January 13-28, 2023
We'd been going full speed since leaving Colorado, boating and touring as much as possible. It was time to relax a little, and we did that in Yuma (mostly). After relaxing for almost a week, we headed to Palm Springs, California for the Palm Springs Film Festival. We visited the Salton Sea and Box Canyon Road on the way there. We stayed overnight at a very overpriced hotel, and it was like we were on vacation (even though most of our days feel like a vacation).
Margot's friend Emily was retiring as pastor of her church in the Denver area, so Monica dropped Margot off at the airport before she and Lacey drove back to Yuma. Margot spent a long weekend in Denver, and then flew back to Phoenix, taking a bus to Yuma where Monica picked her up. It was a nice trip and a nice visit.
The resort in Yuma was decent, and Margot got to play a lot of pickleball. We took an afternoon to visit the Colorado River up near the Imperial Dam, and it was really nice. There is an awesome RV resort up there with no cell service (so it wouldn't work well for us). We thought about bringing the boat up on another day, but the boat has been acting up, so we skipped it. We didn't really mind the extended break from boating.
Like always, the sunsets in Arizona did not disappoint. The air is dry, and the dust hangs in it a bit, making the sun set like fire in the sky. We love it!
When we visited Death Valley when we were staying in the Las Vegas area, we stopped at the China Ranch date farm. It's a great farm, but the Martha's Gardens Date Farm in Yuma is much bigger. We went on an hour-long tram tour around the farm with an amazing tour guide. We learned a ton and bought a lot of date-related things. They're so amazing when they're from a farm.
Just before we left, we visited the Yuma Territorial Prison. There is a lot to see and experience there, and there were a ton of amazing photo opportunities. We enjoyed some amazing weather, too.
We really liked Yuma, and it was nice to see green fields again. But it was time to revisit Tucson, so we were off again -- but not before Lacey had a Pup Cup from Starbucks!
