A Week @ Kofa Ko-op in Yuma, Arizona

 

Eric & I are spending a week at Kofa Ko-op in Yuma, Arizona.

Kofa Ko-op is an Escapees Affiliated Campground.

Escapees are welcome to stay while in the area.  

Eric and I toured this Campground in 2013 and added it to our list of places to stay in Southwest Arizona.  

The Ocotillo, next to the

Swimming Pool is starting

to bloom.

A closer look at the top of

the Ocotillo...

These red flowers assure

me that Spring is on

the way.

We are staying in the Dry Camp Area.

Solar Panels charge our House Batteries.

Full Water Tanks - 100 gallons

Empty Black Tank - 55 gallons

We are parked next to one of

several small gardens.

Hummingbirds roost in the

tree & dine at our feeder.

I like the decorations on

the exterior Sun Screen on

 the front of this Trailer.

One of two awnings that shades

the lot owner's RV.

The small building to the left is

a Casita.

They are used for extra living space or for storage    

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Tilted Solar Panels are tilted

on this motorhome.

Most of the gardens are

in depressions, where 

runoff drains after 

it rains.

Gnome sighting!

The arched wrought iron

porch decorations remind

me of Bourbon Street in

New Orleans.

This Trailer has a large addition.

This is the loveliest Casita 

at the Park.

Oooh...

A car to admire.

Loyal, the proud owner of this Mitsuoka Le-Seyde, tells Eric and me about this special production car.  Just 500 were made.  Most of them were sold in England and Japan.

Loyal lets me "slide in"

behind the wheel of this

right-hand drive car.

Eric gets this shot

of me behind

the wheel.

During my morning walk I discovered a new car in front of Loyal's home.  He said. "I want to show you something."

Loyal pushed a button &

the hardtop roof starts

to retract.  

This is a 1959 Ford Galaxie Skyliner Coupe.

I had no idea that 1959 cars

had this feature.

These photos were taken in the late afternoon.  The lighting is direct and the color of the car appears to change...

The passenger side of the car.

The front end

The hood is 1950s huge...

I admire the lines of

this 62 year old car.

This shot shows the very

long trunk, with space

for its retracted hardtop.

The rear end is 

sleek looking.

Loyal told me of local Car Shows scheduled in March. 

The Swastika Bridge... Yeah You Read It Right... Near Yuma, Arizona

 Eric and I read about the Swastika Bridge in Yuma's local paper, The Yuma Sun.  

Because the Swastika has been a symbol of authoritarianism, genocide, and racism since the rise of Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany in the 1930s, I assumed that the story would be interesting.  

Eric & I took a ride past farm fields to find this unusual Landmark.

The Swastika Bridge sits

safely behind a fence.

There's no water running under this old concrete bridge, just dried weeds grow in the channel.  I think this waterway has been abandoned or bypassed.  The fence around this area keeps the public from accessing a bridge that is no longer maintained and may be unstable.

This photo shows most of the bridge.

The top & bottom of the Swastikas

are horizontal.

The Swastika is a very old symbol, over 5,000 years old. Originally found in Sanskrit, it means "well being."  This could be called a universal sign.  It's been found in Ancient Rome, throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa...  It has been found in South and Central America.  The Swastika is a common Navaho symbol.

This is not Hitler's Nazi Swastika, tipped at 45 degrees.  

The Swastikas are well preserved.

I'm surprised they haven't been

vandalized.

The etching in the middle of the bridge.

I expected to see a construction date.

U.S. U.S.

So...  What's the history of this old bridge?   It's part of the Laguna Diversion Dam Project that began in 1905 to provide year-round water to Yuma.  The project engineers became aware of the Swastika during a previous trip to India and incorporated it into the bridge construction.  

Since the construction of other dams upstream, the Colorado River has been diverted and the channel and bridge are no longer in use.

Celebrating Mardi Gras in Yuma, Arizona

This week leading to Fat Tuesday, February 16th is filled with Mardi Gras celebrations.  

Laissez le bon temps rouler!  Let the good times roll!

I decorated the front of

our motorhome with a

Mardi Gras Mask &

Beads.

Eric and I reminisce about Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana in 2013, and Mobile, Alabama in 2018.

Beads decorate our windshield.

Our Snowman wears a Mask &

has a cup for offered drinks

from fellow revelers.

Our RVillage Flag is decorated

with a string of Beads & a Whistle.

The Plush Cactus wears Purple,

Gold & Green Beads - the colors

of Mardi Gras.

Because of the Covid Pandemic, there are no parades in New Orleans this year with decorative Floats.  This year homeowners have decorated their homes as stationary Mardi Gras Floats.  Visitors walk the streets and admire the homes while socially distancing themselves from others.

Decorating is fun, looking at pictures of decorated homes is fun.  What else can Eric and I do to celebrate the last week before Lent?

We can eat Joe Gambino's

Louisiana King Cake!

Eric ordered this Mardi Gras

specialty for us.

We ate a Gambino's King Cake in 2013....  It was the best of the three we ate during our visit.

Eric also ordered Mardi Gras

Masks for us.

The colorful paperwork has

instructions for us & the

History of Mardi Gras.

Eric removes the plastic from

the Cake Box.

This giant ring of Cream Cheese

Cake has frosting & sprinkles.

Eric and I work together to create...

... our beautiful King Cake.

A tiny plastic Baby is hidden 

inside the Cake.

In the 1950s the plastic Baby replaced the ancient tradition of hiding a Bean in the Cake.  I wonder which one of us will find it & on what night during Mardi Gras.

This is too much King Cake for one after-dinner dessert.  That's OK.  We have a plan.

Eric cuts the King Cake

into Quarters.

We plan to freeze them

& eat a section during

Mardi Gras week.

Tonight's Quarter is cut

in half for our first

Mardi Gras Celebration.

Eric found the Baby the second

time he put his fork into

his piece of colorful Cake.

It's very small.

That's why we eat

King Cake carefully.

Memories of past Mardi Gras in New Orleans and Mobile are so vivid we savor the sweet, sugary, Cream Cheese-filled Cake.

Now our Cactus is sporting

a Mardis Gras Mask.

Eric and I have three more special evenings to share before Lent starts on February 17th.

Laissez le bon temps rouler!