Where in the World is Yuma, Arizona?

First, let me give credit where credit is due.

To Cat @ Juggling Act of Life for writing a fantastic post about where she lives

and introducing me to Blog-Trotting.

A place where you can visit many corners of the world

without leaving your home.

As her banner says, "A Virtual Travel Blog!"

After you read about Yuma, AZ,

head on over to see other destinations and explore the world,

right from the comfort of you home.

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We have not been a Yuman all our life, but we are Yuman now! 

We moved here in 1994, with 13-year-old twins and our 15-year-old daughter. Scary, you bet it was. However, we believe God had our destination planned before we ever knew about it. With Him, the growth our family received through the move, glorified His work. That story for another time, but for now, let's explore Yuma.

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Since Arizona Mamma @ Our Daze in the Desert covered the state, let me tell you about our neck of the woods desert.

Yuma is at the very bottom of the state, the very bottom of the Colorado River, and at times at the bottom of one's list of places to visit. 
It is right smack dab on the border of Arizona, California, and Mexico. All you have to do is drive across the 4th Avenue Bridge, and you're in California. Drive another 10 minutes west on the I-8 to Andrade, California where the Algodones border crossing is, and you're in Mexico.

(Photo courtesy of Webshots)

Or in my case, drive to the end of our street (8th Street), and you could be in Mexico if this old bridge/dam thing across the Colorado River were passable. 

Fortunately, it's not and for good reasons. One, it would make our street very busy. Second, it would require security like a port of entry. 

Our view of Mexico from the end of our street.

Of course, the Border Patrol drives the river's edge and the canal regularly 

for unlawful entries that get past that LARGE fence barrier.

There have been many nights we have had them on our property searching for them as well. With 3 BIG dogs in our yard, we have never had them come any closer than the neighbor's pastures or the levee road. We have had searchlights from helicopters shine down on us sometimes. 
One time, while watching the 'Grand' Bug, the dog's became excited. I looked out the bedroom window to see why. What the hay? I grabbed Bug and went outside to see a white van abandoned with all their doors open toward the rear of our property. There were 3 border cars behind it, but no one was around. Then up the drive, two more cars came. I don't remember what our words of exchange were, but I do remember taking Bug back inside. I kept watching from the window of the action going on outside. Imagine my surprise when a LARGE bus back down our road into the yard. What was more surprising was the 20+ if not 30 kids were led single file into the bus. Yes, they were kids, and not one of them looked over the age of 16. And they came out of that van. They must have been sitting on each other's laps or on the floor Who knows!

Back to Algodones, which is probably one of our favorite places to take our guest when they visit. We always take a picture of the group right inside the border crossing. These are just a few of our visitors.

The sites. The color. The food. The pharmacies. All of which is what attracts so many visitors every year.

Don't forget to barter on the price. They will tell you they have Walmart prices or "it's "almost" free today." We like to take the price they gave, offer half, and when they come back with another price we go halfway between ours and theirs.

Linda @ Arizona Skies has blogged about Algodones, so head on over to her and see more pictures and how she describes this amazing shopping experience. If you ever plan a trip there, remember you need a passport or border ID card to come back into the US.

San Luis Arizona has a border crossing to San Luis, Mexico, about 25 miles from Yuma. Rarely do we head that way. It's always hectic, not the most accessible place to walk into which is why most visitors prefer Algodones.

Back into Yuma, there is really a lot of history to be found. There are so many interesting things to see and do in our oasis in the desert

Yuma Quartermaster Depot State Park

To learn more about Yuma's history head on over to http://www.yumaheritage.com/. They do a lot of work in restoring and preserving Yuma's Heritage.

Another source is in this book, The History of Yuma and the Territorial Prison.

The Ocean to Ocean bridge was built to join the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with a major highway over the Colorado River. Constructed between Yuma, Arizona and Fort Yuma, California at the cost of $76,000, in 1915. The 336 ft bridge is still in use today after being closed many years before being restored.

As you drive off the bridge, it drops you right into Old Town. This is were you will find Lutes Casino, though it is not a casino. It is the best eatery in town and holds an array of nostalgic items. A must see on anyone's list when they visit Yuma.

