We made it to Yuma, Arizona and the first order of business was to have our truck and trailer washed and waxed! $130 later, both were clean and shiny!  Sunny and warm needs clean and shiny!

We enjoyed catching up with Myron and Peggy and meeting their new puppy. We were visiting them in Wisconsin last summer when we lived through that memorable storm!

We were so glad to reconnect with the friends we made at this park last year!  Randy golfed several times with Canadian friends, Dave and Gordon while Linda, Catie and I did a little bit of this and that.

We made the 30 minute trip to Los Algodones, Mexico to do some Christmas shopping. Most people go to Los Algodones to see dentists and optometrists. They cater to American and Canadian patients who come down for the inexpensive care. We’ll likely do that too someday.

While waiting in line to get back into the US, Randy spent time talking with these two veterans. The man on the right was a Vietnam vet while the one on the left served in Korea.  The latter has been driving commercial trucks since returning from Korea all those years ago. He will be 85 years old in a few months and will be forced to retire due to company policy.

Our week in Yuma with our friends went way too fast and soon we were off again, heading two hours east to a small town in the the middle of nowhere –  Ajo, Arizona. Ajo is the gateway to Rocky Point and selling insurance to those traveling into Mexico appears to be a lucrative business.

Ajo began life as a copper mining town and they have their very own poisonous lake at the bottom of the open pit.   The mine is currently shut down but has not been abandoned.  A former miner told me that the company does just enough to satisfy the government to keep their options open.

The old Catholic Mission Indian School is now the historical museum.

We are in a very nice RV park and poor Elko is miserable. In lieu of dirt or grass, the entire park is decorative rock of various hues and his feet are so sore. I’m glad our stay here will be brief, just 2 nights. “Where Summer Goes to Winter” is the Ajo Heights RV park slogan. I borrowed it for the title of this blog.

Coyote and javalina are common in the area and wander around and into the park. We glimpsed a coyote about 20 feet away from our campsite, but no javelina – at least not yet!

The reason we came to Ajo was to go to nearby Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Our friend, Beth, drove 2+ hours west from Tucson to join us. We had a lovely day viewing the scenery and cacti.

Saguaros on the left, Organ Pipe Cactus on the right.

Randy and Beth took a hike up towards the arch while I stayed in the picnic area with Elko. He was not allowed on the trail so he rested his feet and I read a book.

The Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is also a United Nations Biosphere Reserve. It is one of the 699 reserves in 120 countries with ecosystems involving plants and animals of “unusual scientific and natural interest.” The designation is to help protect sites and promote research and conservation.

This saguaro had some interesting features….

The monument’s 31 mile southern border is also the international border. Border patrol vehicles, helicopters and agents are common sights.  We have never had any trouble and don’t expect to.

Tomorrow we move on – hopefully there will be packed dirt for Elko instead of more rocks. We won’t even think about grass for awhile but we should still be able to enjoy summer in winter.