Part 1

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway…

There is a VW gathering in Yuma, Arizona http://www.visityuma.com/ and the ‘tribe’ from Lake Havasu plan a caravan leaving from the south side of town at 7:30 am…in the MORNING?!!  IS there such a time?! Yikes.

Our schedule frees up and we plan on joining them.  Packing up the Westy the night before, we manage to get out of bed– in the dark. The dogs seem to wonder what is going on since we are up before the sun is and have already had our weekly early morning no-walk day. Their leashes are out so they seem to think there is a chance for the walk, but soon settle into realizing it isn’t going to happen today with us so busy ‘getting ready’.  They get to go on this trip but until they are invited to get in the bus, they aren’t sure. They are excited and really good. They get right into the groove of riding before we even turn onto the highway!

We stop at Starbucks for some hot tea for the road….something to make this early hour pleasant and partly out of habit of getting coffee in the past on early morning car show days. Besides, we are COLD! The temp is only 60’ and we are wearing sweatshirts and long pants—in Havasu!

We arrive at the meeting spot.  Almost everyone is there and it looks like a dog-fest: eight VW buses and seven dogs. Of course we have three of them and Cory and Diana have two.  Within a few minutes, everyone has arrived and we are ready to head out.

Merging onto the highway with the traffic and lights, we get spread out right away.  Art and Lana peel off to take their dog by the vets to check out a hotspot on her leg. With a high-powered engine in their bus, they expect to easily catch up with us.  We wind our way around the lower end of Lake Havasu, and on through Parker—a fun caravan of VW Microbuses; then head south to Quartzite for a scheduled refueling stop.  Cory is bringing up the tail and calls to say he is stopping in Parker for gas and will catch up.

We pull into the Shell station in Quartzsite and everyone refuels and uses the facilities.  The dogs are excited to get out and sniff around this new area.  John has a major fuel leak, with gas appearing to go straight through the tank onto the ground. He has LOTS of advisors and discovers a fuel line connection is loose.  This repair time gives Art and Lana a chance to catch up with us. Their dog has been treated and is ready for the weekend.

Cory calls from Parker to say he has decided to turn back to Havasu and for us to go on. He is concerned with the way his bus is behaving.  Apparently the engine seems to be cutting out and since his recent experience of being towed into Havasu from I-40, he is cautious.

From Quartzsite, the drive is pleasant. There isn’t much traffic and we have a strong tail wind which is always a bonus when driving a VW Bus! The early morning light shows the scenery well.  We enjoy the craggy Koffa mountains and the transition from the Organ Pipe Cactus into an Ocotillo range.

There appears to be activity at the Yuma Proving Grounds with large clouds of dust back against the hills. It is probably just a vehicle driving in the fine dust with a strong north wind. Still, it is fun to wonder if it is puffs of smoke from their practice rounds.

The road ahead appears to end, disappearing into the mountains with ranges on both sides which look as if they join as one; but of course, as we drive into it, the way opens up.

The road winds around the end of some hills on the west and we are suddenly into farm lands– a stark contrast from the dry desert.  Yuma is known for winter-grown vegetables with iceberg lettuce and cotton grown as main crops. There is even a Lettuce Festival each year. http://www.yumalettucedays.com/

We are challenged once again with staying together, as we make our way through the traffic of Yuma. We know we are camping at the fairgrounds but only a few in our caravan of VW Buses have any idea of what part of town that is in and how to get to there, so we focus on staying together. Of course, if we do get separated, we could probably ask directions and eventually find it, but we would rather stick together and arrive at the same time as the rest of the group.