Campgrounds, Parker Dam, Lake Havasu & Lighthouses

March 30th, 2016

Bryan took a few pictures of Desert Pools RV Resort, Desert HotSprings, a couple of days ago, when he went for a walk.

Behind our RV

Looking toward the front of the park.  You can see the palm trees are really getting blown by the wind.

The pool

Looking toward the entrance

Laundry Room

Mini Golf

Playground

Office

Weird clouds.  This was a very windy day

Tennis & Basketball Courts

Shuffleboard

Empty Sites

Another laundry room, someone folding sheets in the window or a ghost!!!!

We finally made it out of Desert Hot Springs, this morning.  The wind was a lot better although Bryan still had to fight with the steering a few times.  It was quite exhausting for him and we were very thankful that we didn't try to leave yesterday when the winds were a LOT worse.

We crossed the border into Arizona.

We managed to make our gas(petrol) last until we got over the border as the prices dropped from $2.65 a gallon in California to $2.25/gallon in Arizona.  As we needed 64 gallons we saved $25 in a matter of a few miles!!!  I don't know how the gas stations in Blythe exist when it is so easy to go a couple of miles and save. We did have to wait a while though, as there were a few other people who thought the same and it is not a quick job filling an RV tank. There were two rigs in front of us.  Still we weren't in a hurry.

Eventually we arrived at River Island State Park near Parker, Arizona. 

We got setup and realized that we had very weak, if any, phone and internet signals.  We managed to call Bryan's mom to let her know we had arrived but that was about it.  I have to admit I am a little addicted to the internet but this would be a good test for me.

Once we had setup and had some lunch we went for a walk around the park.  It was a nice day and the wind had dropped.

The view through the windshield of the motorhome.  You can just see the Colorado river.

From the side of the motorhome

Behind the motorhome

Boating from the campground

The Colorado River separates California from Arizona.  We were now on the Arizona side but you could see the homes on the California side.

Homes on the California side

There was a small cove where the campground was

Boat Ramp in the campground

We found a trail on the other side of the boat ramp.

We walked up the trail path to the top of the ridge.  It was a gradual climb and not too bad.

The view looking toward Parker Dam although we couldn't see it from here. I was amazed at how blue the water was.  You can see the waves here that were created by a speed boat going through.  It's very popular for boats although not overcrowded.

How pretty is this

Homes on the California side

Having a rest and admiring the view.  There was no one else up here!!!

Boat creating waves

Looks like Bryan was about to fall over cliff but he wasn't that close and there was a ledge below!!

It really was very peaceful

Looking back to the cove by the campground

Another bench

Love all the colors in this picture

There was an American flag flying on top of the mountain

We saw what we think was a hummingbird sitting in the tree.

There were a lot of flowering cacti

This one looked like a foot and toes

Beautiful

We walked back down to the campground.  It was a beautiful afternoon walk and we were ready for dinner.  I made a pizza which is one of our travel day foods.

Later Bryan took these pictures as the sun was setting over the mountains.

It is a nice campground.  We do not have a sewer connection here and so have to watch our water/toilet usage.  The shower block was very close and so Bryan used that which allowed me to use the motorhome.  He is very good like that!!! Although he could probably have used the motorhome as well as we are only here for two days and there is a dump here if we need it.

March 31st, 2016

We decided to go to Parker Dam and Lake Havasu today.  We had been to Lake Havasu a few years ago when we went with my brother Ray & Ryan but I found they have built model replicas of well known lighthouses around Lake Havasu and there was a map you could get from the visitor center showing how to get to them.  We thought it would be fun to seek them out.

It was strange as "Bitchin Betty" took us a long way around to Parker Dam but fortunate as we came across a couple of unique things that we would have otherwise missed.  Everything happens for a reason.

Railway Bridge 

This is all that is left of the the original town of Crossroads that had between two and three thousand people while the Parker Dam was being built in the thirties.

Wild burros along the roadside

Parker Dam

Looking down river from the California side of Parker Dam

We crossed over the Dam and headed back down the Arizona side of the river.

We got to Lake Havasu and made our way to the Visitor Centre to get the lighthouse tour map.

The original London Bridge from England was dismantled and reassembled here. It has become somewhat of a tourist attraction.

There were some vintage cars on display

 The newest type of watersport, flyboarding. That's a guy on a hoverboard being powered by water.

  

London Bridge

Now, in the sixties, I participated in a charity walk across the bridges of London.  It was a 20 mile walk that covered bridges that crossed the Thames in Central London and was at night. I believed London Bridge was one of them but as I can not remember the exact year that might not be the case, as the bridge was dismantled in 1967.

 Bryan & Ryan back in 2004

Here's another one from 2004.

And one of my brother & Ryan in the car on the way there. I love this one of the two of them

Back to the present day, models of lighthouses in the Visitor Centre

     
                            

I had some stomach problems during the night and had had cramps but they had gone away before we left this morning.  However, my stomach was still uncomfortable.  As we were walking around, the cramps started to return so we didn't look in many of the shops.  I just wanted to return to the car.

We got in the car and went on our search for the model lighthouses.  There were 24 but we knew we wouldn't see all of them.  We were hoping to see the 14 that were on the peninsula island across the bridge.

The first wasn't one of the lighthouse but a model telling about the ones you could only access by boat.

This was #16, a model of Currituck Beach Lighthouse, in North Carolina.

This was #14, Lake Havasu Marina, not modeled after any original.  We had seen this one when we stayed here in 2004.

Back in 2004

This was #15 Main Buffalo Lighthouse, Buffalo, New York.

By now my cramps were getting worse and more regular.  It felt as though I was in labor!!!  Reluctantly we decided to head home, although Bryan was trying to get me to a Quick Care.  In the end, he went into Walgreens and came out with some medicine which I took.  By the time we got home the cramps had stopped and I was feeling a bit better.  The medicine worked, yay!!!

I was sad that we only got to see three of the lighthouse models.  I guess we have a reason to return another time.

Tomorrow, we head to Las Vegas.