Trains, planes and automobiles.....not necessarily in that order!

December 22 (Friday)

Seems like we've been on the phone a lot the last couple of days. We made Christmas calls to family and friends. Nice to keep connected. Our Roam Mobility plan allows free calling to anywhere in Canada or the US, so no excuse not to make the calls!

I hope folks are travelling safe this season. There was an accident in front of the Park on I8 that had traffic backed up for quite a while. I don't think it was serious. Just a moment of inattention is all it takes at 75 MPH.

It's been chilly the last couple of days so walks are brisk and even had the fireplace on a bit. Sort of festive. We haven't done too much decorating, but just enough to remind us of Christmas.

The park had a parade of decorated golf carts today. A few nights ago they had one in the evening. Lots of lights and sounds. Very fun. This afternoon a smaller group, but just as enthusiastic made the rounds through the parks.

Later today the water in the park went off. Hmm, wonder what caused that? I went outside to check to be sure it wasn't some issue with the hydrant at our site. Nope, the whole park was off. I talked to the two stressed out maintenance guys. They had a hole dug by the front gate. They were trying to drain the water out of the hole so they could replace a piece of broken pipe. Until the water quit draining they couldn't glue the new piece of pipe in place. They use rigid plastic pipe buried less than a foot below the surface. Must be nice. No freezing issues. The bad thing about shallow burial is that constant traffic driving over the pipe can eventually lead to breakage, which is what happened here. Anyway a few hours later they had water service restored.

Another spectacular sunset display. The colours are incredible. I hope you don't get tired of seeing them. The pictures really don't do justice. This is Our View From Here!

December 23 (Saturday)

Our nephew Dustin, his wife Melissa and their kids Aiden and Brooklyn, from Winnipeg, are in Yuma visiting Melissa's family for Christmas. They came over to see us Saturday morning. Kids love trains so we headed over to the Yuma Live Steamers ( www.yumalivesteamers.org ) by the old Territorial Prison grounds. Rides cost $2 so we all went for a spin. Dustin and Aiden went twice!

The train is a 7 1/2 inch gauge and runs on about 4000 feet of line. They have big plans for the future. A new bridge, some tunnels, and a whole lot more track is designed and ready to be laid.

The engine that pulled us has a 24 hp gas engine and has mechanical drives to the wheels.

This engine runs on propane and water. It took seven years to build. I didn't run today but maybe in January.

The kids went home for a nap and came back to our park later in the afternoon. After a visit we went over to Applebee's for supper. So nice to see them. I'm sure they'll have a great Christmas. Kids that age are a lot of fun!

December 24 (Sunday)

We went to the Yuma Market Place today. Another huge flea market like the Yuma Swap Meet. Not too many vendors open today, and few shoppers. Christmas Eve was a quiet day. We ended up buying a laser light projector for the trailer. On sale for $10. Also bought some dip mix.

Multi-patterns on the Laser projector

Uses very little power but generates bright lights.

After sampling a variety of the dips we settled on these.

Then down to Staples to pick up our new 'business' cards. Instead of writing out our contact information to folks we meet, it's much easier and less error prone to just hand out our 'card'. We see others do this as well. Only $9.95 for 250 so a pretty good deal.

The sunset over Yuma and the Gila Mountains was another dandy tonight. Lots of jet trails too. Folks heading home for Christmas? Or were some of the from Santa's sleigh? Hmmm, I'll be a good boy tonight just in case. Merry Christmas all!

…..that was Our View From Here!