A True Adventure

We have moved a lot, from one place to the other, my Mom, my sister and me. We finally ended up in a place in Florida, where we met my future dad. After a horrible day at the office, dad came home and asked mom to come and pray with him regarding a decision that had to be made about moving once again. This time is was to a place called “Yuma,” in the desert, in Arizona. “Yuma, I cried, where on earth is that?” When it was pointed out to me on the map, I just knew right then our lives would end, we would fall off the face of the earth and surely, we would all die!

Mom and dad came out of their rooms after praying and both said, “Looks like God is pointing us to the desert that is Yuma.” “Here we go again,” I said. So we packed everything we owned, including our vehicles and our dog, (that's another story), on a 52' truck and watched it roll away heading to Yuma.

We took a flight from Jacksonville, landed in Phoenix at 10:30 at night, where it was 110 degrees, and then had to drive three hours to get to this place called Yuma. “I told you we were all going to die!” I said. Then I fell asleep in the air-conditioned Yukon and did not wake until we reached our hotel.

Six days later, we unpacked our truck in 122-degree heat! Thank God, mom made dad buy a home with a pool (for the dog) or we for sure would have all be dead. That was in July of 2000, and we are still here today.

Yuma has been an amazing home to my family and me. It is rich in American Indian culture and history, current events and art. From the Yuma Territorial Prison to the Yuma Theatre (where I used to work) in downtown, great things happen here. Mom said Tom Mix got married here in Yuma, at Gretna Green on 1st street, I do not know who that is, but she said he knew Wyatt Earp!

Every year, the hot air balloons come from all over the country to participate in the Colorado River Crossing. From our backyard, you can watch every November as the balloons take flight in the wee early morning from my old High School Cibola High. It is an amazing sight, I know because it is a known fact that when it is going on, we know there will be a tap on our doors and we will be made to get out of bed to see it. (Thanks mom!)

I have been studying to be an actress since my ninth grade year in high school. You should be aware that people come to Yuma in search of talent and the perfect location to shoot a movie or commercial. I was chosen to play in four scenes in a movie called “Altamont Now,” it was based on a true story. It had several write ups in the paper and my Professor, Chip Straley, play my dad in the film. It was a very cool experience! Recently I was chosen for a public safety announcement for the Arizona Highway Patrol. That was fun!

While attending AWC, I was able to be in many plays. It is an amazing College, with great people and awesome opportunities. Just last week our commencement ceremony was held at AWC amphitheatre. You should have seen all the people watching their family members graduate. Over 90 people graduated with Masters Degrees, 200 with Bachelors and 350 with Associates Degrees, and even had one graduate with a PHD, from our “little” college.

My dad, mom and sister were there watching me as I was handed my certificate. It was a moment I am sure would never be forgotten, especially by my mom. You see, I am the first kid to graduate college from her side of the family, I could not tell you out of how many people. Now I am on the way to U of A, another wonderful place in Arizona!

My family and I have made many friends and “Yuma Family” since we have been here. We never had that opportunity before. Dad is in Rotary and mom is beside him all of the way. Yuma is about community involvement, even if it takes you out of the community and into another country. Our church sends groups to Africa and Asia. Oasis Church is a big supporter of the Dominican Republic, where my parents went two times on missions to help build housing for orphans and put roofs on churches.

I know that this probably is not the kind of essay that you are looking for, however people need to be aware that no matter where you go in the world, as long as you have a family that loves you, stands by you and instructs you along the way, corrects you when your wrong and always welcomes you back, that you are truly home! Yuma has been my only “true” home, ever! Yuma is my family.

Role Models

I live in the small town of Yuma, Arizona. Yuma is where I was born and raised. I have a mother who raised my four siblings and me. Living with one parent was very tough, but my mother couldn't have picked a better place for us to call home. Yuma is a very hot desert, located on the very left hand bottom tip of Arizona. It is very hot here but it has its good sides, like the Colorado River, and beautiful desert sunsets, and the people are very friendly. People from all over the country have passed through here. Even a few months ago, President Bush was here to see our borders, in regards to the border issues.

The Colorado River is one of my favorite spots to be at during the hot summer. Families all go to swim and picnic. It’s the best way to cool off, plus it’s free. I have many wonderful memories being there with my friends.

The sunsets in Yuma are very beautiful as well. If you live in the Foothills, you'll get the best view. Either way when you see the sun rising from the mountains and its rays beaming through the clouds, it astounds you. Many people pass through Yuma and never get to experience the wonderful historic sites as the Territorial Prison, which was built in the late 1800's or the Colorado River Crossing, which is an old bridge people used to pass the river to get to California during the Gold Rush era.

