Donna M. Byrne

Yuma, Arizona is the oldest city established on the Colorado River and just chock full of history. We spent some time at the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park.

Yikes!

The prison was built in 1876 and many of the buildings have been preserved and look exactly as they did 143 years ago including the Sally Port - the check point where prisoners entered and left, the Cell Block and - wait for it - the Dark Cell.

An iron cage was placed inside a cave carved out of rock. Prisoners would be placed in the Dark Cell for various infractions of the rules. Not a fun time.

We climbed up a reconstructed Guard Tower which sits on top of the Prison's original water supply and then visited the cemetery. 104 inmates were buried in this harsh place.

Right next to the Prison is the Ocean to Ocean Bridge. It was built across the Colorado in 1915 and allowed folks to travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific without having to get on a ferry. The Union Pacific added a railroad crossing in 1923 and as luck would have it a train crossed the river right before we left.

Denny and I had lunch in the historic section of Yuma at a place called Prison Hill Brewing Company. The owner and brewmaster is the great grandson of Jesus Gil, who served time at the Prison.

As we drove along the California/Mexico border we passed the Imperial Sand Dunes and in the distance we could see part of the 654 mile Border Wall which was built in 2006 as a result of the Secure Fence Act. One of the locals told us where to look for it and sure enough there it was.

Laundry and repacking filled the night. We board the ship in San Diego on Saturday.En savoir plus