A Monday Drive Up To Lake Havasu City And Back

We left our nice spot here at The River Breeze RV Resort with the intention of checking out all the RV Parks on both the Arizona and California sides of the Colorado River.

Here at River Breeze RV Park, the FHU sites are grass and very level.  It's been a bit windy here so we did not put out our awning.  We didn't even really set up anything but the barbecue and the satellite dish as we are only here for two nights.  I love this little park.  Lots of green around us.  Access to the river, not that we have any water craft with us, but still it is nice.  It is quiet.  I heard freeway noise from I-10 early this morning but otherwise not at all.  There are a fair number of park models and trailers that are for rent.  This time of year, they are empty.  I imagine in the summer it gets packed and I would probably not enjoy the peace and quiet so much.  Plus it would be way too hot for me, so I wouldn't be here anyway.

As I said, then intention was to check out all the RV Parks.  We took the Ehrenburg-Parker Highway to Parker.  Not much along this road.  Some agriculture and some desert/scrub land.  You don't get too close to the river once you leave Ehrenburg, until you get to Parker.  We drove through Parker thinking we'd check out the RV Parks there on our way back so we did not keep having to cross traffic.  Got all the way up to the Cattail Cove State Park, when we realized we had already driven through that park four years ago.  We headed back toward Parker and decided to drive over the Parker Dam.  Oh oh....so much for checking out those RV Parks in Parker.  Oops.  If you haven't been over the dam, be forewarned that you can not take big trucks, trailers, MH or anything like that on that road.  Even our Ford F250 Extended Cab truck was a tight fit.  Speed limit is 5 mph.

Once you cross the bridge, you will see a sign warning about free range burros crossing the road.  And they mean it.

The above pictures show the burros free roaming around the River Lodge Resort in Parker Dam, CA. We decided to drive through the resort to check out the spaces.  It is a big place, with many of the water front sites now taken up by park models.  There are still a few back in spots that look nice.

I stopped to talk with this gal who looked very comfortable, enjoying her stay here.  This particular section had a small patch of grass under the trees.  The rigs were parked across the drive

The only downfall is that where ever there is an open patch of grassy field, there is burro poop.  I guess you just have to be careful in picking your site.  Note the RV Parks across the river; someday we will go look at those ones too.

You can't really tell from the picture above, but you would be stepping around piles all over the place.    Those burros do wander where ever they want.

We continued down Hwy 62 to Earp.  We could drive over the bridge to Parker, AZ and come back via the Ehrenburg-Parker Hwy or AZ 95.  Or we could follow Hwy 62 to CA Hwy 95 and drive back through Blythe.  We opted for the latter.  I started kicking myself before we got to 95.  It was 18 miles from Earp to the junction with 95, then 48 miles to Blythe.  It was a very long, uninteresting, boring road with no services.  And wouldn't you know it, we got stopped at the railroad crossing in Vidal.  And all I could see in Vidal was the railroad crossing.  Unless you like driving a 2 lane highway with lots of dips, no services, and a boring view, I would advise crossing the bridge at Earp, going through Parker and down the Arizona 95.  The view is not much better, but the road is and you will make much better time.  I was so glad when we could finally see the semis cruising down I-10 in the distance.

As we head off to Phoenix tomorrow, we decided to get diesel at the Flying J which is the first exit off of I-10 as you enter Arizona.  The good new is that we only paid $3.77 a gallon for fuel.  That's the best price yet!  The bad new is that they are repaving, repairing or expanding the road to access the Flying J, Wendy's and the Best Western Hotel there.  The traffic back up is a nightmare, requiring a State Patrol car, and at least 3 flaggers directing traffic.  If you are pulling a rig or driving a MH, I would advise finding a different gas station up the road.

For now, I'm off to open a Coronita (7 oz Corona bottles we found in Menifee) and sit outside to enjoy the breeze.  It's 82 degrees out which is just this side of warm for us.

Last Days At Wilderness Lakes TT Park; On To River Breeze In Ehrenburg, AZ

Our last days at Thousand Trails Wilderness Lakes in Menifee, California were quiet.  Our major outing was into Temecula to have lunch with some dear friends.  We arrived at 11:30am at Mimi's Cafe and we didn't leave until 3:30pm!  I think we stayed through a shift change, and we are pretty lucky they did not ask us to leave.  We hadn't seen these friends in about 5 years and it was hard to say goodbye.  It was only as we were leaving that I remembered to get Kim to take a picture of me with my good friends Evie and Karen.

The food was excellent, by the way.  I had the Corned Beef Hash Eggs Benedict.  I was so focused on my food that I didn't pay attention to what everyone else ordered.  Just before we left, we decided a share a dessert sampler - brownies a la mode, bread pudding, and apple crisp.  I think I had larger shares that everyone else, and you will not hear an apology from me for being a pig.  A burp, perhaps, but no apology!

The other highlight of the day was finding diesel fuel at the Circle K in Menifee for $3.89 a gallon!

After last night's unimpressive viewing of The Wolf Of Wall Street, we decided to watch American Hustle. I gotta say, I was not very impressive.  I think for Sunday night we will stick with The Amazing Race and The Mentalist.

