Monday, March 31, 2014

Some Side Trips North and South

A Dust Storm Engulfs the Area
Over the last week, we ventured out to some more distant areas from our current location in Bullhead City.  We traveled North through some high desert through such places as CalNevAri, Searchlight and a little place called Las Vegas.  We then crossed the Colorado River via the new bridge near Hoover Dam (the road formerly crossed the dam itself) before heading South on the AZ side, returning back to base via Kingman, AZ.

In the slide show, you will next see some photos of more views along the Laughlin side of the river, then on Saturday we were off to a short revisit to Oatman (remember the burros?) before heading South along a remote and desolate stretch of Route 66 (hard to believe that this was once a primary highway to Los Angeles).  We continued on to Parker, AZ, for a preview of our next extended stay.

As usual, there are some captions to the lower left of photos in this collection.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Davis from the NV Side and Lake Havasu City


We finally sought out the road that approaches Davis Dam from the Nevada side of the Colorado River and were treated to a visit to parts of the Lake Meade Recreation area that dot the West side of the Colorado just to the North of Laughlin.  There are some very nice, mostly day use, pavillions and other facilities scattered along several miles heading toward the dam and some of the nicest sites provided for camp hosts that we have ever seen.  Deb got into a conversation with one of the hosts and learned enough that we would absolutely consider hosting here if we should ever decide to visit this area again.

About 70 miles to our South along Arizona 95 is Lake Havasu City, new home of the 1831 London Bridge.  The city is much more extensive and cosmopolitan than we ever expected, with a wide range of housing options and probably more commercial enterprises than any other city between Las Vegas and Phoenix.  The bridge connects to an island in the lake that is mostly dedicated to recreational activities and there is a ferry available (for $2 round trip) to Havasu Landing on the California side where there is much more in recreation opportunities, including a small, but nice casino.

Our photos from both adventures can be found here.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Boat Ride and Chula Vista


There are a number of boat rides available here, at reasonable rates, on the Colorado River between Bullhead City, AZ, and Laughlin, NV.  We decided to take one that includes an approach to Davis Dam and a cruise all along the row of casinos that line the river on the Nevada side.  Unfortunately, the water level was too high to allow passage under the Laughlin bridge; however, we were still treated with all the information and descriptions of what we missed on that part of the ride.  There is also a free "water taxi" available from a free parking lot on the AZ side to one of the casinos on the NV side, but we're not quite sure why people choose to do that, except, perhaps for the free boat ride.

The next day, Deb and I traveled 350 miles to Chula Vista, CA (just North of the Mexico border at Tijuana), for a visit and a great meal with dear friends Sue and Dick who we had not seen since our first year of RVing in 2007.  The trip took us through the San Bernadino Mountains and outlying cities that encompass the LA area.  On the return trip, we paralleled the border with Mexico along Interstate 8 before heading North from El Centro along some 2 lane roads through Blythe and Needles, enjoying some excellent scenery along the way:  mountains, desert, farming and the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area.  While traveling here in the West, we've grown accustomed to seeing elevation postings like 4000 feet and more and less, but along this route we were amused to see one that said Elevation Sea Level.

Please see the captions associated with these photos for some additional notes.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Davis Dam and Lake Mohave


The Mohave County Park where we are currently residing, Davis Camp, takes its name from Davis Dam which was completed in the early 50's and is located just to the North of the last sites in the park.  The power plant of the dam includes 5 generating units that are capable of producing 255 megawatts of power or 2 billion kilowatt-hours annually.

Lake Mohave, behind the dam, is part of Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  It encompasses 44 square miles and extends 67 miles toward Hoover Dam to the North.

A recent afternoon excursion to the area by Deb, Mary, Bill and myself included some excellent views of the dam and the lake area which are represented in these photos and captions that are included at the lower left of each picture include some additional information.

Friday, March 14, 2014

A Visit to Oatman, AZ


Oatman is located just to the South and East of Fort Mohave, Arizona.  It is what remains of a mining town that nearly evaporated when Interstate 40 bypassed this small community that is positioned along US Route 66.  Today it is primarily a tourist attraction, largely due to the wild burros that wander the streets of the town.  Burros can be spotted in many locations around this area, but here they are in greater numbers and the entire Main Street of Oatman is dedicated to shops and eateries that are based on a burro theme or the town's mining history.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Oatman Hotel which features an unusual decor which you will see in our pictures.

Our thanks to friend Roger Mowery for alerting us to this and hope you enjoy this photo record of our visit.  You can also read a nice account of the place at this link.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Out and About in Bullhead City


We are currently settled into Davis Camp in Bullhead City, AZ, which is just across the Colorado River from Laughlin, NV.  Davis Camp is owned and operated by Mohave County (not sure why the spelling is not Mojave like the desert) and covers the entire East Bank of the Colorado from the bridge to Laughlin to the Davis Dam.  For those of you who are not familiar with the area, we are located about 1 1/2 hours (95 miles or so) generally South of Las Vegas.

Up to this point, since arriving here last week, we have mostly attended to some necessary chores including laundry, grocery shopping, oil change for the car and the like, but we've also taken some time to enjoy some of the local scenery and some short visits across the river for some fun and food.  Exploration beyond the immediate area will follow soon.

These photos have captions for a bit of additional information.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

A Tale of Two Holes

Our last two major visits on the way to Bullhead City, AZ:

Hole Number One:
Meteor Crater near Winslow, AZ - Awesome
Photos - click here
More Info - click here

Hole Number Two:
The Grand Canyon - Majestic
Photos - click here
More Info - click here

Monday, March 3, 2014

Painted Desert and Petrified Forest


Many folks don't realize that these two areas sit right next to each other.  Largely, the Painted Desert is located to the North of I-40 near Holbrook, AZ and the petrified wood can be found to the South of the same Interstate in the same area.

On the way to Holbrook, we experienced some snow in the area of the Continental Divide in New Mexico and then a bit more in the OK Campground over night.  This is the first experience for DV (our RV) with snow - something Deb and I always said would Never happen.  Well, never say never I guess.  Naturally, for large portions of the country, this has pretty much been a Winter of nothing but snow and you will see our experience as laughable.

There are very few of these photos that have captions.  As you are about to see, much of what we experienced is just beyond words.  If you enjoy what you see, I encourage you to visit these locations, if not in person, then via the internet.