There are many wonderful things about Yuma, but the best aspect of all is that the people here are great. I have lived here all of my life and would never think of raising my children anywhere but here. In Yuma, I feel safe and comfortable. That is why I would like to continue my schooling here so that I can become a respected community member of my hometown. Therefore, those future children can look up to me as I have done to so many who live here in Yuma, Arizona.

Where The Fun Never Ends

Yuma, Arizona is the perfect place to live, not only are we contiguous to Mexico but because each year it is improving and growing more. There are plenty of fun activities to do here and you can try every one of them: fishing, riding a motorcycle in the dunes, having cookouts, shopping, and many, many more things.

There was a time when the Colorado River had the only bridge that united the eastern U.S. and the West Coast, it was built in Yuma, and the Colorado provides an extensive water supply for the habitants of this city. Each year people from the other 49 states are attracted to pass the winter here and this is due because the temperature stays around 60 degrees, not hot but not too cold. In addition, these tourists leave about $300 million each year, making this a good place for entrepreneurs to succeed in the business world. In addition, we happen to have many recreational places such as water parks and pools and a 1,000 square feet mall was constructed this year. Furthermore, with all these new projects it is a great place to attend college and pursue a career in construction. Yuma, Arizona has one of the fastest building industries in the world and it is the perfect place for Architects, Engineers and Lawyers to utilize their expertise.

I was born in Phoenix, Arizona and raised in Yuma, Arizona and it is a place I would never forget because of all the fun memories I held in my mind. Each summer I used to spend the whole day swimming in the pool or having picnics at the shore of the river and how can I forget eating ice-cream with my brother? Furthermore, Easter in Mexico, which is like 10 miles or less from Yuma, we used to have fun at the sand dunes. My friends used to ride their motorcycles and invite me along and we would have cookouts. Moreover, the city fair that is held each year is so fun and everything is so peaceful and wonderful there.

During the winter, I was able to go out at night without having to wear 50 pounds of clothes on top of me because the weather here is so nice and warm. During the winter season, the temperature stayed in the 60’s, so I was able to go outside and comfortably play with my friends. Although those are my childhood memories, it is as if I will always be a kid because not all that fun ever goes away here, in Yuma, Arizona. If you want to live in a place, where water is abundant and fun never ends, then come and live at Yuma.

Unique and Wonderful

Many people from all over the world visit Yuma, Arizona every year for several reasons, and I am so proud to call this home. Yuma is best known for its excellent location, beautiful winter weather, and bright, sunny days in the summertime. Yuma is a great place for a family to grow together because of the many wonderful things that it has to offer for all ages. For young drivers, Yuma is a safe, ideal place for a teenager to get behind the wheel for the first time, unlike the big cities. In addition, there are many different opportunities for education for students of all ages such as several catholic and private schools, three (soon to be four) high schools, and many elementary and Jr. High schools. Since the summertime gets very warm to say the least, Yuma offers so many options for family activities, despite the heat. Swimming is a very popular activity, but there are also recreational activities such as kayaking the Colorado River, hiking the foothill mountains, instructional classes, arts and crafts, community service, and so much more.

Because of Yuma's convenient location, weekend trips are just hours, sometimes even minutes away. First, Yuma is on the border of both Mexico and California, which is unique. For a little taste of Mexico, San Luis, Mexico is located just thirty minutes driving directly south or Algodones, Mexico is only 15 minutes driving southwest. For a picnic on the beach, zoo, or Sea World, San Diego, California is three hours away. Los Angeles and Las Vegas are five hours away, but the best part about Yuma's location, is the fact that Phoenix, Tucson, Parker, and Flagstaff are just hours away. These places provide endless opportunities for education, entertainment, and so much more for the people of Yuma.

Because of Yuma's convenient location, endless activities and opportunities, Yuma is not only family oriented and an ideal location in several aspects, but it is also unique and a wonderful place to call home indeed.

Winter Vegetable Capital

I believe Yuma, AZ, my hometown, is a very special place because of the huge amount of agriculture sales and rapid growing population. In the winter, population practically triples. I have not been living in Yuma very long. It truly is a wonderful place to live. Everyone is so friendly, and the only bad thing is, the summer. Thank goodness for electricity and air conditioning. One thing that surprises me very much is that Yuma is in third place in all of the United States for the fastest growing city. I am going to prove to you why my hometown is so special and unique from other towns and cities in all of Arizona.

Yuma County outdoes any other county with agriculture sales of over 1 billion dollars a year. My hometown is known as the winter vegetable capital of the nation. Is that not amazing? Yuma is very dependent on field workers to raise these crops and to get these crops out to the market, even with all the machinery they have. If you look at all the crops in Yuma all year-round, you will see lettuce, romaine, honeydew, cantaloupe, cabbage, watermelon, and many other delicious fruits and vegetables. You may not see the same things all year-round of course. They also grow all the citrus fruit you can think of.

