Lake Havasu, Parker

Feb 20    Laughlin, NV - Lake Havasu, AZ     61 miles     1 hr 30 mins

We drove to Lake Havasu this morning. Parked at Walmart and took the car to the visitors center. This is where the London Bridge is located. The London Bridge is one of Arizona's biggest visitors attractions.

It was designed in 1799 and opened in 1831, spanning the River Thames in London, England. By 1924, it was evident that the bridge was sinking, as it had not been designed to withstand the impact of 20th century automotive traffic. In 1967, the City of London placed the bridge up for sale.

On April 18, 1968, the winning bid went to Lake Havasu City. Each block was meticulously numbered before the bridge was disassembled. The blocks were then shipped overseas to California and trucked to Lake Havasu City, where the bridge was reconstructed and rededicated on October 10, 1971.

Next stop was the Lake Havasu Lighthouses. Located over 200 miles from the nearest ocean, Lake Havasu City is home to 24 lighthouses. Each lighthouse is an actual navigational beacon for boaters on Lake Havasu and meets all US Coast Guard requirements. All but one lighthouse are 1/3 scale replicas of actual US lighthouses.

Lake Havasu - Buckskin Mountain State Park         34 miles       1 hr

Continued on to Parker, Arizona and checked in at Buckskin Mountain State Park for 2 nights, $35.00 per night. Very nice here, right on the Colorado River. On this side of the river, we're in Arizona. Across the river, they're in California.

We did some hiking this morning, all over Buckskin Mountain. Started out on Lightening Bolt Trail, across the bridge to Buckskin Trail, then out to The Mine. The whole thing took us about 3 hours. Lots of stops to enjoy the scenery and rest.

Across the river is California

This afternoon at camp, there was an ice cream social. You bring your own cup and spoon and donate $1. Well, we went with our paper cups and spoons and donated $5. Thought they would at least pack our cup with ice cream with our generous donation. They barely filled our cups! Next time, I'm just giving $1.

Laughlin

Feb 15    Las Vegas - Laughlin      85 miles     1 hr 45 minutes

We checked out of Orleans this morning, picked up the car and RV and was supposed to spend the next few days at Main Street Station RV Park, getting everything ready for our road trip.

We decided that there was no reason to hang out in Vegas because we were ready to go. We did some food shopping at Costco and Walmart then hit the road.

We checked in at the Riverside Casino RV Park for 4 nights ($27 per night). Lucky Joe called to make reservations, this is a very busy park with all the snowbirds.

Our site for the next 4 days

Tonight as I was unpacking and putting everything away, I couldn't find my jade bracelets. Turned everything upside down, inside out and just couldn't find them. Realized I must have left them at Orleans. So bummed and so mad at myself....these bracelets are from my mom and I treasure them. If I could kick myself in the ass I would.

Feb 16

Had a very hard time sleeping last night. So mad at myself about the bracelets. I called Orleans this morning and spoke to Security Lost & Found. They had my bracelets...I couldn't believe it. I'm so, so happy! We drove back to Las Vegas today to pick them up.

Lunch was at 808 HMP (Hawaiian Mixed Plate) on Craig Road. Very good local food here. Joe had hamburger steak and I had the seared ahi salad....so yummy! Then we went to Poke Express, located in the same strip mall. Got some poke and other goodies for us and Greg, Joe's retired police friend. They worked together in Wahiawa. Greg lives in Bullhead City, AZ which is right across the river from Laughlin, NV. This is the Colorado River, one side is Nevada and the other Arizona. Greg was really happy with the poke and spam musubi.





Feb 17

Today we drove to Oatman. The Arizona town of Oatman was born in 1906 as a tent camp, flourished as a gold mining center, then was stricken a near fatal blow in 1942 when Congress declared that gold mining was no longer essential to the war effort. Oatman is located on historic U.S. Route 66, the trail of the people who migrated in their Model T's from the midwest in the 1930's. It is the last stop in Arizona before entering the dreaded Mojave Desert in Southern California.

Joe in a coffin

Oatman takes pride in keeping its town as authentic as possible, giving visitors a look back into history, showing the wild west as it really was.

Burros all over the place

We met Greg for dinner at The Prime Rib Room located in the Riverside Casino. Excellent place to eat for a very reasonable price, $16.99 per person. You start with all you can eat salad and potato bar. Prime rib is carved right at your table. Very, very good. Then you finish with all you can eat dessert. The view is great, overlooking the Colorado River. We will definitely eat here everytime we come to Laughlin.












Feb 18

There's a storm passing through Southern Nevada. Laughlin is very wet and windy today. We're supposed to be driving to Lake Havasu tomorrow but we'll decide in the morning. If it doesn't clear up we're spending one more day here.

Very gloomy day

Feb 19

We woke up to another dark and gloomy day so decided to stay one more night in Laughlin. Took care of some laundry, kind of expensive here $2.50 wash and $2.00 dry. We went for a walk and ended up at the Aquarius Casino and was just in time for the Sunday Champagne Brunch. $56.00 for both of us but excellent brunch. Prime rib, crab, sushi, champagne, the whole works and the desserts was so ono, very good selection. We even had a couple of strawberry marguiritas...so yummy!