Another of our favorite places to take a visitor is the Yuma Territorial Prison. Unfortunately, it is was scheduled for closing due to budget cuts. However, through fundraising and The Chain Gang, there is hope it will remain open. They even began a national campaign, so if you want, spread the word by going to the link above. Every little bit helps.

UPDATE: As I was writing this an email came stating:

Subject: Yuma Community successful in keeping the prison open

The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area is announcing that we have reached our goal of raising $50,000 to keep the prison open. We will continue to support the Yuma Territorial Prison Chain Gangs and their fundraising efforts. Any money raised over the $50k will be used for programming, education, and much needed infrastructure needs. Please join us at the Pull Thru for the Prison in the parking lot of the Foothills Bank this Friday 11am-9pm. Thank you for helping to keep the prison open!

Another great experience is Yuma Proving Grounds. Not only do they test the many things needed to protect our country, but they also have the Golden Knights training. Each year, they come to our great weather and put on an impressive display.

Yuma Proving Ground

Recently built was a park for all ages. 110-acre city park that has a stocked pond for fishing, walking, and equestrian trails, plus ramadas with tables for picnics and other gatherings.

When the park opened in 2007, residents were able to buy paver's and picket's to help fund the construction. We had five pickets made for each of our 'Grands' at the time for the fence and a paver. Every time we go to the park, the sidewalk paver is the one thing they will spend time looking for.. Although they spelt Gabrielle without the 'e' we will fix it when we have pickets made for the 'Grands' that have since arrived.

We also got a nice big shopping outdoor shopping mall. At first, we thought "outside in Yuma?", but it turned out nice and brought some excellent stores to town.

There are many annual events happening in Yuma.

Each January we celebrate Lettuce Days. We grow, well not we - the farmers, grow a lot of it here. I mean A LOT of it.

These pickers were working the field down the street from our house.

After the lettuce, comes the wheat and melons.

Yuma also grows cotton, corn, cabbage, and celery to name just a few.

March brings Midnight at the Oasis, and if you love old cars, you need to come to Yuma the first weekend of the month to see all these awesome cars. Friday of the show, there is a cruise where most of the cars do a parade around town. It's a 3-day event and to see all the cars it takes at least 2 of those days.

March also means MCAS Air Show and the Golden Knight even drop in. It is huge! It's been a while since we have gone to it. Now that we have 'Grands' we should make a point of heading out there this weekend.

The Yuma County Fair takes place in April. We love going out for the Destruction Derby.

As the Snowbird season winds down and the heat rises a lot of people head to the river for tubing, or to Fisher's Landing and Hidden Shores for boating. Unbelievably not something we do. We tend to head to cooler places like San Diego or the Napa Valley. We do have a great 4th of July celebration both at home and at the fairgrounds where there is another destruction derby. It tends to be hot and sticky, go figure, and add that to the crowd of people, and it is somewhat uncomfortable. We enjoy the fireworks from parking lots and canal roads. As the fairgrounds round up theirs, Cocopah is beginning theirs, makes for a spectacular night of fireworks in the sky.

In November, we have The Colorado River Crossing Hot Air Balloon Festival - presented by the Caballeros de Yuma. It's amazing to see all the balloons in such vibrant color float above the desert. They even fly right over our house if the winds are right. It is one event we have enjoyed since moving here. 

On Saturday night, they do the Desert Glow at the ballpark.

From probably October to May the Imperial Sand Dunes become a city all of itself. Just minutes from Yuma, I would estimate about 50,000 people descend upon them over the Thanksgiving and New Year holidays. Each weekend you can see caravans heading out, coming from San Diego or the Phoenix area.

Did you know these movies were filmed in Yuma?

Star Wars (Special Edition)

George Lucas Film

In The Army Now 1994

Pauley Shore, Lori Petty

True Lies 1993

Stargate 1993

Kurt Russell, James Spader

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Return of the Jeti 1993

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill

Rambo III 1988

Flight of the Phoenix 1965
James Stewart, Ernest Borgnine

Star Wars 1977

Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill

To see what other movies were filmed in Yuma click here.

So that's a rap!

Thanks for reading about our oasis in the desert.