4:10 to Yuma

Tuesday, 11am, we left the great state of California heading towards Yuma and hit up In n’ Out Burger for the last time. Not even one hour east of San Diego we ran into border patrol, the friendly version. I was bummed that I forgot to thank the man for his service to our country as his job has become very difficult in the last few years. I'd like to thank my cousin Ryan for his service down here. We were told stories about immigrant workers who don't cross the border into their own country now to visit their family as it is too dangerous due to the gang violence. Next panoramic view: Mountains of rocks. It literally just looked like someone had placed huge boulders on top of each other.

After about an hour or two of this type of landscape with great anticipation I got my first glimpse of the bounder wall which is surrounded by such sand dunes.

I could only take a shot from the freeway as there were no rest areas or turn outs when the wall was visible, intentional, I’m sure. In addition to the wall in the distance the freeway was lined with a fence and a steal barricade to control vehicle access. I hope through resolution this site will become a memory of complacency I share with my grandchildren and not a reality for their future.

As we drew near to Yuma I became very excited that we would arrive almost exactly at 3:10pm, I know it's corny but it's the only thing I know about the area besides the fact that we have grandparents living here. As we entered the city at about 3:07pm I spotted the train station on the right hand side of the freeway and my mind raced on the photo opportunity that awaited us. In the next moment I glanced down at my cell phone which read 4:10pm! I hadn't accounted for the time change. The other land mark that perked our interest was the Colorado River, small and winding its way into the Baja Sea. We would be crossing this river almost at its source in the Rocky Mountains over the course of the next 10 days.

We arrived to some very excited and welcoming grandparents in Yuma. They have a great home with daughter Marsha and all the Family were great hosts. We met Marsha’s adopted daughter Robin and Marsha’s granddaughter Ally as well. In Yuma irrigation is an interesting is a part of farm life. The plot of land Marsha bought used to grow citrus trees. The city sends water down the irrigation tracks once a week so the yard is in a constant flex between flood and drought.

So sorry we do not have any pictures of our family, we just got distracted in conversation and our time with them was too short. Grandpa is so full of puns and jokes that our sides were sore from laughing.

Grandma Pilar shared with us some of her growing up experiences, (thanks’ Grandma for letting us drill you!) and I fell in love with her falling in love story:

Grandma Pilar was 12 years when she first encountered Grandpa George. The Werner family lost their father in a tragic car accident along with Nate's aunt Pilar in 1979. They saw each other and at that point Pilar told her Aunt Tia that she would marry that boy and Aunt Tia quickly replied that she was too young to be thinking about marriage. George and Pilar grew up in the same neighborhood their whole life and would not exchange another word until college. At 20 Grandpa George was quite the catch, it's in the genes, and Pilar would watch him flirt with all the girls and pity herself for not being the most beautiful girl in town. Obviously this was not true as Pilar had her own set of admirers she was attempting to avoid. She can remember a time when one such suitor would not leave her alone and she stood at a window watching George in the reflection with another girl only to be caught by George. Grandma was so embarrassed but her affections were returned when Grandpa George offered to walk her home from college. This was a little awkward as well because Pilar's father would wait at the neighborhood corner to walk Pilar home every night. One such walk it was raining and Grandpa George asked Pilar to hold the one umbrella for them to share. And while Pilar's hands were occupied Grandpa George stole a long kiss... right in front of grandma's Pilar's father. They married soon after. Its stories like these from over 50 years ago that shape who we are and make life so enchanting and draw us together across generations.