This afternoon we all got together and went fireworks shopping. Doug and Trace have been checking out the ad's all week planning our trip. We had to go to two different places to get everything we needed. 
Could not resist the hat, I will let Trace wear it only for photo ops..... Now the countdown to the 4TH.
Fireball is all ready to go to work with Mom..... but around noonish she had to take FB back home to the boys. What a spoiled little thing she is, if I was there I would not spoil her. |
| JUST BECAUSE I GO TO WORK WITH MOM DOES NOT MEAN I AM SPOILED |
Today was spent exploring Grants Pass's Old town. What a fun day all the bears, as you can see all shapes and sizes. Wayne sure got a work out in the walking department. Here is Pirates of Bear Cove, Captain "Rouge" and his trusty Monkey. 
As you walk down the street you see more and more statues. Some have a baby with, below are the babies so you can match them up....or not. The pie bear was at the "Powder Horn". A gentleman on the street told us how good the Marionberry pie was so we had try some. To Wayne it was not sweet enough and to me it was perfect. Looked like a lot of home cooking at the Powder Horn. 
Here are the babies, some do not have Mothers above. 
More bears, but not as many as they had in years past. No way can I pick a favorite.
Rouge River even decorate there fire hydrants, my favorite is the one on fire. The hotel is only a mural of a hotel..... hard to tell from the pix. 
You never know what your going to find when your in the desert. Not sure what kind of art you would call this but you must admit it is interesting. 
Old men at play on the bombing range, here is Wayne, Dave and Frog checking out a tank.... they all decided tanks were not for them. The rock pile that Dave is standing in the middle of looks as tho it might have been a rock home at one time. Of course everyone has to have there picture taken with a catus. We found a few caches and manged to put 100 miles on the jeep. Make for a long but fun day. 
Took a while but finally found an Ocotillo in bloom. Sometime you have to really look close to find the flowers. We did find a Gecko and a catus in bloom. Nice long day in the desert. Had a wonderful time showing Frog and Dave our Yuma. B
Today Dave and Frog arrived, a couple of Wayne's high school buddies. Fun hearing stories of high school days and none of them sounded execrated. Had to take the "boys" to Lutes for lunch. 
Next the Yuma Territorial prison each time we go there I enjoy it as much as the first time. Always something new to see. Great pix of the prisoner "Frog". On to the Q casino in CA for a little gambling. Not BIG winners or losers in our group. 
Drove around Yuma and found a few more caches. Starting to get dark and it had been a long day for the "boys" . Now they are all snug in there motel room and am sure they are sound asleep since they have had a long day. Who knows what tomorrow will bring...... B
Getting ready for the event started early, we got there at 8am and the pits were started, and the beans cooking. 436 people attended the event, we were hoping to break the 500 mark but did not happen this year 
People lined up for the food line. This year there was two serving lines and it work out real well, it always amazes me how so many people can be fed in such a short time. 
Lot of time to visit and find out about caches that you could not find. Telling stories of your favorite finds, worst caches, and the scariest trails. All in all a perfect day for a cacher. B
Today over hundred caches came out, the start of a fun caching week-end. It is Yuma Event #9 time. Bubble blowing flash mob at the fountain in front of Lutes in the afternoon. Big turnout, and a lot of people in the streets since there was also mardi Gras going on in Old Town. Look close and you can see bubbles in the pictures. 
JJ and W getting ready for warm up #9, get a quick bite to eat before everything gets crazy. Lutes is a very unique place, you notice something new every time your there. 
We had half the restaurant and so many people still could not get in it was so packed. 
Tomorrow at 8:00am the Yuma Event #9's BBQ will get started. 
RAIN!!! Well sprinkles to the rest of the county but rain here in Yuma, at least for a while this morning. Wayne was hungry for some good gravy so we headed for Ligurta Station. This is one of the few places in the country that still serves 5 cent coffee.
Wednesday we found out there was a problem with caches we had replaced last month. Around 30 or 40 of them were missing. Bill, Berta, Don, Andy, Wayne and I made plans to check it out the missing caches. As you know any planned day of caching starts with breakfast, this time we met at Ligurta Station. On to the desert to check out the caches. Kootenay Pirates from B.C. are the people that gave us a "heads-up" that there was a problem. We met up with them later in the day and let us know all the other caches were just fine and they found them all. We had a good visit with KP's and they gave each one of us one of there personal Geo Coin. Very nice couple. 
Friday we met Frank and Suzannah for lunch at Lutes. As usual Lutes was packed but we got a table right away. Good food good company what more can I say. After lunch we checked out River days street fair. Seems like the same vender's each time. Had some Ice Cream before we headed our separate ways. Thanks Suz & FO for a good lunch and visit. 
Started out at Day Breaker's for breakfast and then on to caching. A Team Yuma was headed for new territory, well at least for this year. First stop was a housing development then on to Adair Road. It was a busy place, lot of cachers out for the day. Thank goodness we ran into Bill and Berta, they helped us out on a couple we were having problems with. Yuma, Arizona
This 800-foot-long suspension bridge spanned the Gila River when it was built in 1929, and was named McPhaul Bridge in honor of Henry Harrison McPhaul, "the only Yuma resident who ever became an Arizona Ranger." But it was considered to be too flimsy for modern traffic, and when a dam was built upstream in 1968 the river was diverted and the highway was rerouted over a much smaller bridge. This ultimately proved unwise, as a flood in 1993 destroyed the new bridge while the Bridge to Nowhere, with its broad span and high clearance, probably would have been just fine.
McPhaul Bridge crosses only desert sand and rocks these days, but the Arizona air has kept it remarkably intact. It would have been a fine location for a post-Apocalyptic Charlton Heston film....
It was a fun day but by 1ish we were ready to had home. It is now Monday and it is 68 on its way to 78 for the day. I am glad the wind has finally stopped and it is warming up. 
On the 17Th we hit the street fair again in Old Town Yuma. The only good thing was the "Ribbon Fry's" they cook them when you make the order so they are fresh, they were so bad for us and so oily and oh so good. Afterwards we worked off the Frey's by finding a couple caches. The top pix is a view from Holiday Inn, and it is the fields, and business's along hwy 95.
Today Suzannah and I had a nice relaxing "girls" afternoon. A Lady in there park came to the rig and gave us a pedicure. Fun time, nice visit and relaxing. Suz and I got to catch up on with we have each been doing and. Frank and Suz will only be here for 3 weeks so we have to visit as much as we can. W and FO went caching while we had our "girl" time. Next stop for FO and Suz will be there place in Casa Grand. 
Here are some pix from Cassidy's basketball game, she is # 23. With her long arms she is good at rebounds. Doug sent a message "5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 foul 1 tired kid". If you know Doug you know he is a man of few words. 
