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Arizona desert winter

Down deep in my childish soul are memories of hearing my mother’s voice. “You need to slow down and sit in one place for a while. Well, I have done it, Mom.

Yes, I stayed parked in one campground for more than one week, and actually, I spent the entire month of February at the Sandbar Campgrounds located 5-miles north of Yuma, AZ. The campground has no pool, guest house, or jacuzzi. But, they do provide showers and a laundry room.

But before I spent the month of February in one campground, I began my winter in the desert of Quartzsite, AZ, on the Bureau of land management, where I stayed for a couple of weeks.

My time there boondocking which is living off-grid living. I discovered I need a larger sewer, fresh water tanks, and a second battery to fulfill my electrical needs. The Quartzsite area is 70-miles north of Yuma, AZ, and a 10-degree difference in temperatures during the day and especially at night.

Twenty-four hours ago, on February 27, I turned from the paved roadway near Yuma, AZ, onto a desert road towards the mountain landscape setting to capture these photos.

If you ever get the opportunity to travel westward along interstate-8 westward to Arizona’s Southwest corner, where it border’s California’s Imperial Valley and Mexico. Your eyes would look out the window to see the miles of furrowed rows of agricultural.

When I first visited the area two years ago, one of the unique sights capturing my attention were the hundreds of white school-type buses parked on the shoulder of the road or in the distant fields. The buses carried agriculture workers to the fields, each towing a flatbed with porta-johns and handwashing stations for the workers.

The fields near the Sandbar campground where I stayed always had the sweet fragrant aroma of growing cauliflower. Especially when the fields were freshly harvested. The unique order was similar, similar to fresh-mowed grass.

The harvest workers cut the plants from the ground, using conveyor belts to pack into individual boxed containers and place them onto trailers for delivery to a nearby refrigerated distribution center. The product is stored for distribution which takes place between twenty- to forty-eight hours.

Yuma, AZ is surrounded by furrowed agricultural farmlands growing lemons, limes, dates, broccoli, cauliflower spinach, kale, cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelons, and many other types of agriculture.

I shopped at the local grocery store called Sprouts, where I saw the lowest prices for my favorite vegetables outside Southwest Florida. The Yuma, AZ area has become a favorite winter destination for me.

Responses to “Arizona desert winter”

  1. April Irvin

    Marty you never reply to any comments I leave. How are you doing? I miss seeing you. I love your new teardrop trailer.

  2. photobyjohnbo

    I’ve only been through Yuma, never spending more than a day there. Your post convinced me I should spend some time exploring the area. Thanks for the share.

  3. ourcrossings

    Arizona and its various landscapes truly is the most beautiful place in the world. Aiva 🙂

  4. Rick DeZeeuw

    Thanks for the update. We have driven by Yuma a few times, but never stopped

    Rick and Franny

  5. Monica Singh

    I have never tried camping to date. But now more than ever, I would love to spend a day or two out of the house and amid nature away from the city. Wishing for the world to get back to normal so that we can travel far and wide.

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