Saturday, March 29, 2008
Bullhead City AZ
Bullhead City, AZ March 17 thru March 31
Bullhead City is located across the river from Laughlin, NV which is known for its 11 casinos. We are on a hill in Bullhead City overlooking the lights of Laughlin. After visiting the historic museum we found out that Bullhead City was named for a rock formation that looked like a bull’s head which was visible in the river before Davis Dam was built. The town developed due to the building of the dam. We drove over to Oatman, AZ which is on old Route 66. Oatman is an old cowboy town and half of the town is owned by cowboys. There were tourist shops with many of them carrying local jewelry and craft items for sale. The drive back on Route 66 took us through the mountains which gave us a spectacular view of the valley below. The desert did have rain this winter and the desert wildflowers are now in full bloom and are lovely to see. Lake Mead National Recreation area comes all the way down to Bullhead City and we took the opportunity to visit Lake Mojave, including Katherine’s Landing. This is a calm lake and there were many houseboats for rent. We found out that people rent the houseboats and vacation in them on the lake for weeks at a time. This is the area that starts the story of the Colorado River dam system and they do a nice job of explaining of how the mighty Colorado River once flowed through the Mohave Valley onward to the Sea of Cortez. A local historian told us about a ride in Nevada through Christmas Pass to Grapevine Valley. The desert flowers were outstanding on the hike in the valley to the petrolglyphs. You could walk right up to the petrolglyphs and the lower ones could be touched and it was obvious that some are being worn away by people actually touching them. We decided to take a ride into CA and visit Mojave National Park. This gave us a true feeling for the desert. At the higher elevations the Joshua Trees were in full bloom. The Kelso Dunes showed us the affect of the wind on the sand. From a distance Sue thought the Kelso Dunes looked like snow on the mountains. The rhyolite cliffs showed us the results of volcanoes. The Hualapai Tribe has taken part of their Indian reservation on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon and has opened it up for tourists. They built a glass bottom skywalk at Eagle’s Point which allows you to walk out over the canyon and look down 4,000 feet. The best view of the canyon, on the West End, is at Guano Point. This point is the point furthest west of the 277 mile canyon. This trip was an excellent experience but we definitely enjoyed the view in ’06 from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will venture to the North Rim this summer.
Bullhead City is located across the river from Laughlin, NV which is known for its 11 casinos. We are on a hill in Bullhead City overlooking the lights of Laughlin. After visiting the historic museum we found out that Bullhead City was named for a rock formation that looked like a bull’s head which was visible in the river before Davis Dam was built. The town developed due to the building of the dam. We drove over to Oatman, AZ which is on old Route 66. Oatman is an old cowboy town and half of the town is owned by cowboys. There were tourist shops with many of them carrying local jewelry and craft items for sale. The drive back on Route 66 took us through the mountains which gave us a spectacular view of the valley below. The desert did have rain this winter and the desert wildflowers are now in full bloom and are lovely to see. Lake Mead National Recreation area comes all the way down to Bullhead City and we took the opportunity to visit Lake Mojave, including Katherine’s Landing. This is a calm lake and there were many houseboats for rent. We found out that people rent the houseboats and vacation in them on the lake for weeks at a time. This is the area that starts the story of the Colorado River dam system and they do a nice job of explaining of how the mighty Colorado River once flowed through the Mohave Valley onward to the Sea of Cortez. A local historian told us about a ride in Nevada through Christmas Pass to Grapevine Valley. The desert flowers were outstanding on the hike in the valley to the petrolglyphs. You could walk right up to the petrolglyphs and the lower ones could be touched and it was obvious that some are being worn away by people actually touching them. We decided to take a ride into CA and visit Mojave National Park. This gave us a true feeling for the desert. At the higher elevations the Joshua Trees were in full bloom. The Kelso Dunes showed us the affect of the wind on the sand. From a distance Sue thought the Kelso Dunes looked like snow on the mountains. The rhyolite cliffs showed us the results of volcanoes. The Hualapai Tribe has taken part of their Indian reservation on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon and has opened it up for tourists. They built a glass bottom skywalk at Eagle’s Point which allows you to walk out over the canyon and look down 4,000 feet. The best view of the canyon, on the West End, is at Guano Point. This point is the point furthest west of the 277 mile canyon. This trip was an excellent experience but we definitely enjoyed the view in ’06 from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will venture to the North Rim this summer.
Lake Havasu City AZ
Lake Havasu City, AZ February 25 thru March 17
Lake Havasu City was founded in 1960’s. The lake was created when the Parker Dam was built in the 1930’s. During WWII there was an emergency landing strip and the area was used by servicemen for recreation, mainly fishing. Robert McCulloch needed a place to test his boat motors and he chose Lake Havasu. He moved what they refer to as the “London Bridge” from England in the early 1970’s, rebuilding it and then dredged a channel, forming an island, from the former peninsula. The local Museum of History takes claim to fame that this was the first planned community. There are a lot of summer homes for people, mainly from CA, and the planned community never really took off. He did fly people in from as far as New England in the 1970’s trying to get them to relocate here. Kayaking in the lake was fun but the water was only 52 degrees. The Colorado River is fed by the mountain snows and it is cold year round. Bob did attend a bluegrass festival which was good. We are not certain why people come to the lake in the summer when the temperature is over 130 degrees besides for the fact that this is the only fresh water in the area.
Lake Havasu City was founded in 1960’s. The lake was created when the Parker Dam was built in the 1930’s. During WWII there was an emergency landing strip and the area was used by servicemen for recreation, mainly fishing. Robert McCulloch needed a place to test his boat motors and he chose Lake Havasu. He moved what they refer to as the “London Bridge” from England in the early 1970’s, rebuilding it and then dredged a channel, forming an island, from the former peninsula. The local Museum of History takes claim to fame that this was the first planned community. There are a lot of summer homes for people, mainly from CA, and the planned community never really took off. He did fly people in from as far as New England in the 1970’s trying to get them to relocate here. Kayaking in the lake was fun but the water was only 52 degrees. The Colorado River is fed by the mountain snows and it is cold year round. Bob did attend a bluegrass festival which was good. We are not certain why people come to the lake in the summer when the temperature is over 130 degrees besides for the fact that this is the only fresh water in the area.
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