Yuma is rapidly growing. The population count in the 1990 census was 56,966, it is now, as of July 1, 2005, 88,775. In the winter, it's a whole different story. Many people who live all over the United States in extremely cold areas live in Yuma for a couple of months. We Yumans call them “snowbirds,” and I am actually clueless as why we call them that. Well, I didn't know the people in Yuma called the winter visitors “snowbirds” until I started living here. They are always welcomed with open arms by the city. If you ever visit Yuma, AZ right when winter is about to start you will find huge signs and banners that say, “Welcome Winter Visitors.” The speed in which Yuma is growing is so fast that every time I drive to the store somewhere or look in the paper there are new advertisements for new homes and advertisements for new businesses and big companies coming soon. In a matter of about two years a new mall was built and about ten or fifteen new restaurants were built. I remember as a child, I would come to Yuma to visit family and it looked so small and insignificant. Now it seems to have doubled in size in my lifetime, and I'm only 21.

There you have it; this is why I believe my hometown is so special and unique. It started as a small town with nowhere to go, and not many people to see. Now we have a huge new mall where we can shop, watch movies, or find something to eat. The best part is going just to look around, there is always something new. Also, do not forget, we are the winter vegetable capital of the nation! For all of you who have not been to Yuma, you should arrange plans. I love my hometown, this is where I found the love of my life, had my first beautiful baby girl, I plan to have more kids, and raise them here, in lovely Yuma, AZ.

A Cool Place To Live

I was born and raised in Yuma, Arizona. Yuma is located in the bottom corner of Arizona. Yuma has many amazing things to offer to people. Yuma was once considered a small town but in the past few years, it has grown quite a bit. Yuma is known for its hot summers, the temperature getting past 100 degrees but that is one of the things I love about the town. Yuma has many attractions to offer like the Colorado River, Territorial Prison, farming, sand dunes, and the best Mexican food. Yuma is also a good traveling spot because we are three hours away from Phoenix and three hours from San Diego, California. That makes for fun road trips.

The Colorado Rivers runs right along the side of Yuma. During the hot summer temperatures, many people like to take their boats and Jet Skis out to the river. It is a great time to spend the day or weekend. Riding on the boat or Jet Ski or just hanging out on the sand bar with all your friends and family and just having a great time. During the winter, everyone likes to go the sand dunes, which is about 20 minutes away from Yuma. All the sand dunes are is a bunch of sand, and there are some big hills that have been created. Everyone likes to camp out there for the weekends, especially on Thanksgiving. People take their quads, golf-carts, ATV’s, rails, and any other toy that they have. It is just another great place to have fun and to be with your friends and family. It’s fun because everyone will drive to the back of the dunes and they will park in rows and watch people race up and down the hill. Another exciting thing is, if you drive to the very back, away from people and park up on this little hill, you can see all the lights from people racing and from the people just watching. It’s a pretty cool sight to see.

Another great attraction is the Territorial Prison. The prison has been here since 1876. It ran for thirty-three years, 1876-1909. The prison is now considered a historical park. There is a museum inside and you can tour the entire cellblock. The museum contains old pictures and stories about the prison and its prisoners. When you take the tour, you get to see all the old cellblocks that the prisoners actually stayed. You can walk in them and sit down in them. It’s an amazing feeling and an amazing thing to see. The prison sits on a bluff above the Colorado River. During the fall and spring, it is a great time to go down to the water and swim and to have a picnic. There are trails that you can take. The city also built this huge Ramada that you walk up stairs too and it over looks the prison, and the river. It’s a beautiful sight to see. A neat fact is back in the late 1900’s, one of the high schools burned down, and so they held classes at the prison. The prison is really an amazing thing to have because it adds so much to the town.

Yuma also has the best Mexican food ever. Once you eat the food, no other Mexican food will taste that good. Once you leave town, you will always crave the food. Yuma is also a huge farming town. Another interesting fact is that Old Yuma, which is downtown, still has some old hotels and that have been around since Yuma was first established. The hotels have been used in a few movies as well. The sand dunes have been used in a few movies, like one of the Star Wars movies.

Yuma is a very interesting and cool place to live. There are so many attractions and things to do. Yuma is also the best place to raise a family because it is a small town and there isn’t really that much crime. Don’t get me wrong, there is crime, but not like you hear about in Phoenix or another big city or town. Yuma is an exciting town, there is so much history behind this town, and it’s so fascinating. All those things above are the reason why Yuma will always be my home. I did all those things when I was young and I still do them. I love going to the river and I love going to the dunes. Believe me, I love to eat the food. It’s the best. I especially loved going to the prison when I was younger because my grandpa would always take me. Therefore, I have those memories of being with him and learning about the prison. It’s hard putting it into words. You have to experience it for yourself to understand how great this town is. Even though I am away at school, it will always be my home, no matter where I am.

