Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park

Yesterday we took a little road trip to Yuma, AZ. Our GPS (aka: The Bitch in the Box) routed us across the border into California and down through CA to Winter Haven and then back across to Yuma. It was nothing but hay fields and a few cotton fields on the drive there. We took another route back, up 95 through AZ and it was much more scenic. We stopped at the KOFA National Wildlife Refuge just before dusk. The road was terrible and we didn't see any sign of wildlife, so we left.

While in Yuma, we visited the Territorial Prison State Historic Park. It was really interesting! I must say that the City of Yuma was nothing like we pictured it. It is much larger and more modern than we imagined. I guess we've watched to many westerns (3:10 to Yuma, etc.)


Entrance to the park.


The base of this is an 85,000 gallon
water tank to supply the prison. The
water was dissapating in the hot, dry
weather, so they covered it with a guard tower.


Bob in a cell. I've finally
got him where I want him. ;-)

Bob inside the cell. Not much
room for SIX prisoners!

Several westerns have been

filmed at the prison. This entry

was lowered to make Alan Ladd,

Gene Autrey, etc. look taller. :-)
It's only 5' 3", the other side is 6' 4".

The silver bridge is the "Coast-

to-Coast bridge. It was named

that because once it was completed,

you could drive from the Atlantic to

the Pacific without using a ferry to

cross the Colorado river.

Yuma High School Criminals...

after the prison closed, the library

and some of the other buildings were

used as the Yuma High School and

the students were known as the

Yuma HS "Criminals"...and we thought

the Waterford Twp. HS "Skippers" was

funny!

U. S. Army Proving Grounds

north of Yuma

The big (over 175' long), white,

unmarked blimp north of Yuma...

it is a surveillance radar system

used to watch for drug runners

coming across the Mexican border

on land and in the air.