Back in Sacramento

We arrived in Sacramento in a flurry of activity. Only here ten days, and already we have attended a funeral and a birthday party, gone skiing, and been to two (respective) dental appointments. We have visited with our kids and grandkids, and a few of our friends. Because this is our “home base” in a way, it is a place where we will take care of a lot of business. We will use the time here to regroup and prepare for our trip to Alaska in a couple of months. Any work that needs to be done to the 5th wheel and truck will be handled while we are here. And of course, as much time as possible spent with the kids and grandkids since it will be several months before we come back this way after we leave in April. As you can see, I am one very happy Grandma with my Grandson in my arms!

March is a very busy birthday month for us. Three of my four daughters are born in March, as are both Dan and I. Four of the birthdays are within 4 days of each other (2 on the same day), so we just have one great big party for everyone. Sort of like Christmas in March. Other activities planned while we are here include more skiing, some coastal hikes, visiting with friends, and a “real” visit to the capital. We will also take our annual Feather Falls hike near Oroville, which we have been doing for the last five years. I will be running a half marathon on March 16th, my first one! My goal this time is just to finish! I’ve attached a picture of me running on the American River Parkway trail. On that day, I ran 11 miles as part of my half marathon training. The Parkway is so pretty; I can’t count the number of times I have rode my bike, walked, and now run on various portions of the 23 mile trail. It’s nice to have the trail so close to where we are staying, only about two miles from our front door!

Yuma, Arizona

We stayed in Yuma nine days, arriving on February 2nd. Yuma is located close to both the California and Mexico borders, only minutes from each one. The Colorado River runs along the California/Arizona border. We had heard that Yuma was another magnet for RV’ers who are looking for a warm climate to spend their winter months. That makes a lot of sense because the average high temperature in February is 75 degrees. Beyond that, and realizing that Yuma is part of the desert, we didn’t really know what to expect. What we found out is Yuma must be the RV magnet of the WORLD!! We have never seen so many RV’s in one city before!! There are literally thousands and thousands of RV’ers in the numerous RV parks all over this town. The estimated population for 2006 was 87,423, but more than 85,000 winter visitors make Yuma their winter residence, literally doubling the number of people. Agriculture is huge here. We were again very fortunate to have access to lots of fresh citrus and many other varieties of locally grown fruits and veggies.

While we were here, we visited the Yuma swap meet, which is like a huge garage sale; we drove 80 miles to Quartzite (another winter haven for RV’ers, and in January and February each year where 2,000 vendors of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and everything else imaginable create one of the world's largest open air flea markets); we visited Mexico again (this time in Los Algodones, in Baja California); we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison (now a museum); and we ran in the cooler mornings along the irrigation canal behind our RV Park – miles of flat road, a runner’s delight!

Tomorrow we begin an easy three day journey to Sacramento where we will stay a couple of months to visit family, ski in the Tahoe basin, visit with friends.

Phoenix, Arizona

While staying in Mesa, we of course did a tour of the Arizona State Capital in Phoenix. The original capital building has been turned into the Arizona State Capital Museum, with the functional offices moved to more modern buildings on either side of the main entrance. The museum was interesting; I always learn something at every capital we visit. For instance, I learned about the “Buffalo Soldier” that Bob Marley sings about (which I probably should already have been aware of, had I paid more attention in history class). I also found the USS Arizona display interesting, since I had visited the actual sight of the sunken ship when we were in Oahu in March this year. My knowledge of history and geography are growing and improving as we take the time to visit these places of historical interest. I’m learning much more than I would from a book, watching television, or even sitting in a classroom. Experience is really the best teacher! We have now visited seven state capitals – only 43 more to go! Attached are a few shots from our tour.

Next Stop: Yuma, Arizona!

Mesa, Arizona: Workamper Job Fair

We belong to an organization called Workampers which helps connect prospective employers and employees. Workampers especially caters to people who travel a lot or those who are looking for only temporary or seasonal work, people like us who live and travel full time in their RV. A couple of times a year Workampers sponsors a two day job fair with seminars and workshops and employer booths. One of the job fairs was scheduled in Mesa, Arizona on January 29-30, and since we were heading west anyway to spend a couple of months in Sacramento, we decided to pass through Mesa on the way and attend the job fair. (And since Mesa is adjacent to Phoenix, we would be able to visit the capital of Arizona while there, and check that off our list.) The job fair was a good experience; we were able to meet the authors of books we have read on RV’ing, and we picked up good tips for not only workamping, but living this life style in general. No matter how much you think you know or have experienced, there is always something else to learn. The employers ranged from Disneyworld in Florida, to Sequoia National Parks, and everything in between. We decided not to apply for anything this time around, but we got good information for the future.

Little did we know when we made plans to be in the Phoenix area that so many other things were also going on that week. First of all there was a PGA golf tournament in Scottsdale that drew thousands of spectators. Then there was the Super Bowl in Glendale, which drew many more thousands of people. Our RV Park in Mesa was called Green Acres, which is really funny because the location is in the middle of a very busy 4-lane road going right through town, no fields or farms or pastures to be seen! However, our space (which looked like the only one available – thank goodness we made reservations!) had a tangelo tree growing on it and we were invited to pick and enjoy as much as we wanted. The tangelos were sweet and juicy, and we ended up juicing about a gallon’s worth while we were there. One day during the job fair we walked to downtown Mesa for lunch and found a delightful display of sculptures up and down Main Street. The downtown area was very small, but delightful with fun shops, the street art, benches, and outdoor cafes. The weather was nice, so we lunched outside and came back later to take pictures of the many sculptures.

Next Stop: Phoenix (Capital Tour)
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