Growing Boomtown

My hometown of Yuma, Arizona, is one of America’s fastest growing boomtowns, and a wonderful place to live. Though I wasn’t born in the city, I’ve considered Yuma my home for many years now, and spent my happiest moments here. As corny as it may sound, I’m proud to be a “Yuman!”

My family and I moved to Yuma when my father was transferred here from Blaine, Washington. One of the first things we noticed, of course, was the gorgeous weather. After having lived near Seattle and being rained on for nearly six months of our lives, the endless sunshine we encountered was a welcome change! The hot, dry air and desert climate immediately said “home” to me, reminding me of my east Texas birthplace of El Paso. Of course, not even El Paso had 115 degree summer days, but I consider the heat a blessing after all the rain I sat through in Washington. Three months of wilting heat for nine beautiful months of gorgeous weather is not a bad trade at all.

The weather is one of the biggest attractions of Yuma, not just to me, but also to the hundreds of winter visitors, or “snow birds” as we affectionately call them, who travel down here every year in their motor homes to wait out the winter season. Every fall they come in droves to escape the snowstorms of their own hometowns, and certainly enrich the economy when they arrive. The population of Yuma nearly doubles each winter, making the streets a little crowded, but it is not an unwelcome change. Restaurants, stores, mobile home parks, and most of the historical landmarks make most of their money during the winter season. In fact, the snowbirds bring in almost three hundred million dollars annually, not bad at all for a growing economy.

Yuma is rich in history. The Gila and Colorado rivers converge in our town, making Yuma a transportation hub. Even in prehistoric times, Yuma was the easiest place to cross the rivers, as the Spanish conquistadors discovered when they arrived in the fifteen hundreds. The Ocean-to-Ocean Bridge, built in the 1920s, is the only bridge in America linking the Eastern United States to the West Coast, a true landmark for Yuma. The Yuma Landing Park, the Territorial Prison, and the Yuma Crossing are all interesting historical landmarks offering insight into the past and present of Yuma. For example, the Territorial Prison once housed the students of Yuma High School for a while, when their school building was infested with mold. That is how their mascot came to be “the Yuma Criminals.”

At first, I thought that Yuma wasn’t anything but another dusty border town; no thriving metropolis to offer distractions to a girl almost ready for high school. It didn’t take long before I discovered otherwise. There were three movie theatres open, many stores for any shopping a teenage girl could do, bowling allies, a skating rink, recreational parks, arcades, fast food restaurants, public swimming pools, a library, and skate parks. The city was even building a new mall around the time I moved here, and I was able to see the Yuma Palms from the beginning of construction to the opening ceremonies. With each new attraction came more people, all eager to be part of such a fast-growing community.

I became a freshman at Yuma Catholic High School when I finished junior high. The experience has been the greatest of my life so far, and I’m convinced Yuma is the reason high school has been such a positive experience for me. My high school is the newest in town; built in the middle of a farm field, Yuma Catholic was the product of the generosity of many private donors, and the place where it resides is called “A Field of Dreams.”

Yuma Catholic is a wonderful place, a true second home to me. A maximum of four hundred students attend YCHS at a time, making it a small community “where everybody knows your name.” The teachers were all recruited for the specific purpose of taking education to the next level for all the students, as a true college prep school should. Every student has a laptop and utilizes it daily, ensuring that the graduates of Yuma Catholic High School will have extensive computer knowledge by the time they graduate, a definite plus in today’s world. The school is small, caring, and high-tech, and I’ve never been as comfortable at another school as I am at YC. My senior class is the last of the original four classes to attend Yuma Catholic High School, and when we graduate, it will be the ending of an era. I have made so many happy memories at this school; I know I couldn’t have found a better high school in any other town by Yuma.

Finally, but perhaps most importantly, the reason why I love my Arizona hometown is the people that live here. I have never felt so welcome in any of the other towns in which I’ve lived. Every person I’ve met from the realtor who sold us our house years ago to the lady that sold me my burrito at lunch today has been kind. Though Yuma is growing extensively and has been doing so for several years, it still has a small-town aura about it. Everybody knows or knows of everyone else, and that makes us, as cheesy as it may sound, a big family.

I love Yuma. The weather, the economy, the history, the schools, the people. Everything about it has been a positive experience for me ever since I moved here. I’ve begun to think of Arizona as my home much more than the place of my birth, and can’t imagine wanting to live anywhere else. Many might complain about this town being “small” and “unvarying” but I love it, not in spite of, but because of those things. Arizona is truly, my home.

