Telegraph Pass Hike - January 2011 (Updated March 2011)

During our visit to Yuma we hiked Telegraph Pass. As you can see, it was a mile and one-half walk just to get to the trail head from the north frontage road.  Telegraph Pass is located in the north Gila mountain range.  The elevation at the top is 1558 feet.  The hike is 5 miles round trip.  Average hiking time is about 3 and 1/2 hours.  You can see the city of Yuma in the background. 

Here is Dave leading the way to the top.  Kathy and I hiked this pass 3 times during our visit to Yuma.

Here is our neighbor Dale Schmidt who made the hike with us. At the top of the peak sits 366 government and privately owned radio transmitters and other communication equipment.  The winding paved road from the trail head to the top of the mountain was built to allow companies to service their equipment.

Dave is getting a snack while Kathy opens a metal container which holds a guest log book to document your hike.  Kathy always attends to the paperwork!

                           Here we are after another successful hike.

Here we are on March 9th with friends Chuck and Dodi before leaving for our hike.

Chuck and Dodi at the top. 

It was much easier walking down the hill than up!

A fellow hiker was kind enough to take a picture of the four of us during our decent down the hill.  After some lunch and a short nap we were ready for the afternoons festivities.

Quartzsite - January 2011

Every January something happens that is hard to believe unless you have seen it.  According to the Arizona Highway Department some 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RVs, converge on this sleepy desert town located just 20 miles east of the California boarder on Interstate 10 for the Rock Gems and Mineral Shows, plus numerous Flea Markets and the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation and RV Show.  This phenomenon started some 35 years ago and is billed as "The worlds Largest Gathering of RVs in the World"

Arrival is fast and easy. Just extend your slides, lower your airbags and level your coach.  It's that simple and you are ready to go.  Don't forget your chairs and tables.

As you can see, the Monaco IRV2 gang is parked in a circle with enough room for a nightly bonfire where everyone congregates to discuss happenings of each day.  We met many new great friends and had a wonderful time visiting the vendor tents as well as seeing all the 2011 RVs. We will definitely be back!

Here Dave is restitching a topper awning with help from "The Crew", Mike and Rick.  After some awesome training by Kathy and Dave, the crew removed, repaired and installed at total of 13 topper awnings while at the site.  

These guys were the real money makers.  Shortly after this photo, this guy drove over to our coach to repair a six inch vertical crack on our coach.  Kathy, as normal, took care of our paperwork.  

One of the best things about being here was a chance to visit all the other coaches and see all the great practical additions owners have made to their coaches.  Here's a sample of Drifter (Mike's) addition of a storage unit on the inside of his cafe doors.  Great Idea!   I need some of these on our coach.  Everyone was impressed at Kathy's use of 3M hooks on our coach.