El Centro & Imperial Valley, CA

El Centinala
or Signal Mountain

January brings us to Rio Bend RV Park in El Centro, CA. This is a typical big snowbird park just 10 miles north of the Mexican border. We chose this one because our friends Art and Sharon Bonertz from Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada were going to be here and we wanted to join them. As it turns out, their friends from Calgary, Rusty and Mary Ann Stuckey, are here too. And since Art & Sharon had an 11 day major breakdown in Utah on their way south, we had a lot of fun with the Stuckey's before Art & Sharon got here. And as it turns even farther out, this park is popular with Canadians, with about 50% of the residents coming from the cold north.

El Centinala (the Sentinel) or Signal Mountain, as it's called in Spanish, is a major landmark in the Valley, and sits on the Mexican border, about 10 miles to the south. DHS and Border Patrol vehicles are a common sight on the road next to the park, and residents have told us stories about illegal immigrants stopping in the park on their way north to use the pay phone.

Rusty in his poncho

Rio Bend has an "old" section and a "new" section. All three of us were booked into the old section, which had cramped, muddy sites. All three of us managed to change sites and we ended up together at the southern end of the park.

El Centro is the county seat of Imperial County, in the heart of the Imperial Valley. This flat valley is watered by the Colorado River by the All American Canal, the largest canal system in the world. The Valley grows alfalfa, is a major producer of winter vegetables. A couple hundred acres of broccoli is growing across the street from the park.

Rio Bend sunrise

While there are some pretty sights here, I am mindful that we are adjacent to the New River, which flows north from Mexico into the Salton Sea. The New River has been reported to be on eof the most polluted rivers in the world. That, plus the agricultural runoff from the Imperial Valley make the Salton Sea a briny mess, nearly unable to support fish. That area was once a thriving resort area, but is no longer.

Rio Bend also boasts a 9 hole executive golf course. Art and I will lose a few golf balls down there later this month. At the moment, he's flown back to Canada for a couple days as part of his official duties on the Insurance Commission in Alberta.


Rio Bend Golf Course