Merry Christmas!

To all our friends old and new, Chris and I would like to wish everyone a very safe and Merry Christmas. We hope the season brings you great joy.

We are currently hanging out at one of our favorite locations; Mittry Lake Wildlife Area just north of Yuma, Arizona.

We are actually just outside the actual wildlife area which is managed by Arizona Game and Fish. They have a camping area down near the lake but restrict the length of stay there to 10 days/ calendar year. We are actually up by one of the irrigation canals a couple hundred yards from the lake and about 40 feet higher up. This area is managed by the federal Bureau of Reclamation and apparently doesn't have any set restriction on length of stay. At least no-one seems to bother us up here and others have stayed here for several months.
It seems this is also one location where we tend to meet and make new friends. Our first time here, we met up with a group of folks who we now hang out with regularly and introduced us to the Escapees organization. Last year was a few more people who, while we haven't seen them since, we keep in touch via Facebook. This year, we met a young couple with 2 adorable kids. They hit the road full time about 2 years ago in a converted tour bus. I have enjoyed comparing notes with Eric on RV systems and solar. They have a to-die-for solar system with a huge Lithium battery bank.
We have had a bit of change in the weather again.  Sunday morning I caught this stunning sunrise.

Later in the day though, the clouds built further and Monday we had a few showers. Today, other than a brief light shower first thing, turned into a really nice day.
As I mentioned a while back, I had twisted my right knee somehow and it has been taking its sweet time healing. While it isn't quite 100% yet, I think it is well enough that I can get back to doing some of the things I have been missing. So today I though it would be a good day to go on a hike.
On one of the hills nearby is a big microwave reflector. I have wanted to get up to it every time we have been here. Today was the day.

This is what it looks like from where we are camped. Straight line distance it is only a little more than a half mile away and about 300 ft higher but to get to it is quite a round about route and in a couple of places some serious climbing. The views from up here are quite spectacular and made it a worthwhile endeavor.

This is the view of Mittry Lake from the top of the hill.

This is the old Laguna Dam built between 1902 and 1905.

Looking back toward our camp at the maximum my iPhone would zoom. Our rig is on the left in this shot in behind the 2 buses. At the top centre, you can see where the irrigation canal comes out of the first of two tunnels.

Just a small part of the vegetable fields in the Yuma area. They grow all sorts of vegetables here; broccoli, cauliflower, multiple types of lettuce, onions and even cotton. There are always many fields being harvested.

Oh, and of course, this is what the back side of the reflector looks like from close up. The front was covered in graffiti so I didn't want to put that up.
Tomorrow is Christmas day and we are expecting a bunch here for our Christmas dinner pot luck in the afternoon. We aren't sure exactly how many but probably 15 to 20 or so. Some are already here camping out with us and a few will be making the trip from the Escapees park in Yuma for the day. Regardless, it should be fun.
Those of you that get this blog via email will likely see it tomorrow, so we wish you all the best for Christmas.
I have also made another small change if you want to read this on-line. The old web address of http://robandchristravels.blogspot.com has been changed to a much shorter and more personalized version. It is https://rctravels.rmcd.ca. Give it a try.