The Center of the World, Yuma, Phoenix, and Tempe, AZ

Tha Dunes!!!

We are out of the dang ol' dang state of Cali. Finally, it took us 2 months to get out of that state sheesh. Now that we are out I am just raring to get on the road and just keep moving. But wait! There are things to see still  :)

I was the 59 thousandth and change
who has been here!

Very proud

After our crazy journey into the wasteland that is the Salton Sea we trucked down towards the Arizona border. We have heard people say Yuma isn't that spectacular of a place but on my bucket list is to be able to say I have at least been to Yuma. Before we made it to Yuma, we stopped by the city of Felicity. A city of only 4 people and touts being able to say they are the, "official" center of the world. Recognized by several governments they have a plaque inside a pyramid that denotes the center of the world and then they have a ton of granite slabs all around that basically list world history and how we understand the world at this place in time. They seem to be planning on making this thing so that if disaster strikes and some foriegn people find these ruins thousands of years from now they will be able to see how we saw the world. We got a certificate and walked around. They have a nice church on a hill and we visited that as well. Soon we were off to Yuma.

Original stairs from the Eiffel tower

AAAAHHH Yeaaaa

Before making it to Yuma we passed the Sand dunes that people said we had to see. We didn't get out because I was nervous about the bus not starting after a long drive. It would have been nice to sink our feet into the sand that seemingly doesn't stop but, I have felt sand beneath my toes before so meh.

Colorado River by Yuma

By the Prison

We rolled into Yuma and recharged our batteries for awhile at a Starbucks. We then headed to the downtown area where a farmers' market was taking place. We walked around and went into an antique store. They had some very interested things inside but we weren't about to buy anything. The downtown area was falling apart for the most part. They did have some stores and restaurants but there were a lot of empty falling apart buildings. Surprisingly, many of the historic buildings are marked for preservation but they just have not started on it yet and I think it has been that way for awhile. We then visited the historic prison there then spent the night at a casino that had an area for people to park their RVs at.

Petroglyphs

Not only are we tree huggers
We are Cactus huggers!

Our plan after Yuma was to go to Gila Bend which would be a stopping point before going to Phoenix. A site to see on the way was the Petroglyphs. It is called painted rock and about 600 years ago some native americans made some etchings in the rocks. It was a ways off the freeway and we meandered down there then admired the rocks. I was worried the bus wouldn't start and after our tourism I go to turn Maander on and sure enough the starter isn't clicking on. Aaahhh, it was in gravel and it was no chance of getting a push start. I climb underneath Maander to take a look and see if I can figure anything out. Tony, the guy who helped me build Maander, gave me a suggestion awhile ago where you use a screwdriver to connect these two wires on the starter to bypass a solenoid that sometimes sticks. Well previously working on Maander I saw 2 wires hanging off the starter that I just assumed the old owner used for power to something like a radio. On closer inspection I see that the wires are connected to the two wires Tony said you connect to get the starter to go. So I make sure the car is in neutral and I connect them - Boom - big spark. I jumped and had no idea what happened. We turns out it worked and it does turn the starter. We go over to the ignition and the starter works again! Now I don't have to stress about being stranded because of the starter. The generator has been acting great and the engine heat has been fine here in Arizona. I am so confident with Maander right now it's crazy.

Maander will live!
Too many pics of me like this grrr

So off we go and we roll into Gila Bend at about 3. We go to the museum and drive down the main drag. Well, thats about it. We asked the lady at the museum things to do/see or great places to eat. She was basically stumped on that question but did suggest a Mexican joint. Anna and I soon realize it is completely pointless to stay in Gila Bend and I am really confident with Maander so lets keep trucking. We get that Mexican food then off to Phoenix. In total we drove about 200 miles that day which is the most I have driven with Maander and he handled it like a champion. I know we have some long trek's ahead of us so I am glad we got some preliminary long ones out of the way.

At the Museum in Gila Bend

You see a lot of this in the desert
wonder what an Otel is?

We walked all over downtown Phoenix which feels a lot like Sacramento because of the many state workers walking about. We visited the capitol and looked at all the history they have there. We found out that the camera was out of batteries so all my pics of Phoenix are with my iPhone :) Once it got dark we headed to a 24 hour fitness worked out for awhile then spent the night at a Walmart. We met up with our friends Andrea and JP and they were kind enough to let us spend the night there as well. We then met up with a relative of Anna's in Tempe and we experienced that. Tempe is a really cool town where tons of young people go to school at Arizona State University. They have a lot of creative modern architecture there and Lyle showed us that and told us all about the history around the parts of Tempe.

That's Arizona's seal kid

Capitol building

We are about to head on down to Tucson and see my old youth pastor and his wife, Dusty and Jamie. I am excited to see them because we haven't spoke in probably 4 years. It will be interesting to see them and the all that goes on in Tucson. The weather has been amazing in Arizona. We have enjoyed 70 degree weather and sunshine. I understand why all the people from colder climates come down here to vacation for the winter.

Some architecture in Phoenix

At the miners museum.
Didn't realize how big some of
their equipment is