Richard's Travels: Lake Havasu City 2013

2-7-13
I left Earp at 9:00 AM and arrived at Lake Havasu City at 10:00 AM.
I was the first one at the camping site and found a level spot. The people who came after me had to use wood beside the leveling jacks.
By the 4:00 Pm meeting most of the group had arrived.
We are about five miles north of the city. The Super Walmart is about two miles from here.
The scenery along the highway, north of Parker Dam, is more beautiful than the southern part. There are more mountains and the lake.

2-8-13
We have a terrific camping spot. The ground is uneven, but the view is worth it.

At 10:00 AM we left for the London Bridge Visitor Center. I went first to the Public Library and then to the Visitor Center.
The group went on a guided tour of the bridge while I took a walk along the water front. After
the tour the group had lunch at the In and Out Burger. The restaurant is next to the English Village.
When I was here the last time, everything looked bleak. All the shops are open again.

There are 1/3 scale copies of 21 famous light houses on the waterfront.

A large club had a special event on the water. They raced small, jet propelled, radio controlled boats.
The poor ducks did not know what to do. They just stayed in one spot.

In the evening some WINs went to a concert and dancing. The weather turned nasty in the afternoon. I rather stayed home.

2-9-13
Today and tomorrow is Winterfest in Lake Havasu City. Most of us went today. Part of Main Street was closed for vehicular traffic.
Vendors, in booths, were selling all kind of stuff.

Kids had some fun too.

I bought only a big bag of kettle corn. The temperature is in the sixties now during the day. It was 45 degrees F. in the motorhome this morning.
This cold spell will last a few days.

2-10-13
This was a good day for a hike and eight of us did a monster hike. Les took us up the mountain and down the mountain.
We did not go on trails. Once in a while we were on a mountain goat trail. We could see the droppings.

It was very strenuous and we had to take rests.

The view from the top was breath taking.

Going down was not any easier. I am glad I had brought my walking stick.

We had lunch in a valley. While doing this we saw a female Big Horn Sheep with a baby. They were too far away for a good picture.

The last part of the hike was easy.

At the 4:00 PM circle meeting Nelda served her “Better than Sex Cake”. She is 85 years old and perhaps this is right for her.

2-11-13
This was not a day for outdoor activities. It was windy and cold. Only Ron King wore shorts.
I spent three hours in the library in the morning and then joined a large group of WINs at the China City Buffet.
We had planned a boat trip to the casino on the island and also visit some of the light houses. We have to wait for a few days until the weather improves.

2-12-13
Early afternoon I walked to Catchment number 1. This is a place where rain water is collected for providing water for the Big Horn Sheep.
To minimize evaporation a sheet metal roof covers the pond. A low fence keeps the burrows out.

The sheep come for the water in the morning and late afternoon. Since I came during the day I saw only one young sheep

I also saw my first ocotillo in bloom. This is a healthy looking plant.

Most of the group went on a driving tour of the island and checked out the light houses. In the evening some went dancing.

2-13-13
At 7:00 AM I went again to the Catchment. There were no Big Horn Sheep.
Later I drove over the London Bridge, to the Island. I visited several lighthouses. Some can only be reached by boat.
Copies of the East Coast lighthouses are placed on the eastern shore of Lake Havasu (the Arizona side).
West coast lights are on the western shore of the lake (California side). The Great Lakes lighthouses are located around the Island.
The lights are one mile apart, and so far 21 of them have been built.

From the Island one can see the whole city. It has grown over the years.

13 of the group went on a long hike today.

2-14-13
We had a very interesting day today. At 1:00 PM we had a Valentine’s pot luck. What to bring was not organized, but it worked.
There were salads, meat and noodle dishes, fruit dishes and dessert. The dessert was taken hostage by Joann, the host.
People who did not participatein the games did not get any dessert. I had made a broccoli salad.

After eating we had games. Joann gave everybody a playing card. I had a queen. The three other people who had a queen were my team members.
We were five teams. Some people were the judges and organizers.
First we were given twenty minutes to build something with rocks. There are plenty of those around here. We build a heart with an arrow across it.

The jury took a long time coming to a conclusion.

Next we played the ladder game. We had to throw three bunge cords, with a ball on each end, to a contraption with three vertical bars.

Then we had to hit a marshmallow with a golf club. The person who propelled the marshmallow the farthest won. This was not easy.

The last game was the Majority Game. Janet asked us a question and the team had to write the answer on a piece of paper and in ten seconds put it in a bucket.
She asked:” Who is the sexiest male movie star?” When three teams thought it was George Clooney, and two teams voted for some other men, then each team who voted
for George got one point.

After the games the dessert was served. Nelda had baked two heart shaped cakes and other people brought cookies and other cakes.

We had beautiful weather yesterday and today. It is warmer again. After the 4:00 PM circle meeting the wind came up and there was no camp fire .
Three days ago I had made reservation with PRI to go Monday to the Lake Havasu Resort. This time I did everything correct.
Yesterday PRI called me and told me that they canceled my reservation. They told me that they accept family passes only when the member is also making reservations.
There is one RV Resort in town where for $ 5.00 one can empty the holding tanks and get fresh water. I will do that when we leave here.

2-16-13
At 8:00 PM the “24th Annual Winter Blast Western Pyrotechnic Show” started. I and a lot of other people were at SARA Park at 3:00 PM.
Near the park highway 95 changes from four lanes to two. Traffic problems can be expected. Besides I wanted a seat in the bleachers. After I talked to some locals I changed my mind and stayed in the parking lot. I had a comfortable chair in the trunk of the car.
What do people do the five hours until the show starts. They sit around and eat.

They play games.

To sit in the bleachers or in your chair inside the race track cost three dollars. The concessions for food were there and people who did not bring their own food
had to pay the three dollars to get hot dogs and hamburgers.

I met Randy “Randy” and joined him at an area a little bit above the race track. We had a good view. Most of the WINs visited WINs who are staying in their
motorhomes on public land across from SARA Park. They could see the fireworks from a mile away while they had a tailgate party.

Randy and I talked to our neighbors and listen to the explosions at the race track. It sounded like they were firing canons.

They also let off orange smog.

At 6:00 PM they did some fireworks.

At 8:00 PM the real thing started. This was the biggest and longest pyrotechnic show I ever saw, and it was beautiful. Taken pictures was not easy,
because when I saw something beautiful and pressed the button on the camera the fireworks was over before the camera took the picture.
The show at Disney World was more sophisticated but Lake Havasu City’s show is not far behind.

2-18-13
This is my last day at Lake Havasu City. In the morning I walked on the London Bridge. There are several plaques at one end of the bridge.
One is the British- American Friendship Plaque. It depicts the peace treaty between the United States and Great Britain, signed in 1783.

The second is in memory of Robert P. McCulloch who bought the London Bridge for $ 2,460,000 in 1968 and spent another $ 7,000,000 to bring the bridge to Arizona and assemble it again.

The third one is for the dedication of the bridge on October 10th 1971.

There is also a statue of McCulloch and the designer, who laid out the streets in the city.

Then I went on the jet boat Starship 2010 for a tour through Topock Gorge. The boat went north through Lake Havasu,and then up the Colorado River. It was a 2 ½ hour tour and a 1 ½ hour lunch break. We traveled 50 Miles.

We past another one of the lighthouses, and a giant sand dune, and the old and new bridge for Interstate 40.

We stopped at Pirate Cove Resort for lunch. I had brought my own lunch but joined Randy “Randy” and Ted for lunch in the restaurant. The lunch was very good and not very expensive.