AUDITORY DICHOTOMY

From our silent spot, alone with desert quiet and the morning paper moon, we pulled stakes and headed toward the whirlwind craziness of big city Yuma, AZ.

Water sucked-up by giant pumps is diverted into irrigation canals and then directed, many miles away, into fields for farming such crops as vegetables, cotton and even pecans.  The government pays the bulk of the costs (That's us.) and the farmers (aka agri-biz) pay a tiny portion by buying water by the "foot-acre."  It's tantamount to subsidized farming for some of the wealthiest corporation in the United States.

The irrigation ditches/man made canals are so wide and deep that they support fish life.  I don't know what kind of fish this is but its scales and dorsal fin are reminiscent of something from a prehistoric era.  I think one of the local egrets dined on the eye and left the rest for the flies.  So it goes.

After a long day of travel, dumping our old water and taking on new, then zipping around Yuma for supplies and such, we headed for the next best thing to boondocking, "Casino Parking."  Yuma, without a doubt, has the largest collection of RV sales, new and used, RV campgrounds that house thousands of rigs and spots along the highway where people just park and listen to the noise of 18 wheelers whining by.

The sun was low on the horizon so we needed to find place for the evening.  We ended up choosing a place just outside, west Yuma.  The Cuechan  Casino, just over the AZ state border in Winterhaven, CA.  We were wondering if  the casino allowed overnight parking in their lot and what we saw as we pulled off the Interstate and onto the road leading to the casino made us both laugh.  At least two hundred RV's were lined up in four neat rows with awnings out, tables and chairs next to rigs and people enjoying the warm afternoon sun with cool drinks. We sure were in for a change of pace.  "Do you think the casino will let us park overnight," we asked in satire, and laughed again.  

We went inside, offered our ID, recieved a complimentary $10 "prime" each and went a-gaming.  Lady Luck was kind.  Jackie won $42.50 and I made it out with $10.50   If everyone had the same winning results as us, it wouldn't be long before the casino doors closed....for good.