It is claimed that the sun shines 95% of the year in Yuma, Arizona. As a result, the town, located 185 mi/295 km southwest of Phoenix, attracts a lot of northern snow birds—visitors who head south in the winter months to escape the cold and gray of northern climes.
Real birds seem partial to Yuma as well, and a good place to see them is at the Bureau of Land Management's Betty's Kitchen Watchable Wildlife Viewing Area, outside of town on the Colorado River. This is one of the best places in the state to view resident and migratory birds, including white-winged and mourning doves, great blue herons and the endangered Yuma clapper rail.
Other attractions include a tour through the Yuma Territorial Prison State Historic Park (a historic jail dating to 1876), the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Museum and the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area (a restored supply post that was established in 1864).
Those in search of a quiet evening will enjoy a dinner cruise on the Colorado River to view the remnants of old gold-mining settlements. And while you're in the area, visit Palm Canyon, a small desert oasis with the only naturally growing palm trees in the state.
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