Mexico on Monday

We packed our bags Monday morning and checked out of the AirB&B house Sherry had secured for our stay in Yuma. We drove west 5 miles to the border town of Los Algodones.

and we are in Mexico

Los Algodones, Molar City

We were completing a five stage Adventure Lab that brought us to a new to us plaza. Lovely quiet area away from the hustlers and bustle of the first two streets in the border community.

the bull and the angel wings at Medi Plaza

The bright blue of the home caught my eye and I could not resist taking a photo, especially when most of the homes are of a various tan/sand color.

The old border fence leaning against the US side of the new border wall.

The border marker for Mexico and the United States. We were standing in two countries at the same time. Double border wall on the east side of the town.

We stopped at our designated five locations and answered the questions appropriately and were rewarded with a virtual confirmation of completion. 

Then it was off for a few more geocaches before we could sign in for the event. Hubby was off on a mission. Sherry and Janice was visiting and I was taking photos!

A first for the four of us...an unsigned log at a geocache! We were the FTFs; the First to Find. Five new geocaches had been published that morning, so we hustled to two of them. One had signatures, but this one was a distance from the main market area and we were lucky.

the location of the Mexico geo event

Sherry documenting Hubby signing the log*

Then we hustled to get in line to cross the border. Mondays are one of the busiest days for Americans to cross the border for their dental work, prescription drugs and alcohol purchases. We knew a wait could be 2 hours or longer if one is not in line before noon.

Our wait was 59 minutes. Not bad at all. One by one we were allowed to enter the customs office. The officer asked if I had found all the scavengers as I was wearing a geocaching t-shirt. I said we did and that was it and we were done.*

We headed back to Phoenix thinking we would make one more stop at the Naked Date Farm, but someone missed the exit and we stopped at Dateland for their date shakes. No comparison in my opinion. I guess I will have to do the driving next time!

On Tuesday evening we met Chad and Jane from Gilby ND at our favorite restaurant to wrap-up a fabulous week for them and 5 days for us of geocaching adventures. We hope to get back to Gilby this summer to do more of the geocaches Chad has created. 

And thus ends the Yuma geocaching adventure.

*Photos taken by Sherry and shared with me. Thanks Sherry!  Always fun to have you along on geocaching adventures.

Yuma on Sunday

The main event of the weekend was held on Sunday at the West Wetlands Park in Yuma. Southwest Arizona Geocachers (SWAG) have hosted this event for 18 years and as I said in the first post from our Yuma adventures, we have been attending since 2013. This may be the last year for this large gathering of geocachers who are hoping others will step up and continue the planning and carrying through of 4 days of hosting geocachers.

Here are some photos from the Mega event (a geocaching event of 500+ people) at the Wetlands Park.

the registration board

I have always said attending the events is more about the people we meet than the event itself. The geocacher with the long hair over her shoulder recently moved to Geocaching Headquarters in Seattle. Hubby and I have done many of her geocache hides in Fargo-Moorhead ND and had met her at the MINGO event in May. Meeting a Lackey from GH is a BIG deal.*

The three of us were on our way to find a tribute geocache to our AZ friend and reviewer who passed away last year when we met two younger geocachers. JeanSandwich calls Tucson his home and is in his early 20s and the young man on the right is 16 and gets his driver's license this month. Mindless Engine is from Phoenix and has attended some of my events in AJ. (One of his parents brought him!)*

Six of the geocachers in this photo call Sioux Falls SD home. Small world! (We missed seeing the two geocachers from NE whom we know.) 

This geocaching duo got into the spirit of the theme for this year's SWAG theme.

We enjoyed a walk along the Colorado River Sunday morning to collect more geocaches. 

checking out the bamboo?

or checking something else?

Mission completed! A lovely walk on the Charles Flynn Trail learning about the flora and a little history.

enjoying lunch at iconic Lute's Casino

javelina mount in the women's bathroom

also an advertisement for their wedding chapel

prices and times included

this might be the wall decor for the wedding chapel???

temp as we drove to California after lunch

site of Camp Pilot Knob

Camp Pilot Knob was a sub camp of the US Army Desert Training Center in Imperial County CA  established by General George Patton to prepare American troops for battle during WWII. It was the largest military training ground ever to exist. At its peak of activity June-December 1943 the 85th Infantry division, and the 36th and 44th Reconnaissance Squadrons of the 11th (Mechanized) Cavalry trained for roles in the liberation of Europe, 1944-45. ~ Monument inscription

monument

It was the smallest of the DTC divisional camps. Construction began January 1943 and completed in April. The entire camp consisted of 4000 acres, but the living area was restricted to 700 acres. The only structures were pyramid wood framed tents, latrines and showers. The camp closed in June 1944. ~ Wikipedia

This was the location of another event on Sunday. After lunch at Lutes we geocached along I-8 on what may have been the former highway and then returned to the Dunes for the sunset event.

Formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahulla, the dune system or erg extends for 40 miles in a band averaging 5 miles wide. Dunes often reach the heights of 300 feet above the desert floor providing excellent opportunities for recreation. It is also home to rare plants and animals. ~ Bureau of Land Management

a wedding party photo shoot

2 of the 3 bridesmaids

we did not see the bride and groom

the sunset from Imperial Dunes CA

*Thank you Sherry for sharing photos

Remember you can click on any photo to see it in a larger format.

One more day to our trip to Yuma.

Yuma on Saturday

Traditionally, Saturday of the SWAG weekend is the Discovery Series, chasing 20 geocaches in unknown locations in the Yuma area along with a couple hundred other geocachers.

The three of us completed the chase by noon and got our geocoin as a reward. Then it was off to find interesting churches in Yuma. This was by far the best Adventure Lab for me as we got to see two mission churches.

It was dedicated in 1923, and its design replicates the Mission Puerto de Purísima Concepción, which once stood on the site.

This church sits a top a hill overlooking old town Yuma and the Colorado River at the entrance to the Quechuan Reservation.

Construction began on the Purism Concepcíon Mission in the fall of 1780 by Father Juan Antonio Barreneche and Francis Tomás Hermenogildo Garcés. 

entry doors

Poorly defended the mission was destroyed the following year during a raid and massacre July 1781 by Quechuan's (Yuma) frustrated by their treatment at the hands of the Spanish colonists.

 

stained glass window from outside

Fathers Garcés and Barreneche were beaten to death with clubs in the raid. Over 100 Spanish settlers were killed and 74 more were held as prisoners until Governor Pedro Fages paid a ransom for their release in 1782.

statue of Padré Garcia

buildings replicated from Fort Yuma

bell town of St. Thomas Church

vestibule of St. Thomas, a recent addition to the building

altar area 

It was an unexpected treat to be able to enter the church as parishioners were preparing for Saturday evening mass.

The St. Thomas Church sitting on the hill just north of Yuma has teased me for years. Because of the Adventure Lab/geocaching I finally got to explore it.

Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission

the mission church was founded in 1866

the doors were locked

I can't find any history on this mission

We visited 10 Yuma area churches. These two were my favorite.

Each evening we played a couple of games of Farkle. I won the most games.