On 6 February we said "goodbye" to Sabrina and LA friends and headed our home eastward. First stop was overnight with new friends Claire and Jerry McCleery, whom we met last March
on our trip to Egypt and Jordan. They invited us to park in front of their home and we enjoyed a wonderful fish dinner from Claire's kitchen. Sweet southern hospitality! (Southern California, that is.) The next morning they joined us at our table for breakfast with us. Neat times with fun people!
We drove on to Yuma, AZ in time to arrive for a geocaching get-together, the "Yuma Event", wherein cachers from all over descend on an area, look for special caches hidden just for that purpose, compete in navigation contests, and generally have fun. It started with food at Lute's Casino and Saloon in "old Yuma" downtown. Look what Roger found there in "take-out!"
We met the next day in the park
near the historical Yuma Crossing, where the railroad line connected east and west in the 1800's. We had free barbecue and a fun time outdoors. Met some new friends and found some great caches.
I know some of you are STILL wondering what this "geocaching" thing is all about. Well, simply put, it's a game played by thousands of people all over the world. Players hide containers, from "micro" which might be as small as your fingernail, to "regular", the size of a shoebox. These are hidden in spots which are interesting, out of the way and fun to see in themselves. They then publish the GPS coordinates online. Would-be finders who will be in that area download the information, and begin the hunt. Using a handheld GPS the searcher can often get within a 12-15 foot radius of the actual site. Then using the clues published along with the coordinates, he looks for the actual hide. For example, we went looking for a cache in a park in Yuma, without much success at first. 
Then Meg noticed this innocent looking piece of wood on the ground. We had both walked around it for several minutes. Then she said,
on our trip to Egypt and Jordan. They invited us to park in front of their home and we enjoyed a wonderful fish dinner from Claire's kitchen. Sweet southern hospitality! (Southern California, that is.) The next morning they joined us at our table for breakfast with us. Neat times with fun people! 
We drove on to Yuma, AZ in time to arrive for a geocaching get-together, the "Yuma Event", wherein cachers from all over descend on an area, look for special caches hidden just for that purpose, compete in navigation contests, and generally have fun. It started with food at Lute's Casino and Saloon in "old Yuma" downtown. Look what Roger found there in "take-out!"We met the next day in the park
near the historical Yuma Crossing, where the railroad line connected east and west in the 1800's. We had free barbecue and a fun time outdoors. Met some new friends and found some great caches.
I know some of you are STILL wondering what this "geocaching" thing is all about. Well, simply put, it's a game played by thousands of people all over the world. Players hide containers, from "micro" which might be as small as your fingernail, to "regular", the size of a shoebox. These are hidden in spots which are interesting, out of the way and fun to see in themselves. They then publish the GPS coordinates online. Would-be finders who will be in that area download the information, and begin the hunt. Using a handheld GPS the searcher can often get within a 12-15 foot radius of the actual site. Then using the clues published along with the coordinates, he looks for the actual hide. For example, we went looking for a cache in a park in Yuma, without much success at first. 
Then Meg noticed this innocent looking piece of wood on the ground. We had both walked around it for several minutes. Then she said, "I wonder..." and picked it up:
and there was the cache: a medicine bottle glued to the underside and placed in a hole in the ground beneath it! That's the kind of ingenuity that makes this such fun. For more info and how to get started, check it out on http://www.geocaching.com/
We spent a week in Yuma, relaxing and learning the history of this fascinating place. There's a weekly farmers' market on the main street of old Yuma: the fruit and veggies were fresh and tasty.
The Yuma Territorial Prison 
is now a museum and cemetery. 
It has a very interesting history, and, as it is right on I-8, is worth a stop. From here it's back to Mesa for a visit.
and there was the cache: a medicine bottle glued to the underside and placed in a hole in the ground beneath it! That's the kind of ingenuity that makes this such fun. For more info and how to get started, check it out on http://www.geocaching.com/We spent a week in Yuma, relaxing and learning the history of this fascinating place. There's a weekly farmers' market on the main street of old Yuma: the fruit and veggies were fresh and tasty.
The Yuma Territorial Prison is now a museum and cemetery. 
It has a very interesting history, and, as it is right on I-8, is worth a stop. From here it's back to Mesa for a visit.
