like. We might go back into Belize and Guatemala…who knows.
We are really excited to meet Bill and Laurie in Laredo, TX on January 10th and will cross the border on the
morning of the 11th. Check out their website at www.doylesroadtrip.com The next issue of the travel notes should
be more interesting as we are “back on the road again”….
Copyright - All Rights Reserved
2005
2005
December 2004
Around the World with Kathe and Colleen