Nov 26th to 28th - Imperial Dam

Nov 26th - Thurs - to Imperial Dam area
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
We left at 9 for the 1 ½ hour drive to Squaw Lake north of Yuma. We are camping with Dave & Margo who we met in Mexico and who live in Walla Walla WA. We are dry camping in a small organized camping area (parking lot type) right beside a lake. We have plenty of room since they allow 2 parking spots per camper with your vehicle parked in another row in the middle. For those of you who know the area somewhat, you turn off Hwy 95 at the Proving Grounds and go past the turnoff to Martinez Lake.
After setting up, we all went for a hike in the nearby hills and then sat and caught up before dinner. Margo had most of the fixings for turkey dinner so I added devilled eggs and mashed potatoes and we had a great meal with good friends - just what Thanksgiving is all about!
We started the generator after dinner and it kept surging and causing the lights to dim so we decided that we didn’t want to trust plugging in the TV or computer and shut it off. Decided to go to Yuma tomorrow and buy a new generator.

Nov 27th - Fri - Imperial Dam
Had a quick breakfast and headed to Yuma with Dave & Margo. It is about 25 minutes away. At the second place that we stopped, we bought a Honda 2000 generator. Then stops at a cash machine and the post office for Dave & Margo and on to the Swap Meet. Our stop there included lunch.
We took a different route back to see some different sights. Dave & Margo have camped several times in this area and are good tour guides. I am always amazed by the size of the farms and the amount of produce grown around Yuma.
Our turn for dinner tonight so of course had to make baby back ribs which we found at Smart & Final in Blythe. We ate fairly early so it was warm enough to eat outside. The generator is wonderful and Terry was able to get his TV “fix” outside and later inside.

Nov 28th - Sat - Imperial Dam
We were planning to go kayaking today but it was too windy. We all drove to the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge and went through the visitor center. Then we went for a .8 mile interpretive walk which came out at a marina that, according to Terry, we could have just driven to. And then we had to walk back. It was a nice walk.
We continued on towards the Painted Hills Trail and drove to a couple of view points on the way. The trail is a 1.3 mile loop through really varied types of hills. We took this hike previously with Rick & Pat and I enjoyed it every bit as much this time. We drove further to 3 more view points overlooking the Colorado River and then returned to Martinez Lake for a very late (3:00) lunch at a restaurant overlooking the lake.
It was cool when we returned so we went our separate ways for the evening. I worked on my blog before turning the TV over to Terry. The screen on our computer hopefully will get fixed in Yuma.