December 3, 2009 – Yuma, AZ

An early morning for all of us; the coach washers and waxers were due to show up at eight this morning, and we had to be properly prepared to receive them. I even got fed my breakfast early. Don headed over for the shower, and was back in a few minutes; they were cleaning the rest rooms and showers at seven in the morning. What gives with that? Geri was up before seven and swilling coffee. We were all on track to greet the washers at eight; they arrived at seven-thirty. A mad dash to close windows and roof vents, and to get into proper clothing to deal with coach washers. Turns out there was no need to deal with them. They washed the coach from top to bottom in a little over a half hour, told us the waxers would be there later when the rig had dried, and took off. After an hour or so of dithering over whether or not to wait for the waxers, the decision was made to take me out for an excursion, have breakfast in Yuma, and come back to check on the waxing. So we got in the truck and headed down the highway to the Gateway Park in town, next to the river. I have to say, I was most pleased with their selection of walking venues; the grass there is very good, and lots of open space for wild running. So I ran; and ran, and ran, and rolled! I must have put on a fine performance, ‘cause Geri and Don were both applauding heartily. As we were walking next to the river, we met a couple with a Border Collie. I always feel a little humbled when I meet one of these dogs, as I am fully aware of their intelligence and work ethic. This lady was very friendly and animated, and happy to meet not only me, but also Geri and Don. She was pleasingly plump and very pretty; she and her folks were from British Columbia, some of the “Snowbirds” I mentioned yesterday. She dashed off down to the river to investigate a mudhole, then found a sandy area to roll in; she came back a little messy. After we went our separate ways, I heard Don say, “I’ll stick with the Goldie”. Made me feel good.

After our walk, we drove over to the Visitor Center to get some more information on the location of the dam that Don had never heard of, Laguna Dam. We got some maps and other info, then went back downtown to a restaurant, the Mad Chef, for them to have breakfast. I took a good nap, a little worn out from my exercising. When they returned from what they described as a great meal, we headed back to the coach to check on the waxing. When we got there, we found one lone young man standing on top of a ladder, working on the side of the rig. He was close to being done, and the coach looked great, shiny as a new one. Geri paid him for the work, and we took off to look for Laguna Dam.

Don decided to start our search on the east side of the river, and we drove through miles of fields of beautiful lettuce and cauliflower and other veggies until we saw a road called “Imperial Dam Road”. This didn’t set well with Don, as Imperial Dam is above Laguna Dam on the river. But off we went on it. We soon found that we were in the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground, where they test tanks and guns and other weapons. We came across a display area where there a bunch of tanks, guns and missiles, and of course we had to stop and look them over. Actually, they were pretty interesting. They had a Sherman tank from WWII in the collection, and you could actually see the marks where it had been hit with big bullets during the war! Don took some pics which I’m sure he will post.

We continued up the road until we finally found Imperial Dam, which Don dubbed the least impressive Colorado River Dam. I guess he’s right, it’s very low and just seems to wander all over the place. He took a few pictures of what could be seen, but that’s not much. He explained to Geri and I that it only serves to raise the elevation of the river behind it a few feet to allow it to feed the All American Canal, which provides irrigation water to the Imperial Valley in California, so it’s not a big hydro generator or flood reservoir. We headed back south on the California side, and passed a water control gate located on the west side of the river. Geri asked if that could be part of Laguna Dam, but Don didn’t think so. We wandered back through more fertile fields of veggies to highway 8, and back into Yuma. A quick stop for Geri to shop for groceries and to flash her Discover Card again, and we headed for home.

Don was searching Google Earth later in the evening, looking for Laguna Dam, when he saw something he recognized; a water control gate next to the road that we had travelled. It was on the west end of Laguna Dam, which showed up clearly on the screen. He showed it to Geri, who concurred with his evaluation. He will go to bed happy tonight, because he has now visited every dam on the dammed Colorado River. Hope you have a good night, too. Bye!