Gold Mining

We have been out digging in the dirt twice now.  You can see our drywasher and the hole we've made digging in an old tailings pile.   We went out Thanksgiving morning and there were a couple of campers set up in this little canyon.  Camping is a big activity down here over Thanksgiving because its a nice long weekend for those who work and/or go to school.   Camping doesn't seem to have the same appeal up north over Thanksgiving.   Seeing the cold, rain, ice and snow that hit the center of the country I now remember why. 

I took a part time job at a local RV parts store working as a cashier.  Its one of the few jobs in Yuma that you don't have to be bilingual.  Its kind of fun helping people figure out what they need to fix their rigs.  Most of what they need down here are plastic parts that have disintegrated in the harsh sun and heat.   

Signs of Gold Mining

Our favorite spot to dig for gold is on some BLM land close to Laguna Dam.  There are holes where people have done some extensive digging.  They dug so far into the hillside in the bottom picture that the "cave" they dug collapsed and all you see is the piles of dirt that cover the area.  We do not go into the caves for two reasons -- they could collapse without warning or there could be some poisonous creature inside enjoying the shade. 

We have learned from an old gold miner that you really only need to run the top couple of feet of the dirt in this area because its flood gold left behind from when the Colorado River flooded over before all of the dams were built.    So if he is correct than these people digging deep into the hillside probably aren't finding very much.  We would love to talk to someone who has worked these holes to find out if they really have been finding anything.   We hope to be out there this week -- we had one little bit of rain a week and a half ago and the ground was too wet to drywash.  Its amazing how little rain it takes for the ground to soak it in and retain the moisture.  

Views from Imperial Wildlife Refuge

We went out to Imperial National Wildlife Refuge to visit our old stomping grounds.  We got to see the manager and a few of the workers we knew when we volunteered out there three years ago.  We also ran into volunteers that we worked with three years ago.  They were back at the refuge after taking a winter off from there.  We would go back but they have gotten rid of the bookstore at the visitor center and they don't have any outdoor projects going on so there just isn't much to do. 
The aerostat (white balloon) is just like the one that broke its tether out on the east coast and traveled all the way to Pennsylvania.  The tether dragging beneath it caused all kinds of damage.   This one is on the ground and we could always see it from our old  RV space at the refuge. 

The other picture shows the mountains on the California side of the river.   Piccacho Peak is sticking up in the middle of the picture.  It was our favorite view when we lived on the refuge.  There was a lot to like living out there --- it was quiet and the stargazing was fabulous with the dark skies.  Now we live right in town next to the freeway -- lots of lights all night and noisy during the day.  Although we do have wildlife in our RV park here in town.  There is a fox living in the park.  He is getting very used to people and eating his weight in mice and rats.   

Our winter home

We are settled for the winter at Las Quintas Oasis RV Resort in Yuma, AZ.  Its surprising to see so many Canadians coming back knowing that its costing them one third more than last year because of their low dollar.   I'm sure they are grateful to be somewhere warm for the winter.  I know we are!

We are still waiting for some more workampers to come.  Its too bad so many workampers make a commitment and then don't come.  Its understandable that health and family issues arise. We are finding that maybe half who say they have these problems are telling the truth.  The other half are not giving the real reason for not coming and they don't give much notice so the employer and fellow workampers are left holding the bag. 

We have started our search for a summer job close to a good walleye lake.  It will be interesting to see where we end up going.  Its fun to look across the country and ponder what area might be worth checking out for a summer. 

Yuma Swastika Bridge

 

 

 

 

This little concrete bridge is next to the Laguna Dam and was built at the same time as the dam --- around 1909.  It helped give access to the dam.    There are over 40 swastikas decorating this bridge.  They were placed there as decoration back before Hitler changed their meaning.  Swastikas used to mean sun, fire and lightening.   During WWII the bridge had to be guarded to keep it from being destroyed by outraged citizens.  It still is seen as controversial because people don't bother to look back at the history of the swastika symbol.

We are getting all of our chores done before the crowds come.  We've started working -- Jim doing maintenance and I'm in the office.  We are waiting for the rest of the workampers to show up.  I guess they will be dribbling in over the next month.