Saturday, October 18, 2014

A Little Sight Seeing Oct 18, 2014

First, many thanks to those who have accessed Amazon via my blog and purchased goodies!

We've had some nice sunsets this week.  I learned that humidity plays a role in how sunsets atmospherically develop...low humidity here is playing it's part well!


Yes, I have a "chandelier" in my RV!  

Yesterday morning the sky didn't know whether to host a sunrise or rain, so we got a combo-weather-package.  The rain wasn't hard at all and, unfortunately, only lasted about half an hour. 


No hikes this week, but I have taken a couple of drives around the [very near] area.  Here's what I found...

Just a short distance from here, there's a "development" or "resort area", that also includes an RV park.  It's called Hidden Shores Village.  If you aren't staying in the RV park area ($54/night...almost double what most charge) you purchase a stationary home, which are look-alike mobile homes with covered porches...all in long rows...just a few feet separating them...looking similar to barracks. There are 625 of them. They look nice enough, just not my style.  But great for those who enjoy a close proximity to others.  But, aside from that, the kicker is, after you purchase your home ($75-90k), there is still a yearly rental fee of $5-7000...for the land parcel you are sitting on I suppose. Seems pretty steep.


There is water (Colorado River), but those houses/park aren't really looking at it (??????).  There's a very small 9 hole golfing area (looks like all par 3 holes), a rec room/club house, a little convenience store (high prices for the convenience!) and a restaurant.  I guess the steep rental fee is also paying for those amenities.  But, frankly it was all rather non-descript.  The restaurant wasn't open yet, but from the looks of it outside, I don't think I'm all that interested in checking it out.  The gal in the convenience store told me that "up on the ridge" 121 new homes are going in...the first few (and probably all the rest) are in the $600,000 range.  For my money, I'll continue to enjoy my view and pay $30/month!


From Hidden Shores, I drove out past the Army grounds to Hwy 95 and saw some troops in parachute training.  I tried to photograph them as they were floating down, but I wasn't fast enough.
But I took a snap, anyway, just a minute after landing.


I drove north a little way on Hwy 95 (back towards Quartzsite) and turned off to the west to Martinez Lake.  Along the access road was a little cemetery...primarily all unidentified children.  Sad, but what a great thing for the Yuma Women's Reel & Rifle Club to do....back in 1977.




Martinez Lake is another resort community where you purchase your dwelling.  I didn't see an RV park, but there may be one.  Quite different than Hidden Shores.  There are little, alley-like streets packed together that wind around and the houses are every configuration of housing you can imagine, and inches -  not feet - apart.  No zoning there, apparently!  Most of the homes in this initial section were, well....not really anything to write home about.  Honestly, kind of a jumbled mess.  But, there were a couple "on the water" that I could see from where I pulled in that were standouts vs. the others.




However, the views from this side of their homes were terrible...just pavement and junky stuff around some yucky buildings, etc.  The water was just a stone's throw wide at this point.  (????????)  That just seconds the good feelings about my site and the fact that it's practically free!  This community also had a little store, a post office as big as a telephone booth, and a rustic grill/bar restaurant.  I saw "homes for sale" flyers posted in the store highlighting the more notable homes around the lake (which I never could see)...they were all in the $800,000 and higher range.  Again, I'm very much happier with my living arrangement than I would be living there even if I had that kind of money!

Yesterday morning I needed to fill water vessels, dump tanks and trash, and get propane.  The propane fill took me down to the Army base (about 5-6 miles).  Surprisingly, there is a really  nice restaurant/bar-lounge there...the Cactus Cafe.  I will definitely try it out sometime...indoor and outdoor seating.  The manager said they often see "wildlife" from the patio...like big horned sheep.  I'll be taking my camera!  The lunch and dinner menus looked good.  Maybe I'll take myself there from my birthday next week.  That's a good reason to go there!  The bowling lanes building has a nice little breakfast/sandwich/pizza restaurant, also with outdoor seating, good prices and wifi.

On the way back to my site, I drove by another part of the Senator Wash Reservoir and took some photos...of course, it's [another] beautiful day!




I can pack a snack and bike to these areas!  



So, that was this week's tour-abouts!

I have heard from a few readers that they are interested in some photography "hints".  I'm not a professional, but I have learned some things along the way that may help enhance your photos.  No need for a fancy camera...whatever I post will be for everyone, any skill level, with any kind of camera.  If this sounds interesting to you, please post a note below.

Speaking of posting a note...you may have noticed I rarely respond to comments.  Why??  Well, I only have so much data time with my Verizon plan, and it's not inexpensive.  It takes quite a bit of time/data to just get the blog posted.  But, I DO read all of your comments and appreciate your enthusiasm for my travels and photos!  Thank you!

Bye for now from the desert.  Enjoy your autumn weekend!

Oh --- we have the cutest little Airstream, honor-system, library here...it is jam packed with paperbacks...all organized and categorized.  Fun!


3 comments:

  1. Good on checking out the area, and finding a nice restaurant! Housing seems unlikely to attract, but.........like you can bike when it gets cooler. Like the library! Wonder where the infants came from....
    Thanks for interesting post!

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  2. Thank you for bird eye view of the area. I am hoping to head down in that direction near Thanksgiving time for a couple of weeks. I also enjoy your photography and would be interested in hints on how to enhance picture taking. Love your backyard!

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    1. Definitely let me know when you are in the area, JoAnn. Hopefully we can get together! Thanks for chiming in on your interest in some photo hints. I will be working on that! Safe travels!

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