Hot, but Peaceful

I come from a small city in the southwestern part of Arizona, filled with tons of culture and hot weather, Yuma. Some of the Yumans, mainly the younger ones, speak of the town as if it is a prison that has supernatural powers; which allow it to keep inhabited and hunt down the lucky few, each year, who make it out. I never agreed with those people. To me, it just seemed like the ones who stayed and the ones who came back missed the place or liked it too much to leave in the first place. After all, Yuma is one of the only places where rain smells like wet dirt, storms make people go outside, and 78-degree winter weather can cause people to bundle up like there was a snowstorm.

Each fall, snowbirds or elderly people, from all over North America come to my town in search of its warm winter weather. They love the warm weather (it helps with their ailments), however, they don’t love it enough to stay through the summer’s sweltering 120-degree weather. Who could blame them, though; nobody who lives here wants to stay during the summer months. Not even, the ever-abundant Hispanics who drive across the border to visit family, friends, and shop at the American Wal-Marts want to come during the day.

The weather is so awful in Yuma that it rains, well sprinkles really, five times out of the year, depending on luck. It’s not really the town’s fault, though, most people blame it on the mountains that surround the city and block it from receiving any severe weather, except, of course, the heat, the occasional dust storms, and, far off, electrical storms, that are spectacular to watch after the sun goes down. Honestly, the heat is not that bad; it becomes normal after a while and it makes outdoor activities like swimming, water balloon fights, and playing in the sprinklers a lot more fun, and it’s a plus people don’t even have to lie outside in the sun to get some sort of a tan. Not to mention, it provides Yuma with exceptional winter weather that brings Yumans outside to enjoy the amazing sights and activities the town has to offer.

The colder temperature is not the only thing that brings Yuma to life, the visiting peoples, the snowbirds and Hispanics do. They tend to congest the streets and shops, making it a bit overwhelming every now and again, but it lasts, for the most part, a few months, which is pretty tolerable. During the cooler months, when the snowbirds come, the city’s indoor mall, The Southgate Mall, sets up kiosks in the middle of the building with different arts and crafts, like woodcarving or glass blowing, and in the parking lots, RVs are for sale. Unlike the snowbirds, Hispanic visitors are in Yuma year round and come mainly for the shopping. They give the city so much business each day that stores are twice as crowded, as they normally would be. Some of them even come to Yuma to work in the agriculture fields so they can make extra money to support their families back in Mexico. All of these people really make Yuma feel like a large city and they are often extremely friendly and willing to talk about their hometowns, giving Yumans a chance to learn about things outside of Yuma.

Of course, Yuma does not just receive visitors; they are often visitors themselves because of the town’s location. Therefore, although Yuma lacks some elements that would make it a far better town, like beaches or snow, Yuma is just a drive away from all of those things. Most Yumans take a trip to Algodones, Mexico, just minutes away, to eat the tacos, purchase their medicine, visit the dentist, or go to some of the clubs over there. Since many Yuma residents are Hispanic, they go to visit family as well. Other Yumans choose to go to California for the beaches, amusement parks, and shopping while others still prefer to stay in state and make the trip to larger Arizona cities for their attractions as well.

Now, people do not have to leave Yuma just to have a great time; they can stay in town. Yuma has two things called the river and the sand dunes, Yuma’s most popular attractions, according to some Yumans. The river is, well, a river where Yumans go in order to fish, water ski or Jet Ski, or just swim. During the summer, it seems half the population is there while the other half is at the sand dunes. These gigantic mounds of sand are actually in California, but they are closer to Yuma than any California town, so Yuma claims them. Every year, over holiday weekends, people pack up their RVs and trucks and drive to the dunes to camp out and ride ATVs up and down the dunes. The sand dunes get very crowded, but people do not seem to mind because they enjoy themselves.

More major attractions worth seeing are the Yuma Territorial Prison and the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park. The Yuma Territorial Prison was built in 1876, and now that it is closed, people can take a tour of the vicinity and see a piece of history. What makes it all the more exciting is that the prison is rumored to be haunted, and many people have reported ghost sightings while taking a tour of the place. Yuma’s own team of ghost hunters, The Yuma Spirit Hunters, even checked the place out because there were so many sightings reported. Another less haunted tour people can take is of The Yuma Crossing State Historic Park. It was used as any army supply-holding base for the surrounding states, and visitors are able to take a tour and witness historic buildings and visit the gift shop.

As well as unique activities, Yuma also has unique landscapes. Yuma is a major agriculture town and throughout the city there are fields and water canals. It is extremely amusing sometimes because the fields and canals are next to major streets, schools, and in between newly built housing complexes. Although most fields have been sold to make way for more houses, seeing the ones that still exist gives Yuma a peaceful, wide-open feeling that major cities just do not have. This wide-open feeling is throughout Yuma, though, because of its beautiful mountain and river landscapes. Yuma is one of the most breathtaking places to look at, but it can only be fully experienced firsthand.

