Dec 26th to 29th - Yuma

Dec 26th - Sat - Yuma
(Boxing Day for all our Canadian friends)
We packed a lunch and went exploring with P&R. We went to the Castle Dome Museum & Ghost Town which is north of here off Hwy 95. You exit at milepost 55 and head east for 10 miles, 7 of which are wash-boardy gravel. We got a late start and made one quick stop before heading out so we ended up eating our lunch as we were driving the last few miles.
Castle Dome ghost town was really interesting. It is a collection of restored & rebuilt buildings with lots of history to read and lots of old “stuff”. What makes it really fun is that you can wander into all the buildings and closely examine whatever is there rather than having doorways blocked off and stuff behind glass.
We had a grocery ad for Albertson’s so we had to stop for a few items including a “buy 1 get 2 free” pork loin special. They were nearly 5 lbs. each so Pat & I split the 3 pieces of pork. Then we cut them up into chops & roasts.
P&R and we went to a dance here at the park at 7. The music was supplied by one very good singer backed up by electronic equipment and his guitar. It was very nice and we danced almost every dance.

Dec 27th - Sun - Yuma
We went geo-caching with Claude & Val and P&R today. For anyone who does not know what geo-caching is, check out geocache.com. We found 3 caches, wandered around in the desert based on what might have been incorrect coordinates in the GPS and then were unable to find a 4th cache. We had packed lunches and had a tailgate party. All of this was in the Pilot Knob area near Winterhaven CA - just a short way from here. The wind had died down and it was very pleasant to wander around without jackets.
Just to be a brat, I have to include the information that Claude got stuck in the sand on what looked like a little used “road”. 4 wheel drive did not help. We dug out sand (with a board, no shovel available!), put boards under the front wheels and rocks behind the back wheels. But I am sure it was the 3 women pushing that enabled him to get out. We had tied a rope to Rick’s truck but he barely had time to pull it tight before Claude was out.
I filled the crock pot with chili before we headed out so we had C&V and P&R over for happy hour and Frito Pie for dinner.

Dec 28th - Mon - Yuma
We had a tee time today for our group of 8 but the wind did not cooperate. It woke me about 2 and continued all day.
After a late breakfast, we went to Charlie & Julie’s where I helped Julie load Picasa on her computer. We downloaded the pictures from her camera so I could give her a usage lesson. I accidentally brought up a feature that I have not used but is really fun - face recognition. Picasa finds & displays faces from all your photos and allows you to identify them. Then when you do a name search it will bring up all pictures that include that person.
We continued on to do a bit of grocery shopping and then went to the casino for a 2 for 1 buffet dinner with P&R and Charlie & Julie. Terry, Lucky Pat & I stayed to play slots for a while.

Dec 29th - Tues - Yuma
Rick had a dentist appointment in Algodones early this morning and they took Charlie & Julie with them. About 9 we picked up C&V and stopped for 2 for 1 breakfast buffet at the casino before going to Algodones to find a geo-cache. We found it right away and then shopped. When we were in the liquor store just before leaving, we ran into P&R and C&J.
Yesterday, C&V returned to the geo-cache where we could not find the cache and found it in a few minutes. We had looked up just what was hidden so they had a better idea of the size and Val was focused!
We worked on jigsaw puzzles again while we did laundry. When we were putting clothes away, I realized that we were missing a sock so we hopped on the bikes to look for it (found it) and then continued for a ride around the park. Didn't ride too far when we stopped for a beer with Gayle & Jan who we chatted with at the dance. It was 4:30 when Terry checked the time and we had to ride like mad to get back just as our happy hour guests were arriving.
Charlie & Julie brought friends Mike & Jewel (just arrived in the park) to join us and P&R at happy hour. A neighbor across the fairway (Dick) stopped by in his golf cart and said we were just having too much fun so we invited him & his wife (Bea) to join us which they did a bit later. Then our neighbors Rick & Sue, who have been away since we got here, arrived home and joined the group. Obviously it was finally nice enough to sit outside and amaze more people with our buddy burner.
Terry had to BBQ steaks in the dark but they were great.