Yuma Daze continued.....Yuma Territorial Prison Feb 20-23

Feb 20......We spent the day touring the remains of the Yuma Territorial Prison, part of which was demolished when the railroad came through in 1923, so it is a very old adobe prison, with a unique history from back in the cowboy days. After it closed, due to overcrowding, it was used as the local high school for 4 years (old school burned down) and the students are now known as the Criminals!  It also became a squatting area for hobos and poor folks during the depression. One of the unique things was the graffiti that was so well preserved on the walls of the cells that people used for shelter after the prisons closing. It seems everyone put their names, home town or state, and the date. There were also at least five movies made at the prison, which they were showing on a TV in the museum. They also kept precise records of all the criminals, including women, as well as the number of escapes, attempted escapes, people killed during escape attempts, and other such statistics.

Prison lawn, looking at the train bridge that took away 1/3 of the prison property.

Walking through the Sallyport (main gate)

The main cell block

6 prisoners shared this cell!  Look at the graffiti

If  prisoners misbehaved, they got sent to the dark cell, which was a cell dug into the hillside - very dark 

I almost left him!!!!!

Feb 21...42 miles in 3:10....I rode into town, ran a few errands, and explored a few roads on the west side of town that I haven't been on yet. We have been here, 'wintering,' for almost two weeks now, and to tell you the truth, I'm getting bored and antsy to move on. I don't think there are many more lettuce fields that I can explore. Harvesting is going full blast right now, and next weekend is the celebrated " Lettuce Days," but I don't know if I would be handle all the excitement, so I'm mentally getting ready to blow this Popsicle stand.

Feb22..... Highlight of today was dinner at Olive Garden. We also spent the afternoon watching a western movie from 1970 that took place in an Arizona Territorial Prison, but it wasn't Yuma.

Feb 23.....72.31 in 4:49....One final, farewell  lap around the Yuma/San Luis  area today. The weather was beautiful, wind light and swirling. AZ 195, US 95, with a little break to eat an apple under the Coast to Coast Bridge near historic downtown Yuma. I pushed myself harder than I normally do, and I averaged 15 mph for the 72 mile loop. I haven't done that since maybe Texas with a tailwind, or heading down the east coast. Finished the day with a swim, the  weekly ice cream social (two scoops for me), and watching the closing ceremonies of the XXII Olympiad.