Aside from the unholy heat, everything about Yuma makes it one of the best places to live. Even though it seems Yuma does not have much to offer besides a few parks and hang out spots, there are so many more places and components hiding in the town, that deserve credit for making Yuma a great catch. There is a reason why so many people who visit or leave for personal matters choose to come back time and time again; because it is everything anyone could ever want in a city.

Desert Oasis

There is no better place to live in the United States than Yuma, AZ. I have chosen Arizona as my home, because of the many exceptionally great things that it has to offer. Why do so many people flock to Yuma, AZ? Well, the answer lies in Yuma’s livability, proximity, accessibility, and climate.

One of the reasons people love and enjoy Yuma is its weather. Yuma’s low humidity and clean air provide comfortable living conditions for the whole year. These conditions make it comfortable for people with breathing problems because the clean air is beneficial to their health. There is also no better location to be in America during winter than Southwest Arizona. Ask the thousands of winter visitors who are attracted to Yuma each year because of our perfect winter temperatures of mid sixties to low seventies. Apart from Yuma’s great weather it also offers one of the most exquisite and unforgettable sunsets in the world. These beautiful arrays of colors shine through the desert with mysticism. You are instantly enchanted by the breathtaking landscape of the desert. The beautiful climate and sunsets are something that everyone should experience for themselves.

Yuma’s population gives an impression of a big city, but without all the chaos and fast-paced lifestyle that comes along with it. Yuma’s population is about 90,000 and rapidly increasing. Yuma is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Yuma County has grown 49.7% between the years of 1990-2000. Along with population growth comes economy growth which has opened up many jobs for the community and is a factor to our low unemployment rate. Yuma’s hospitable community is also a great asset. Proof of this is Yuma’s low crime rate. Our crime rate is one of the lowest in the nation. These conditions make it perfect to raise a family.

Yuma also offers countless recreational activities for all kinds of people, whether you are an adrenaline junky who loves extreme sports or the relaxed type who loves tranquil hikes. One of the main features here also provide for some of the most entertaining traditional past times, the Colorado River. Why not enjoy this great amenity that Yuma is fortunate to have? Apart from refreshing yourself in the cool water, you could relax with a boat ride. Water-skiing is also an adrenaline packed adventure that can be enjoyed at the Colorado River. Fishing is also a sport that many people are attracted to around this area. Yuma is known for having some of the best terrain to enjoy off road recreational activities. Yuma has been one of the most sought after places to come and off-road because of the perfect dunes surrounding the area. Whether you are in an ATV, truck, or dirt bike, you will find some of the best landscape for this sport here in the Yuma area. This recreational sport is action packed and one of the most entertaining ways to spend a whole day.

If extreme sports are not your way of having a good time then you may enjoy some of the best Golf courses in Arizona. Golf Digest magazine has voted Yuma as the 7th best city in the United States to golf. Hiking in some of the most breath taking sceneries is also a great way to spend your time. The southwest desert gives a great backdrop for wonderful hikes as well as camping grounds. Spending time under the clear skies staring at the stars is one of the most serene activities to do around this area. Yuma has also dedicated time into the improvement of its community with the creation of community parks. Along with the six additional parks being created, construction of a riverfront park bordering the Colorado River is on its way. This riverfront park will be adjacent to the Yuma West Wetlands Park, which is one of the most gorgeous parks in Arizona. These parks are some of the few parks that border a river providing for many great and fun activities. There are many terrific activities that the Yuma area has to offer and everyone should take advantage of them.

Yuma is also a great city because of its close proximity to many other great places. Mexico, Phoenix, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Tucson are all places you can drive to within five hours from Yuma. Mexico is only minutes away and has several attractions for people of all ages. Ensenada, Rosarito, and Puerto Peñasco are only a few Mexican vacation hot spots that are also a short driving distance from Yuma, AZ. Our capital, Phoenix, is only about three hours away by car. You are only three hours away from the beaches of San Diego. Los Angeles and Tucson are both about five hours away from Yuma and are easily accessible. No matter where you decide to vacation, you are sure to be there within a short amount of time from Yuma, AZ.

Yuma is a great place to live out your dreams. Yuma is growing faster and faster to accommodate the needs of all the people who have made the choice to live here. If you come and live here in Yuma, you will not regret it. Yuma, AZ is the best place to live and I encourage everyone to come and experience this desert oasis.

Somerton Is My Home

In the southwest corner of the state resides a small town by the name of Somerton. Somerton is less than two square miles. It is what I have called home all my life. Although I have seen many places on this massive continent, I have to say my town has to be the most beautiful and peaceful.

