Mittry Lake near Yuma, AZ

Mittry Lake is a favourite spot of ours, especially for relaxing and enjoying the views. Part of the Colorado River, the lake is north of Yuma and well used by locals for fishing and boating. It's also near the Yuma Proving Grounds so we often hear test explosions and see military planes flying overhead.

This is our bad weather day, so we hike into the rocky hills south of the lake, taking advantage of the cooler temperatures thanks to the clouds. This canal runs through the hills to the many farms in Yuma, which is known as the "lettuce capital of the world". Workers are havesting the lettuce now.

photo P1120473 left justified] If one cairn marks the trail, what do a dozen mark? This hilltop has a row of these cairns for no reason we can imagine other than someone likes building them or it's a silent competition between hikers.

photo P1120475 left justified] Many of the campers along Mittry Lake are Canadian, and we have heard that Yuma's snowbird population is 60% Canadian. So we aren't really surprised to see our flag flying along this trail.

I think when we were here last year, we caught the rising of the full moon. And here's another one. This is the view from our campsite.

What would a trip to Yuma be without a trip to Martha's Gardens for a date shake? It would be unfulfilling - emotionally and physically.

The Wetlands trail runs through town along the Colorado River, and Brad and I hike it during a very hot afternoon. We then have an early dinner (since lunch was a date shake) at Da Boyz in historic downtown and return to Gateway Park to get this picture of the Ocean to Ocean Highway bridge. These are two bridges - one for vehicles and one for trains. Yuma was historically significant as one of the few crossings of the once mighty Colorado River. Today, irrigation consumes much of the water and dams control its flow.