Spent the afternoon with Tom and Shelley, the Bennetts and their dogs, Luke and Rudy, who were going to enjoy a swim. We drove out towards Mittray Lake which is actually a man-made lake from Colorado River overflow waters and about 14 miles from Yuma.
We passed many acres of farmland. The soil is sandy and grows all kinds of produce. Irrigation is supplied from the Colorado River and voila, the desert is fertile!
The area is surrounded by mountains and we stopped for lunch before heading to the lake.
This was the view from the restaurant in the small town of Martinez Lake which had many residences for sale, but it was not a place I would like to stay in. Too far from anything and very dusty.
This house would have been an exception for me to stay there and I was told it was a private residence that was a one bedroom home. I guess they don't want visitors.
Along the way to the lake, we passed the US Army Proving Grounds which had a display of rockets and tanks that had been tested there for use in the Middle East.
Rudy and Luke really enjoyed their swim in Mittry Lake. Luke would swim far out to fetch his frisbee and Rudy was so cute retrieving his little turtle toy which Barry would only throw a few feet in. Rudy would come back with his turtle as proud as punch - pretty good for a dog that is 12 years old.
It is amazing what happens when water is added to desert.
There were beautiful marshlands surrounding the lake and many birds around.
We continued a bit farther to "Betty's Kitchen", an area named after a restaurant that had been in a small residential area here that was destroyed by flooding in 1983. Nature quickly reclaimed this area which was lovely to walk through. In these trees you can see balls of "Desert Mistletoe" which is actually a parasitic plant that grows onto trees. It has small brown leaves and produces red berries that the birds love to feed on.
These trees were like feathery pines, however any tree you touch is very dusty from wind blowing the desert sand and dirt around. We had a fun day and when we returned both Mike and Barry had to clean off our black trucks as they were covered in dust as well.
We had a great surprise yesterday when we returned from a bike ride and discovered Al and April had decided to move to our RV Park and will stay here until March. We are delighted to have them close by and we enjoyed a glass of wine with them in the evening as the sun was setting.
Last night Lana and I went out to get a photo of the Yuma watertower which was lit up for Christmas and had to go onto the Desert Hills Golf Course to get this shot. 
No, we did not arrive in the stretch Hummer, it was the owner's.
The outside walls are covered with cute and quaint signs but the inside is quite dingy and it was probably a good thing that it was poorly lit and dark. We decided to sit outside under palapas and near the swimup bar, however there were no swimmer's today as it was 75F and considered cool for Yuma.
Al and April Hayden, Tom and Shelley Brazier and several others from the RV Park joined us and wished us a good trip home. It was a lot of fun and we will miss our Yuma friends and, of course, the beautiful Yuma weather. But after almost four months, we can hardly wait to see our family and friends. We have been very blessed and now hope for good weather for our return trip.
This was an amazing, beautiful evening and we loved it.
