It’s time to leave Tucson and go to the first rendezvous in Arizona. Ajo (ahh-hoe) is only a couple of hours southwest, toward the Mexican border. This small mining community is celebrating their 100th birthday and a month long festivities are planned. We join other Escapee RV club members about 10 miles northeast of town camped in the desert, enjoying the boondocking lifestyle. It’s good to see members from previous years and catch up. There are artist displays in town, speakers with the Library and a pot luck dinner in camp. We also have an opportunity to volunteer on work day with the Cabeza Prieta NWR. Most afternoons we're entertained with aerial combat training on nearby Barry M.Goldwater Air Force Bombing Range. Fully armed fighter jets, banked in hard turns, are making their approach to the bombing range. We can see the pilots in the canopy, they are just over our head, skimming the RV’s and terrain. After getting our mail in Tucson and housekeeping in Casa Grande we move on to Yuma, Az.
Yuma has become a comfortable stop each winter with free camping and easy access to Algodones, Mexico. The local casinos allow parking for RVs and it’s only a few miles to cross the border for food, pharmacies, liquor, dentist, and eyeglasses. We take the Jeep to the US side parking lot and walk in, spending the day and having lunch. Two visits in less than a week and Linda’s crown is finished, and I have new lenses in my old frames at a fraction of US prices. Most of our time is spent off Ogilby Road, on the California side of the Colorado River, eight miles north of Mexico. Even though the southwest has been cooler this year, the month was great and we used less than a half tank of fuel for February.
