Yuma(con't), Eloy, Tucson

The last Yuma post covered our first 2 months in Yuma at Fortuna de Oro, this post will pick up the last 2 months in Yuma and then cover our travels to Eloy and Tucson. For the most part, Mary and I continued our routines: Mary sewing, and me playing Pickleball and fishing. We did throw in a few "adventures" which I will be adding to the post. First to Mary and her sewing group, one that she has grown to really like. From what she says, they have quite a good time when they all get together. Hopefully some of the pictures that she took will confirm......

As you can see, they really have a nice set up. Thank you Fortuna de Oro.


My Pickleball continued, with me playing at least 6 days each week. We generally started playing around 8:00 AM and finished up around 10 AM, with all 8 courts in constant use. In February, the Yuma Senior Games were held and a couple of the events, including Pickleball, Bocce Ball, and Shuffleboard were held at our park. I played in the mixed doubles with a nice lady from BC. Here is group photo of the Senior Games participants from our park in Pickleball......

One couple from North Dakota, one from Montana, the rest from Canada. Oh, did I mention that there are a lot of Canadians in Yuma?


Some other pics from the games......

Butch & Barry from our park won the 70+ division

Quite a good crowd watching the matches

Ron and his wife Joyce took a medal in their age division

Dave & Judy took 1st in their division

Howard & Ron discussing the action

And of course there is the fishing. For me, this was probably the best reason for being in this area. I could not get over the great fishing available either from the bank at Fortuna Pond, or in the Pontoon boat at Mittrey Lake......here are a few more pics to help paint the picture.....

On the water in the pontoon boat at Mittrey Lake, looking off towards the Yuma Proving Grounds

Some of the sights that I enjoyed while fishing

Another one of my fishing "friends" - a Coot

Always had people stopping by to see my little boat. This group was out for a ride......

I really look forward to fishing here next year, although I am going to expand my range and travel up to Martinez Lake. They say there are some nice bass in that body of water.

Just so you know, it wasn't all Pickleball, Sewing, and Fishing. We did do some other things. Like playing cards every thursday night......

Cards with Dell & Joan, Tim & Vicki

In mid-Jan there was an antique car show in the park......I took a few pics, but did not do justice to the great array of beautiful machines that were on display.....

In late January, we made our now annual pilgrimage to Los Algodones, Mexico for dental and vision. First stop was to Dr Eva Urena's office. We had a saturday morning appointment.  Mary had a cracked tooth that could not be repaired and had to be pulled. We both got a teeth cleaning. That all took us less than 2 hours and we were on our way to the local pharmacy to stock up on "drugs", ie, Prednisone and Metronydazole for Molly, Voltaren Gel for my arthritic shoulders, and Atenolol and Enapril for Mary. Not all drugs, we also got a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila. Last stop was Mendoza Optical. We both had our eyes checked and purchased new prescription glasses.

On the way in to Mexico

Our return Port of Entry

Downtown Algodones, Mexico- Canadians EVERYWHERE

Another view of downtown Algodones

I forgot to mention that in early January we got some neighbors. 4 rigs from Missouri and all with the same interest.......

The neighbor right next to us had a RAZR that apparently was giving him some problems, so instead of having it fixed, he traded it in and bought a brand new one. I do have to say, they certainly seemed to get their moneys worth - all of them were out just about every day, for most of the day. They were not alone in their choice of toys, for it seemed at times that half the park was driving one. Great trails all around us there in the Foothills.


And then it was time to get ready to move on to our next destination. First thing was a wash and roof treatment, trailer exterior wash and wax, and interior carpet cleaning......

Great job!

These guys did a great job

One last item of business before leaving was a nice dinner out. We chose the Texas Roadhouse in Yuma. Were not disappointed.....

Extra large salad and extra large Marguerita

March 1 we hitched up and headed to Eloy, AZ. Last year, we spent Nov-Dec at Casa Grande RV Park and left in Jan to go to Yuma, basically for Mary for dental work in Algodones. When we left, there were a whole bunch of Canadians that left at the same time - protesting a rate increase at the park. The value of the Canadian Dollar was a big factor here. I'm told in excess of 50 rigs left on the first of Jan and all headed to Silverado RV Resort in Eloy, AZ. We went to Silverado to see if any of our old friends from Casa Grande were there. And what a surprise. First day at Pickleball, I knew everyone that was there playing - which was about 20 people. Amazing....

A rest stop around Gila Bend

Our new home for the next 2 weeks

A Gambel's Quail on the wall right behind our spot

Some things that we did while here................

A trip to Tags in Coolidge. A great place for breakfast about 15 miles from Eloy. Popular place for locals, seasonals, and of course the bikers.

Another trip was to Trader Joe's in Chandler. This trip involved getting on I10 and traveling about 30 miles west towards Phoenix.

At Trader Joe's we bought a bundle of Daffodil buds and after 2 days in our trailer, they blossomed and totally reminded us of springtime in Vermont. 

Just before we left Eloy, we got together with some other old friends who are now staying at Fiesta Grande RV Park in Casa Grande. Gathering took place at Boston Grille in Casa Grande......

Jan, Mary, and Diane

Probably the best part of Eloy, at least for me, was the Pickleball. It was great playing and seeing old friends again......I'll let the pics do the talking for me here.......

