Yuma and Mittry Lake

The drive to Yuma was through very barren desert, the difference being that today it was raining.  As we approached Yuma we saw cattle feed yards and signs of agriculture.

We made a stop at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office to pick up our Long Term Visitors Area (LTVA) permit.  We are planning to camp on BLM land, but the rules are complicated.  There is land where you can camp for free with no permit and land you can camp on for a fee (usually $5.00/night), but there is also land you can camp on for free, but have to have a LTVA permit.

With permit in hand we headed out to Mittry Lake, a lake about 7 miles north of the city.  We headed through huge fields of spinach, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.  The roads were muddy and crowded with farm tractors and transport buses.  It’s amazing to see the speed with which the workers harvest the vegetables and toss the heads to those on board the trailer boxing the vegetables.

Mittry Lake has many sites around the edge of the lake and a few up on a bench above the lake.  We found a site right next to the lake and settled in for some more rain.  In the water we could see coots, heron, and geese.

 

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)