Midlife Crisis list #25   Be a tourist in Arizona:  My Yuma adventure!

My son, Garrett is living in North Carolina.  In September and October, though, he did get to go to Yuma, Arizona for a training.  When my daughter, Jessica, and I found out he was going to be only 6 hours from home, we immediately started planning a trip to Yuma!  We knew Garrett would not be able to get some time off, but, like I told him, my plan was to hang out in Yuma until he got off work, then spend as much time with him as he had before he had to go back home.  Since we were going to have a few days to spend in Yuma, I started looking for things to do.  

Our fun started on our drive to Yuma.  Who knew there was a Dateland in Arizona?  Since Jessica and I are both single, we stopped, but, unfortunately--or maybe fortunately, the only dates they had were the kind that grow on trees.  

Our first tourist attraction was the Yuma Quartermaster Depot.  In territorial days, this was used by the Army to store and distribute supplies to Army bases throughout Arizona and to parts of Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Texas.  As we started looking at buildings and reading the information that was posted in the various rooms, I noticed several quotes by Martha Summerhayes.  That name sounded familiar, and suddenly I remembered where I knew that name.  Several years ago, my mom recommended a book to me, Vanished Arizona.  One of my brothers had recommended the book to her after he had to read it for a college class.  It was written by Martha Summerhayes, an Army wife, and it was about Army life in Arizona’s territorial days.  These were quotes from her book!  I have wanted to buy that book since then, but I had just put it on my list of books I want to buy.  (Don’t be surprised that it is still on my list.  It is a very, very long list!)  When we finished walking through the grounds, I looked for the book in the gift store, but they were out!  

On day 2, we visited the Yuma Territorial Prison.  We knew we needed to see the Prison because of a sentence on their website. http://azstateparks.com/Parks/YUTE/facilities.html  “A picnic area located above the river with a view of California is a nice spot for lunch.”  That just made me laugh!  We had to have a picnic there!  

It was an interesting view! California is on the other side of the bridge--not the one in front, the silver one in the background!

Our view did not improve as we sat and ate.

The Yuma Territorial Prison was very interesting.  Although the inmates in the prison called it a horrible place, the citizens of Yuma called it a Country Club. The prison was the first place in the area to have electricity.  In fact, they sold electricity to the town of Yuma.  They also had a forced air ventilation system and a very large library, the largest in the Arizona territory at the time.  Inmates could go to school and many of them learned to read and write while they were there. I liked that the water tank was underneath one of the guard towers.  In the very hot summer, the tower kept the water tank shaded so the water did not evaporate as quickly.  

They also had a unique way of taking mug shots at the prison.  They were taken beside a mirror so they got the front and side view at the same time.  Jessica and I had fun with our own mug shots.  I am pretty sure we wouldn’t be smiling so much if it were a real mug shot!

Of course, it was still a prison, and, by today’s standards, extremely small.  There were 6 bunks to a small cell and if an inmate got into trouble, they got to wear a ball and chain or were sent to the dark room, a small cell in a room with very little light.

Jessica and I especially liked the information we read about some of the inmates.  For example, there was the man who was in prison for embezzling money.  When he was in prison, he showed such an aptitude for math that he was put in charge of the inmates’ accounts while he was there.  After he left, it was found that he had embezzled money from the inmates!  There was also the 16-year-old girl whose brother told her she was dancing inappropriately.  When she refused to stop, he told her she might as well just kill him---so she did.  Then there was the man who was sentenced in northern Arizona, but wasn’t a flight risk, so they just handed him a train ticket to Yuma and told to go to prison!

When we got to the gift shop on our way out, guess what book they had--Vanished Arizona!  So, I bought it.  (In another blog, I am going to have to talk about my book addiction.  I even have a book dealer--he introduced me to a new author by giving me one book.  Now I am hooked and have to have more!)  I also found the book Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran.  It is a picture book about a real group of children who created their own little town on a hill in Yuma.  Jessica remembered that book from when she was in third grade.  That was the year she attended a brand new school.  It was so new the playground equipment hadn’t been delivered and set up yet.  The teachers read Roxaboxen to their students, then let the kids loose in a rock-filled playground.  The kids had a blast!  They created all kinds of things with rocks.  When the playground equipment was finally installed, Jessica remembers the teachers asking the students to please play on the equipment. People were coming to see the new school, and as administrators and school board members showed them around, everyone noticed that none of the students were playing on the brand new equipment.  They were all playing with rocks!  

So, I now have two more books!

Since my main reason to be in Arizona was to see my son, I didn't mind that we only had time to see two tourist attractions. Maybe one day I will get back to see some more of the attractions on my list, but the two we chose were definitely worth the time!

My goal for this blog is to post at least once a month this year. Check back at the end of next month to see how I accomplish three or four items on my midlife crisis list with one adventure!