Sushi and champagne

Crab legs was so ono

Carrot cake and red velvet cupcake

After that big feast, we took a walk along the river.

Here We Go Again...........

These 2 make us smile

We begin another RV journey. It's been 10 months since our last trip. We normally travel during the Fall season but missed last year because there was an addition to our family. Joshua and Casey welcomed baby Jade Marie last August. We love being grandparents and are so fortunate we have JJ and Jade. They are so much fun. We'll miss them during our 3 months away but we love our RV adventures...this time we're exploring Arizona and New Mexico.

Las Vegas

Feb 13   Our friend Winky picked us up this morning at the airport and drove us to our storage in Henderson.  The Kia started up right away but the RV was dead. We had to replace 3 batteries. Lucky Winky was with us, he drove Joe around to find the batteries and helped install them.

Very busy day for us. After Winky left, we had to get a smog check for the Kia, pay the registration that expired last August (big penalty), and find a car wash for our dusty car.

We checked in at Orleans, we got 2 nights comp. Then met Winky and Leslie for dinner at Vino's at the Cannery. The Italian food is excellent here. We don't even go to Olive Garden anymore.

Feb 14   Back to the storage today to get the RV and car ready to go.

 We gassed up at Costco, $2.29 a gallon, can't beat that price! We filled water in the RV and found a problem with the water filter. Off to Camping World to buy new filters. This is just part of owning an RV, things always need fixing.

Lunch was at In-n-Out, I know it's Valentine's Day but this is where we wanted to eat...so ono! For dinner, we went to the buffet at Orleans. Was good, the best thing was the gelato for dessert.

Ash Meadows, Death Valley, Red Rock Canyon

March/April

This post is a continuation of our Spring trip in April. Just realized I didn't finish so here goes.....

Our base camp is at Nevada Treasure RV Resort in Pahrump for the next month. From here we did day trips to Ash Meadows, Death Valley, and Red Rock Canyon.

Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

Ash Meadows is about 45 minutes from our base camp. The road into Ash Meadows is dirt and gravel with a lot of washboards, pretty rough. Its the largest remaining oasis in the Mojave Desert. Stunning....an oasis with the prettiest crystal clear blue springs with very rare endangered pup fish.

Crystal Spring Boardwalk is located right behind the visitors center. The boardwalk leads to a brilliant blue spring flowing at 2,800 gallons of water per minute.

Longstreet Spring and Cabin is a short walk from the parking area. This boardwalk leads to an old stone cabin built by gunslinger, Jack Longstreet, a mysterious man of the wild west. The spring pool near this cabin is sometimes called the boiling spring because fine white sand bellows up from the depths gives it a "boiling" appearance.

The desert blooms of Ash Meadow was a surprise.....

Death Valley National Park

Death Valley is about 1 hour 15 minutes from our base camp. We did a couple of short hikes and a drive to see Artist's Palette.

Our first hike was to Dante's Ridge. Just a half mile to the first summit. This is the most breathtaking viewpoint in the park. This mountain top overlook is more than 5000 feet above the floor of Death Valley.

Overlooking Badwater Basin

That's Joe hiking up that hill

Natural Bridge Canyon was another short hike. It was an uphill walk through a narrow canyon. Was suppose to be an easy hike but it was a gravel road so not as easy as we thought it would be...maybe because it was getting very hot!

Artist's Drive is a scenic loop drive through multi-hued volcanic and sedimentary hills. Artist's Palette is especially photogenic in the late afternoon light. The 9-mile pave road is one-way and is only driveable with vehicles less than 25 feet in length.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

Red Rock Canyon is about an hour from our base camp. This is our first visit to Red Rock Canyon. After going to the visitors center, you start a 13-mile scenic drive. This scenic drive is one way for the full 13 miles. Once you start, no turning around....have to continue the whole loop.

Flowers in bloom

The scenery here is breathtaking. We did a couple of hikes but there's a lot more hikes that we'd like to do. Our visit was on a Saturday...big mistake. It was very, very crowded on the road and also all the hiking trails. Next time, I'll make sure we come on a week day.

The Calico Tank hike is rated moderate which means uphill sections up to 1,000 feet of elevation gain; uneven terrain and some rock scrambling. This particular hike winds through a wash and there may be seasonal water in a natural tank at the end. Supposed to  be about 2.5 miles and around 2 hours to complete.

We started out okay but after about an hour of rock scrambling we decided this hike was too much for us. I wanted to do another hike after lunch so we decided to turn around.

We drove to the Willow Springs Picnic Area and ate our lunch. Then decided we had enough energy to do another short hike. Supposed to be an easy hike around 1.5 miles. I guess we took a wrong turn some where because I know we hiked more than 1.5 miles. Joe wasn't too happy with me.....

I think it was still worth it....

This completes our 2016 Spring trip. Didn't do too many miles on the RV this time but had a wonderful time camping at Nevada Treasure for a whole month. It was nice to just relax and do things at our leisure.

We're headed home to help Miki with her first May Day program at Kahuku Elementary. Then we await our second grandbaby due in August, Jade Marie.

💖Life is good 😍