One last thing before we leave Eloy, there was a couple that had just purchased a park model right across from the pickleball courts/mailroom. I noticed the Vermont plates on his truck so had to stop by to say hello. Seems they have been coming here for years and were from Springfield, Vt, not too far from where we started out from. Small world.

On March 15 we made the 30 + mile trip from Eloy, to our new home at the Pima County Fairgrounds where we would be on the staff for the 57th Escapees Escapade. When we arrived we were escorted to our spot by a member of the awesome Parking Team. We couldn't have asked for a nicer spot - parked on new pavement, full hookups, including 50 Amp service, sewer, and water, right at the south entrance to the main hall - Old Pueblo Hall.

We were members of the Property Team which basically meant that we were responsible for setting everything up- the Vendor Area, The Row, The Hospitality Area, the Registration area, and most of the 4 classrooms in Old Pueblo Hall. Here is Old Pueblo Hall, we'll call it the before picture......

One whole lot of empty space - that we had to fill up.

The first area that we worked on was the Vendor area, which in the pic above, would be the far end. Here are some pics of it "coming together....

all of the chairs and tables had to be washed and wiped down. Here is Steve discussing placement with Sky, our boss.

Where the hell do we start?????

We were at the mercy of the curtain vendor, he had to set up the curtains and dividers before we could place tables and chairs

Steve and I had to lug all these chairs from one end of the building to the other, which, when done, required a rest. See pic below

Vendor area starting to come together

When the Vendor area was done, it was on to The Row- the area where BOF's(Birds of a Feather) and Chapters from around the country displayed their information.....

The Row starting to come together. That is me, Anna, and Gage(the boss's son)

All of the tables and chairs had to be scrubbed and wiped down. As you can see, things are starting to come together

The finished product

And then there was the Registration Area.....

And finally, the Hospitality Area....

All of the above setup took place on basically Thursday and Friday and while this was going on, the Parking Team was parking in excess of 400 trailers, Boot Camp and Camp Re-Boot were in session in Old Pueblo Classrooms 1 & 3. On thursday, we all met at 3:00 PM to "stuff" the bags that were given to each Escapade Attendee. What a process.......

All Staff was on hand for this. I can't believe how many trips around the tables we made. When we were done, it was time for a Pizza Party

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday night, we had a staff Happy Hour......

By friday night we had the bulk of the work done, the setup part, the parking team had parked in excess of 300 trailers and we were ready for a rest. The Staff was treated to a Happy Hour at La Cantina Restaurant in the park and then a nice meal. And then the real work began. Between Saturday and Sunday, the parking team parked an additional 600 trailers(final overall count was 917) and all of these new arrivals were headed to Old Pueblo Hall to register and get a lay of the land. Fortunately, we had a place for them to sit. Our(Property Team) responsibilities during this time was fine tuning arrangements, rearranging and setting up classrooms after the conclusion of Bootcamp and Camp Reboot. Sunday afternoon saw the opening/welcoming ceremony in Thurber Hall.....

Part of the estimated 2000 attendees

Opening night Entertainment was a group of Native Americans called Native Spirit.........

They were really special and what an ovation they got - especially when they finished their signature final performance - Hoop Dancing.....

Did I mention that as members of the Property Team, Sky got us front row reserved seats for all the nightly events.......

Getting ready for nightly drawings.....

On Monday night, the entertainment was Woody & the Longboards who focused on The Beachboys and The Eagles. WOW......the consensus was that they did a super job on The Eagles and I couldn't concur more, especially after their rendition of Take It Easy......

Beachboys, The Eagles, and one Three Dog Night song - Joy to the World-Jeremiah was a bullfrog that had the house go wild.

Tuesday saw us get through another day. All the "heavy lifting" was done, so most of what we were doing now was just rearranging chairs after seminars, replenishing speakers water, and any odd jobs that popped up during the course of the day, like items for Kidscapade. There were 65 kids as part of this Escapade, all, or most from Full Time Families Group or XCapers Group. Nice to see that they had special programs for them.  We had access to golf carts and each team(Steve and Anna and Mary and I) had a 2 way radio, so there was no hiding from someone needing something.

On tuesday night, Mary and I hosted a Happy Hour for friends in the Freethinkers BOF. And a good time was had by all.....

On Wednesday, Mary assisted Brenda with the Ladies Social......

Wednesday night was talent night, and each year I am totally amazed at the talent among us. Our friend Diane was again in charge of the event, and once again did an outstanding job. Here are some pics and highlights......

Jim K our MC

Awesome job on the bagpipes

Our Friend Diane, who put the whole night together

This was one of the crowds' favorites. Not a word spoken, just actions and facial expressions. The one on the left would take something from her purse, and the one on the right would counter with something out of her garbage bag. The one on the left had a real hard time keeping a straight face. The audience just laughed.

Here is one  last pic of some good friends that we made during the 57th Escapade. Steve and Anna were good people to work with and we look forward to meeting up with them at the next Escapade in Tucson.

And then it was over. Time to pack up and head out. But not before participating in Escapee Smart Weigh program. We had each tire, and axle on truck and trailer weighed and compared to truck and trailer weight limitations. Overall height of trailer was also recorded. This is a much appreciated service that Escapees provide - helping us to stay safe while traveling. And then it was off to Benson........