This wonderful town in Arizona is full of history. Somerton’s antiquated buildings, landmarks and people contribute to its astonishingly old nature. There have been many people who have moved on further into the country that once resided in this town. Many crossed the border illegally and only remained here for a few months or years but then proceeded on with their quest into this great nation and a better life. These people have taken with them only memories. Also in our history lie saloons, bars, markets, and old schools. Many of the buildings where the markets used to be simply changed names and others have been completely destroyed. We have never had a high school but the “K-8” school we once had was bulldozed my fifth grade year. My mother and her whole family attended this school. Last but not least, Somerton was once a spot of entertainment, relaxation, and fun. With many saloons and bars to choose from, Somerton was a favorite among the agricultural employees. Through memory or formally by the town, the history of Somerton is still preserved.

The history for me is conserved through my family. My grandmother is one of the “pioneers” in Somerton. She moved here from San Luis, R.C. Mexico when she was 33 years old. Living in Somerton with six children all under the age of fifteen was not easy but the tranquility of the town was a comfort. While she worked out in the crops for countless hours all day, her children attended school. The small size of the town was a positive aspect because everybody knew each other. My grandmother still makes Somerton her home. Since the age of one month, my mother lived here. She grew up in this magnificent town and received her education along with her basic life skills. For forty-two years now, my mother has called this her home. You may ask her why she has remained here for all this time and she will simply reply that her roots are stubborn and strong. My brother, sister, cousins, and I still enjoy having Somerton as a home and plan to keep it that way for coming generations.

Today, Somerton has changed since the old days. As far as the people are concerned, it is still the same place with the same people. The children of the sixties and seventies have now grown up and have their houses in Somerton. As you can tell, people are simply following the rules of nature and evolving; not evolving to something new but something bigger and better. Everyone knows each other and always welcomes the old and new members of the community with open arms and smiles. Basically it is still small.

Somerton is an amazing community. Although it is hot, when the sun sets The people come out with their cup of coffee, can of beer, or glass of water. Either way, if you ever visit Somerton it may seem lonely and a gas stop between Mexico and Yuma, Arizona but after the sun goes down all are welcomed with magnificent kindness, friendliness, and ironically more warmth, but warmth from the heart.

The Past Unfolds Into The Future

Yuma and I have had a complex, love/hate relationship. I've spent a total of twelve years living there -- first from age ten to twenty, then for a couple of years in my mid-twenties. Now I'm gone, most likely for good, and while I'm not exactly sorry about it, I'll never forget or regret my life there. I see Yuma as a place where the future of Arizona is being defined, for better or worse. This future looms over the lower Colorado Valley. Underneath it flit the ghosts of an Arizona past that will never be completely eradicated.

My first years in Yuma were largely about getting to know Arizona as a state. I had come fresh from Missouri, from a college town, and my world had been full of a strange mixture of the Ozark rural and the world of academia (my dad had been a professor at the university): spelunking, fishing, poetry readings, and piano and French lessons. Our journey fit nicely into the historical framework of western migration; our covered wagon was a white van crammed to the brim with all of our worldly possessions (including three cats and one dog). We endured some of the same hardship those pioneers of earlier days experienced, such as the lack of air conditioning and the need to find new routes when our maps led us astray. But, by far the worst, to me, was leaving everything I had known and loved to that point for a place so strange that it might as well have been on Mars. There were so many things that I didn't know about the great southwestern desert, and the things I discovered on our trek only disconcerted me. Things didn't improve from there -- I learned quickly that there were no caves, no wooded hillsides, no trout streams, no limestone cliffs full of fossils; no one bothered to study French. In fact, there were kids at my school who could only speak Spanish, which I had never heard beyond 'Sesame Street' – kids with strange beautiful names like Ovidio and Yesenia.

I didn't like Arizona, and I kept not liking it until I went camping with someone who knew the pleasures of the desert. I learned to taste mesquite beans and jojoba nuts. I saw bighorn sheep, and scrambled on igneous rocks in the canyons of the Kofa mountains. The open, lonely places became exciting to me; the river, too, tired and wans by the time it reaches Yuma, but still majestic in a pale sort of way. I learned to look at birds, and the intense pleasure of sleeping outside with no tent, directly under the arid-black, stars filled sky. I began to realize that southwest Arizona, Yuma in particular, exists as a great nexus of pathways, both in geography and in time. It is a land of boundaries. The US/Mexico boundary is the most obvious, perhaps; even beyond the corrugated metal fence, it announces its presence through Border Patrol trucks and helicopters. The river gives up its last wandering freedom near Yuma, and the state of Arizona grudgingly yields to California. Canals divide greater Yuma into distinct segments and mark the spirit transplant of the Colorado into the city. The canals teem with life in their own right. I was once walking along the Wellton-Mohawk Bypass, and I saw a gigantic turtle surge from its depths, grab at something at the surface, and disappear just as mysteriously as it had appeared in the first place. Yuma marks several ecological boundaries as well. The saguaro cactus, symbol of Arizona, is found almost exclusively east of the Colorado River. They flourish on our side, and vanish on the other. Perhaps, like me, they are a bit intimidated by the craziness of California.

