A Lazy Sunday in Yuma

I had chosen my pictures and uploaded them for today's post when I received a brief e-mail from my mother (after all, it's only 6 AM here) telling me that my aunt, Dona, had passed away. Officially, she was a former aunt-in-law but she's always been family. Dona had suffered from Alzheimers for several years; while there are many horrible ways to die, there are also horrible ways to live. I guess there's a theme in these pictures after all.

This tiny little chapel sits way off US 95 between Yuma and Quartzsite. A sign near the road invites one in to rest and meditate.

Yuma's fields of crops are cycled non-stop. As soon as the lettuce and cauliflower are picked, the fields are tilled, irrigated and reseeded to start over. Now that it's getting hotter, the farmers are planting tomatoes and bean in place of the more delicate crops. But on the way to the Yuma Proving Grounds Denny and I discovered three large fields of white (and the occasional pink) poppies. What a surprise in the desert!

An ocotillo plant stands alone on BLM land near Pilot Knob, a rocky outcropping just a few miles into California. In attempting to find information on the name, I googled Pilot Knob and found there are Pilot Knobs in Kentucky, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Tennessee and Texas. So I guess the name is simply generic for any landmark used to navigate.

An unusual cloud formation at sunset over the Yuma Lakes Campground.

A golden sunset. For some reason there aren't always a lot of clouds in Yuma which to me are mandatory for a great sunset.


The same shot as above without the zoom. I find that it's often difficult to get a good picture without power lines interfering, but sometimes the lines integrate well.