Mittry Lake, Yuma and Las Algadones, Mexico

Mittry Lake, Arizona.

After you pass by the military installation you turn south onto a sandy road. Back home we call these dirt roads but here there is lots of sand too! Following an irrigation channel this road took us down to Mittry Lake, which I believe, was formed by a man made dam system. We found a nice spot and camped there for one night. The next morning we decided to head on down closer to Yuma so back out we went. I stopped at a military display and got some good photos of some of the equipment that has been tested here over the years just in time to see two choppers fly by.

Entrance to the Yuma Military Proving Grounds

 

Our view at Mittry Lake

Some examples of the road side display at the
Yuma Proving Grounds.

I’m not sure I would ever go back to Mittry Lake? I can’t put my finger on it other than to say its really dry and dusty, more so than other desert locations we have camped. So I guess that was why we packed up?

Yuma, Arizona.

Just north of Yuma on Highway 95 there is a VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) building. Its sort of what we have back home but we call them Legions in Canada. It’s a place for serving and retired military and their families to meet and socialize. We had seen this place before and always thought that the camping out back of this place was just for their members only.   

As it turns out Barb scored again with her research. It is actually BLM Land out back and anyone can camp there, once again it is free! We stayed there for two nights and I quite enjoyed it. This location is close enough to the city of Yuma to go in and out for supplies, shopping or entertainment. We had “Bounder” tucked in at the back and were surrounded by large trees to keep her and us cool. I don’t think we have seen daytime temperatures below 80F since arriving in Arizona so that was a nice location to retreat into.

BLM Camping in Yuma at the VFW

If you like desert sand visit southern Arizona and California!

A Highway Check Station by the US Border Patrol

During our time here at Yuma we relaxed and went into the city. On our second full day we ventured across the border just inside of California and then south across another border into Las Algadones, Mexico for the day. I would definitely stay here again!

Las Algadones, Mexico

If you know me at all, then you know I love Mexico. The sad part which is hurting the people down there are the problems with the Cartels and Organized Crime. The media has taken off with this subject for several years now and as bad as it is, they have scared so many people away from Mexico that I for one think it is blown way out of proportion.

Heading from Yuma to Las Algandones
Lots of Billboard Ads for what's available in Las Algadones!

More BLM Camping on the side of Hwy 8 west of Yuma

Walking from the parking lot to the Mexican Border

Coming up to the gate into Mexico

My Eyeglass store

You can spend a lot less than I did!

I am not saying that certain parts of Mexico are not dangerous. It is a known fact that you should stay away from those areas and always be vigilant. The trouble is that even some of the safer parts rarely see tourists like they used to because of what the media has done with this story.

We drove over to the parking lot on the American side of the border. If you have a car it will cost you $6 US Dollars and if you have a motor home it is $7.00. From there we walked to the border crossing and had a good look at the US border as we passed by. It is a very small border crossing compared to others we have seen. As you go in and actually cross the line into Mexico you go through a gate and bam you are there! No checkpoint, no one to check your Visa or Passport, just bring your tourist dollars!

A few hundred yards inside their border there are armed Military checking cars as they come in but we never saw anyone checking the pedestrians.

Military Checkpoint inside Mexico

This helps to make the Tourists feel more comfortable?
The people lined up behind are waiting to get back into the USA.

From there we wandered the streets. I marveled at all the Pharmacies, Dentist offices and Eye Glass stores. They say there are more of these here than in any other place in the world and I would tend to believe it. Who are their clients?

The odd Mexican but mostly Americans and Canadians. They come down here every day by the droves to get better deals on their prescription drugs, glasses and dental work. The prices are unbelievably low and it makes you wonder how many billions of dollars are being made in Canada and the USA while many suffer because they can’t afford insurance to cover the high North American fees.

Busy street corner downtown.

I'm sure they named this for Albertans to feel like they are at home :)

I should say here that I personally have met a lot of people (Canadian & American) who have had all three types of services performed down here. I have not ever heard one complaint. They are very professional and well trained. Most of the products that we saw were brand name products. 

I met a fella at lunch and his career before retiring was selling dental supplies. His territory included this area of Mexico; they use the same stuff down here as our Dentists do back home. Many of the staff working are trained either in Mexico or the USA and most are very well spoken in English.

Our Lunch stop was great, they even had talented entertainment!

Just another Lunch Guest - He was cute...

My main reason for us coming down was for me to get new glasses and new prescription sunglasses. Glasses for me back home depending on the options chosen would cost approx. $700.00 and up. I would likely spend close to a thousand dollars. Down here I got two pair of single vision glasses (one pair were polarized sunglasses) with scratch coating for a total of $259.00 USD. 

Do the math and you can see how much we saved. My insurance company back home will cover 80% of the regular glasses (for lenses and $100 towards frames) just like if I purchased them back in Canada. I think we just did a huge favor for the insurance company!

They advertise that your glasses will be ready in one hour. We were a little late getting down there so we were told two hours. We went for lunch and yes they were ready as said. I had a little problem with the tint on one of my sunglass lenses so they had it changed out. That took an additional 1.5 hours while we wandered around town, I could not complain, as I would not have gotten my glasses in one day back home for that kind of price. One needs to remember you are on Mexico time down here so leave yourself some grace time in that regard in case it’s needed.

It’s a fun little town. A local told me when I asked that there are 8 to 10,000 people living in Las Algadones. You cannot get lost when you cross the border; it is all right there in front of you. The downtown is about 4 blocks by 4 blocks so it’s easy to get around. I saw several American cars drivin

g around, most of them with older people. I wouldn’t advise that unless you have special insurance for Mexico and like to hunt for the very few available parking spaces.

I would suggest to you almost the whole town exists on the tourism that their services provide for North Americans like us.

I should also mention I was running low on a couple of my prescription medications as we had been gone from home so long. The prescriptions were both filled with out having a Doctors Prescription, within 5 minutes. Both of them in sealed bottles of the same drugs I had at home. Oh and the price totaled almost $9.00 USD for both! You can not imagine the price for these same prescriptions back home.

Local Policia making their rounds

We had been told the last couple of years that if you go down be prepared to wait 1.5 to 2 hours in a lineup to come back through US Customs. We ended up coming back way later in the day than I wanted. We were warned it would be a long line-up any time past 12 noon. We waited only about 30 minutes. 

The Border heading back to the USA

Opps, I shouldn't have taken this picture?

Back in America, almost...

My new $8.00 Cowboy hat and my new sunglasses!

The US Border Patrol are everywhere watching.
The white fence can be seen in many areas along the highway & roads.
Thats the Border Line.

Well worth the time and the trip and lunch was good too! Oh and I bought that cool Southwestern Style Cowboy hat for $8.00. Barter for everything you buy on the street, they expect it.

Also one of the things I always enjoy about going to Yuma is watching the Fighter Jets flying around. 

They didn’t disappoint us this trip either. I got to see the new F-35’s in flight and watched another one practicing a hover (like a helicopter) about 40 feet above the tarmac on the airstrip. Awesome technology to see!