The terrain and biology of Yuma is defined by the curious juxtaposition of uber-dry desert and abundant water of the river. Birds, in particular, show great diversity because of this. In a single afternoon, you can go from desert mountains, and observe tough little birds like phainopeplas and verdin, to the riparian areas where you can see cormorants, coots, and ducks, and look into the deep, marshy sedge for the Yuma rail. In addition, there are the irrigated fields as well, which are the grounds for a number of slender-legged waders. Great Blue Herons lift their way into the sky with rhythmic wing-jerks, and egrets patrol the fields. Egrets are originally from Asia, and used to be exotic accidentals in the Yuma and Imperial valleys. In the last few decades they have thrived here, until now, they are as commonplace as doves. Nevertheless, they will never be beneath notice.

My one abiding image of Yuma is this: I stand on Prison Hill, next to the watchtower for the Yuma Territorial Prison, which at one time was full of murderous outlaws and hard-core thieves. And, for a brief time, high school students. In 1910, the school board needed to appropriate extra room for its high school, and ended up renting space from the Territorial Prison. This later led to the nickname 'Criminals' for Yuma High School students. I am particularly glad that Yuma High School embraced the nickname rather than trying to gloss over the past in such a way, since I would not otherwise be able to tell people with pride that I am a Criminal. It's a lot more exciting than being a Wildcat, especially when people don't know whether I mean an Arizona Wildcat or a Kentucky Wildcat. There's only one place a Criminal is from – Yuma! But I digress. In my vision, I am standing next to these adobe walls on a hill overlooking the Colorado River at sunset. The water reflects the lurid red of the sky like a bloodstain amid the marshlands, and I see the ghosts of steamboats gliding up the main bed. Below me, in those water flats, are Snowy egrets and White-faced ibises bedded down or standing, totem-like, accepting the Colorado as they would the Yellow River or the Nile as an ancient, abiding home. More of them fly in from the west, ready to settle in after a long day in the fields, and they come so low over the hill that I am standing right among them as they pass. I can see the light shining through their wings and the sounds of their labor as they crest and then coast down into the marsh flats below, where they meet their flock mates with happy sounds. I am happy too, because I know that however much the city grows, whether they build a refinery here or not, indeed, no matter what the future, that this will not go away. There will be a time every year in Yuma when I may stand on this hill and watch the past unfold into the future on thousands of strong wings.

You Won't Want To Leave

My hometown is Yuma, Arizona, a sunny little town. I have lived here since I was 3 months old. My parents used to always take me to the river, which is so beautiful, and we would fish until the next day. It has wonderful mountains surrounding it that make Yuma sit in a little hole with flat ground all around it. You can find all sorts of different mines that have been abandoned. Yuma will never seem to stop amazing you with its wonderful year round weather and its non-stop sunshine. When you’re warm, you can go enjoy all the water around here, from little Colorado to Martinez lake. In the winter we have a wonderful set of beautiful sand dunes that everyone in this little town flocks to, to have fun when the water’s to cold.

Yuma is never too big to know everyone in it. This small town is friendly, with all your farmers, to your big corporations, they will help you however you need it. It still has the malls that everyone likes, but when it comes to land and scenery it has plenty to view and appreciate at all times. There is no pollution floating around your head when you go on a walk and there are no big streets with racing cars all around that your children can be hit from walking too close. Come take a hike or a walk in the desert then tell me what you think of it. While you are at it, meet everyone here with all friendly souls you will not want to leave. That is why Yuma is the best little town you can think of.

The Criminal

I live in Yuma, Arizona. It is a small town quite close to the Mexican border. There are many unique things about my town, one of them being our high school mascot. The criminal. Many people don’t agree with the mascot but it gives us character and I am very proud of that. There is a story behind it.

In 1906, or sometime close to, that the high school was burned and they needed a place to go to learn. They looked up the hill and saw the Yuma Territorial Prison. So school was held there for four years until they could rebuild the high school. Of course, they still had football and they didn’t know what to call themselves, so the other team called them the criminals because it was just criminal how they beat them and they didn’t even have a high school. It stuck ever since.

We also have a community college that I love having because the college is convenient and is very close to our home. I love Yuma but sometimes in the winters it gets a little hectic. People tend to be more considerate; the older people come down in the winter time because its colder where they are from and warmer here. So they stay here for six months out of the year and it is very crowded.

I enjoy living in Arizona at all times of the year because the weather is beautiful and the people are easy to get along with. Anybody could learn to love Yuma especially because it is right in the middle of many places like California, Phoenix and Tucson and many recreational activities.