30 - Sunday, March 25, 1990 -

North Shore News

River ride is a highlight
of trip to Yuma, Arizona

IF, LIKE me, you prefer small towns to big cities for ex-
tended holidays, consider Yuma. I’d especially recommend
it for nature lovers — the Colorado River would be paradise
for those with a canoe and a couple of paddies.

Even tourists like us can spend a
day or a half-day on the river at a
moderate cost. Call Yuma River
Tours, 602-783-4400.

The Knowlton family operates
jetboats on the river and they'll in-
troduce you to some of the most
fascinating features such as old
miners' cabins, old homesites,
petroglyphs, and a history lesson
while you’re at it. The boats are
comfortable and, desvite the ‘‘jet-
boat" label, they travel gently
through the unchartable sand bars
on this quiet part of the often-
raging Colorado.

The Knowltons also provide ex-
cellent packed lunches and all the
coffee or lemonade you can han-
dle. Just a word of warning: don’t
handle too much of the liquid
refreshments as the plumbing is
strictly limited to one or two out-
door biffies or over the hill behind
a mesquite bush.

We spent six hours with them, as
father and son recharted the sand-
bars. Such a day! My only prob-
lem was wearing the wrong shoes.
Neat black loafers might have been
fine for the touring we did in the
morning (more about that later),
but they didn’t do much of a job
for scrambling up sandy trails to
old cabins. Thank God I had the
sense to bring along my elderly
windbreaker. Even though the sun
was warm, the wind wasn’t.

I also could have used my
sunglasses but -they were in my
bottom desk drawer in North Van-
couver at the time. Doesn’t every
traveller forget something? But on-
ly true dipsticks visit Arizona
minus sunglasses.

If you take a trip with the
Knowlitons, you'll probably visit
Lonesome’s grave. Sad story — I
shed a few tears over the old pro-
spector’s dog buried on a hill
overlooking the river.

The dog was the best friend he
had and both were getting on in
age. The old man needed heart
surgery. Meanwhile, Lonesome
was failing. Far too soon after the
surgery, the old man walked out of
the hospital, picked up his dying
dog and headed for the river. You
see, he’d promised the dog he'd
bury him on his hill. Crying yet?

Anyway, visitors are asked to
pick up a rock and add it to the
cairn. Kids who visit often leave
letters in a niche provided in the

AN EASTER VACATION

Surround yourself with the spec-
tacular beauty of nature while
relaxing in comfortable
accommodation.
April 13-15/90

From $129.95 dbl. occupancy
includes 3 nights accommodation
with 3 brea':fasts and | Easter
dinner,
Call for reservations 245-2211

Toll free 1-800-663-7327.

Vancouver 266-2213

Inp
SE
RESORT

3068 Yellowpoint Road, RR #3
sy Ladysmith, B.C. VOR 2E0

By the time we return to Yuma,
the first stage of Yuma Crossing
should be completed — it's sched-
uled for the summer of 1991. I still
haven't figured out what they're
up to; sounds like a cross between

travel
wise
Barbara McCreadie

the Smithsonian and Disneyland,
right in the heart of downtown
Yuma.

Historically, that’s one of the
few spots that the river could be
crossed with anything short of a
death wish. At the moment, the
site is sort of a big vacant lot with
the odd wino with a brown bag.
Ah, progress.

zuy

In one way, I was disappointed
with the Yuma Federal Prison, the
last address of some of the bad
names of the Old West. Most of it
was carved out to let the railroad
have the right-of-way. Some of the
cells still stand and they're not a
spot I'd like to take up housekeep-
ing in.

entertainment.

Otter available
from May through
October.

~ “409 Granvillé ‘Street
Royal Centra.
‘Arbutus, Shopping
4439 West 10th
~ -§700 University, Boulevard
North Shore
‘, 2. Park Royal ‘North. .
. Richmon id, lensdowne Park*
+ Shopping Céntre. ...%
_ Burna bY, Brentwood ‘Mall.

. e278- 3006:
IE91S5

CLUE MED

Playa Blanca, Mexico
only $1299.00

Your one week stay includes roundtrip airfare from
Vancouver. accommodation, transfays, all meals,
beer/wine with meals, sports activities ond

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Call us for details and reservations,

The original entrance gate is
standing and so is the water tower.
The museum is excellent! [t's run
by the Parks Dept. and gives you a
good insight into just who got
aboard the **Last Train to Yuma.””

The pictures and statistics are
graphic. Can you believe that 29
women actually served time there?
But the thing that staggered my
imagination was that four of them
landed in jai! for adztlrery. One
14-year-old boy grew up there —
he got five years for burglary.

Dying in the Yuma Pen was ex-
pected; 112 bought a piece of the
cemetery instead of a ticket home.
Mostly it was consumption
(T.B.) that shortened their lives,
and when you see the cells, you'll
understand. They froze in the
winter and roasted in the summer.

Oddly, there was a cultural side
of the prison. Besides the usual
number of deadbeats and derelicts,
a lot of professional men — doc-
tors, lawyers, architects and

-engineers —- got nabbed. While

there, they taught classes. Many il-
literates learned to read in Yuma.
From 1910-1914 the prison
became the focal high school. To-
day, the teams from the current
school still call themselves the
Criminals. Yuma is unique.

zit

Unique? Ever been kissed by a
camel? Yuma is the site of a mod-
ern farm that raises camels, Ara-
bian horses, Musk-oxen and
what-all-else.

We were taken for a visit to the
Saihata Farms and I got kissed by
the softest-nosed camel in the
world. These dear things don’t
spit, they nuzzle! If you don’t pay
them enough attention, they grab
your sweater (leaving a green trail)
and haul you to attention.

You aren’t invited to drop in off
the road, but the Yuma Chamber
of Commerce brings in the occa-

See Kiss
Page 31

Ask us about our
Club Med kids
free program.

au Suirey: Guildford Town, Cent

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«Shopping Centre
Kelowna, -
2]

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eLi ne