A Painted Desert

This past weekend we visited the Painted Desert North of Yuma. This place is incredibly beautiful. Minerals in the rocks make them a variety of different colors, from reddish to almost purple. 

The weather was perfect. It was in the 80s but a gentle desert breeze blew constantly which made it just the right temperature for hiking.

Liam had all the clambering rocks he could ever wish for.

Liam got a little too close to one of these cactuses and ended up with a vicious spine in his foot. He was very wary of them from then on! 

 This place was stunning and I enjoyed observing and collecting a lot of the desert flora I came across. We were told there is a lot of wildlife out here. We saw a roadrunner and a lizard but our boys constant jabber scared everything else away, I'm afraid. 

A Day in Prison

This past Sunday we visited a couple of churches, going to the early service at one and the late service at another. We then grabbed some takeout and went over to one of Yuma's most popular attractions, the Yuma Territorial Prison. This place was in operation throughout the late 1800s but shut down in the early 1900s. We ate our lunch in the shade of some palm trees before exploring the grounds. The prison was very interesting and we enjoyed the museum and walking through the old cell block. It looked like something from a movie and has actually been used as the set for a number of movies throughout the years. The highlight for Liam was the big iron cell doors which were perfect for climbing. Luca just wanted to sit in the dust and play with gravel 😄.

Molar City, Mexico

Just a few miles from Yuma is a border crossing into the city of Los Algodones, Mexico. Los Algodones has come to be known by some as "Molar City" because thousands of Canadians and Americans flock there to receive affordable dental care every year. The city contains somewhere between 600 and 900 dentists and more than 300 dental clinics. We went there this past weekend so Alvin could get some dental work done. It was my first time in Mexico and it was quite an experience, to say the least.

We arrived at the border and parked in an expansive parking lot on the California side before unpacking the stroller and loading the boys up. It is amazing how easy it is to get into Mexico. We simply walked down a sidewalk, through a turnstile, and straight into Mexico. There were no guards and no-one checking passports or IDs. Upon crossing the border, we were immediately bombarded with people trying to sell us things or trying to get us to go to their dental clinic or pharmacy. 

The streets in Mexico are narrow and crowded. The sidewalks are lined with vendors selling blankets, clothing, jewelry, knickknacks, and face masks. Behind the vendors sit building after building, almost all of which are either a dental clinic or a pharmacy. Alvin went to a clinic that was quite swanky looking compared to some of the others just a block or so from the border. Due to Covid, the boys and I were not allowed to wait in the clinic so I found myself alone on the streets of Mexico with my toddlers for what turned out to be several hours due to the extensive dental work Alvin ended up needing. This was a position I certainly did not anticipate, nor did I appreciate finding myself in! The dentists assured me that Los Algodones is very safe due to all the border police and that I had nothing to fear. I wasn't entirely convinced and had I known how long they would end up taking I think I would have told everyone to forget about dental work for the day!

I spent as much time as possible in a little coffee shop right beside the clinic Alvin was in but whenever the boys would get restless we would head out for another dusty trek through the streets. I made sure I stayed within a couple blocks of the border and only walked in the crowded tourist areas. We got lunch from a street vendor and fed our scraps to the pigeons, much to the boys' delight. 

 I bought the boys little hats to keep the hot sun off of them. Liam spent much of the time riding perched on the cupholder of Luca's stroller and was quite a hit with the locals when he wore his hat. We heard "Heeey!!! Cowboy!!!" so many times throughout the day. Walking up and down dusty streets with two toddlers for hours is one thing, but doing it while being accosted by a never ending barrage of vendors is another thing entirely. Needless to say, by the time Alvin was done getting his teeth done I was utterly exhausted and maybe just a little grumpy. It was certainly an adventure but one I hope never to repeat. Don't get me wrong, I would enjoy going back to Mexico and seeing the sights, I just hope next time to keep my hubby close and not have to do it alone! 

The Los Algodones border closes at 2PM. The dentists assured us beforehand that they would be done with Alvin's teeth with plenty of time to spare. Their definition of "plenty" is different from mine and he finished just in time for us to make a dash for the border before it closed. Getting back across the border was a little more complex than getting into Mexico. We had to show our passports and declare any items we bought before winding our way through a series of fenced walkways and back into California. Alvin was in severe pain from the work he had done so we headed back home and spent the rest of the day recuperating. Alvin from his dental work and me from a rather stressful day in Mexico.

I look forward to seeing more of Mexico. It is a very vibrant place with lots of good food and so much bright and beautiful artwork. I only hope that next time we will all be able to enjoy the experience a little more!

A Toxic Sea

The current Salton Sea was created when agricultural canals from the Colorado River were being built and overflowed, filling up an empty lake basin. The Salton Sea is kept full in part by agricultural runoff, causing it to be twice as salty as the ocean and full of toxins. 

Years ago, it was much cleaner and in the 1950s different beach towns popped up around the waters edge. Now these towns are ramshackle and mostly abandoned. The water have been receding for decades and as the lake bed dries up, the toxic dust created from the dried agricultural sediment causes chronic asthma with many of the locals. The strong stench of the water sits over the whole area. I wouldn’t dream of swimming in the Sea but it was an interesting sight to behold. While most the fish have died off due to the high salinity and toxicity of the water, there are many unique and exotic (to us) birds in the area as well. 

There are a lot of art installations built with debris scattered hither and yon over the beach.

I certainly would not want to linger for long in this place but the water reflecting the bright blue sky was beautiful and the mountains in the distance were breathtaking. 

A Mountain and a City

Salvation Mountain

Years ago I watched a documentary that featured a man named Leonard Knight who had constructed a huge art installation in the desert of California. This past weekend we got to see it in person. Constructed from adobe and straw and covered in thousands of gallons of paint, this place is truly an amazing sight.

Cars, trucks and boats, all covered in doodles and writings, are scattered around the mountain

The structure appears very unstable in places and parts of it have collapsed. You certainly couldn't compel me to go inside (and multiple signs and chicken wire covering the entrances forbid it).

Scripture and messages of love and repentance were painted on every possible surface.

Salvation Mountain is located outside of Slab City, a squatter community in the middle of nowhere, California. We drove through and saw the many little encampments scattered around the desert. Most are constructed from refuse and the desert around them is scattered with piles of garbage. Upon rolling the windows down I was confronted with the rather unpleasant smell of marijauna. Slab City is said to be "one of America's last free places."  It is, indeed, a unique place filled with unique people.

The Ghost Town at Castle Dome

About forty miles outside the city of Yuma at the end of 7 miles of rough gravel road sits a little ghost town which was once a thriving mining town in the late 1800s. It has been rebuilt and all the buildings filled with antiques and memorabilia from the time period. We enjoyed walking around and seeing ancient machinery, tools, clothing, and knickknacks from more than 100 years ago. 

I could have spent hours exploring every nook and cranny of the place, but toddlers and husband ensured I didn’t tarry for too long. The place had such a unique feel to it, like I was actually In a town in the Old West 140 years ago, or at least on a movie set. The glaring sun, bright blue sky, and desert breeze just added to the milieu.

After we were finished exploring the place, we stopped at a little restaurant called The Dirty South and had some bbq and tacos followed by a date shake. Alvin said the shake tasted like “dates and dirt” but Liam sure enjoyed it.

Along the road home is a big sign that reads “Stop, Rest, Worship.” Beyond the sign sitting amongst the fields is a tiny church. Apparently, it was built by a farmer 25 years ago in memory of his wife. We stopped for a minute and explored it before heading back to Yuma.