We were up this morning and on the road at 9:45am - Kim is still puzzled how I managed to be 15 minutes ahead of schedule.  This rarely happens.  Perhaps it was magic!

Our drive to the River Breeze RV Park in Ehrenburg, AZ was an easy 176 miles.  The only "excitement" was a crazy dust/sand storm as we drove through the Palm Springs area.

It went from this:

to this is quite a hurry.

Once we started climbing up to the Chiriaco Summit, the wind let up.  The ride down into Arizona was easy, if not boring from a visual standpoint.

We pulled in to the River Breeze RV Park.  The office was closed by our site information was written on the white board outside the office.  I had reserved a specific spot down by the river and that's what we got.

With the weather in the high 70s/low 80s, we strolled down to the river for a few pictures.

Tomorrow we plan to drive up the Arizona side to Lake Havasu City, and then back down the California side, to check out the various campgrounds.  Kim's aunt and uncle had camped at the Lake Havasu State Park and it looked fabulous.

The Reader's Digest Condensed Version of the Past Week - Buckeye, AZ

On checking out of the Colorado River Oasis in Ehrenberg, I learned that the nice spots on the river with the grass are saved for the Western Horizon members.  Even though we have affiliate agreements through ROD and RPI, unless the park was empty, we would not be able to enjoy those spots.  I even asked if there was a premium payment we could use to, but apparently not. 

Still, I would consider staying there again for convenience sake, but I would check out the site first for the sewer plug and the cement pad.

On to Laveen, Arizona, to spend the night at Kim's brother's house.  We had a family get together that night.  Kim's folks, his youngest brother David, sister Cathy, Tom and his partner Ken were all there.  Ken barbequed some wonderful pork chops, Cathy made potato salad and asparagus.  And we stuffed outselves.  Then on to pinochele.  We play by Mingo family rules, which means cheating is possible.  Code talk across the table, substituting a club for a spade in a slug, etc.  One must keep his or her eyes peeled!  And the best part of the evening (okay - second best - family comes first) was a long luxurious soak in the garden tub!  It was heaven.

After 3 loads of laundry, and Tom taking us to the Whole Foods Store in Tempe, we headed out to Buckeye, AZ (about 30 miles west) for a week at the Leafe Verde Resort.  Nice check in reception, with an escort to our site, and help getting lined up.  The park is basically a parking lot.  Back in sites around the perimeter are occupied mostly by permenant residents, it appears.  There is an assortment of park models, motor homes, 5th wheels and trailers.  All the other sites are pull throughs.  There is one aisle that is devoted to over nights only.  Honestly, that is the worst thing I can say about this park.  There are a few trees.  You can hear some of the freeway noise from I-10 (east of Phoenix, just before Goodyear).  But really, it was a nice stay.

The park is very, very clean and well cared for.  The staff friendly.  The one big compliment I have is that they do not cram everyone in side by side.  We spent a week there, and had 2 open spots on either side of us, with permanent residents in the next spots over.  So it went occupied, open, open, us, open, open, occupied.  That appeared to be the rule of thumb, unless you requested a specific spot or were travelling with other rigs.

There is a nice pool and hot tub.  We didn't use them, but they appeared very clean.  We checked out the showers and restrooms.  Again, very clean, with liquid soap provided in the showers.  My only thought would be that if your rig didn't have a head, you'd want to be parked near the office, as that is where the restrooms and showers were.  You would not want to be 10 rows away, and have to run for the restroom in the morning.  There is a lounge with a fairly nice pool table, and tables for cards with a small book exchange.  Nice clean washing machines and dryers - which I noticed they wipe out and clean daily (another plus).  They offer larger events, including weekly yoga, at the 'barn'.  And there is a small hair salon on site as well.  There was one small fenced dog run, and then at the back of the park, there is a gate that opens out onto an acre or more of free run area but it is not fenced.

There are lots of services within a mile of the park, including a Super WalMart, a Frys grocery store, Lowes, Staples, fast food, nail salons, a Cracker Barrel and a chinese restaurant.  The little community of Verrado with a quaint shopping area is just a few miles down I-10 toward Phoenix.

Look at that blue sky!  And all the space around us.

We finally got the picnic table cloth and the lawn chairs out.

This was our view to the north.  Fighter jets did do manuevers over the area occasionally and we fun to watch.  I wish I could have captured one of the pretty sunrises we were able to enjoy that week.

All in all, it was a nice stay.  We considered staying there for another 30 days, but instead opted to move out to Pioneer Park in North Phoenix, just south of Anthem.

Laughlin to Ehrenberg, Arizona

We let Roundabout Rhonda (GPS) have a day off.  We knew the route she wanted to take, and it wasn't the one we wanted to do, so we reverted to (if you can believe it) a regular map!  We liked taking Arizona Hwy 95 to Needles, and then hopping on I-10 for a few miles.  Note that when you first get on I-10 going eastbound from Needles, the highway is very much in need of resurfacing.  However, it was only a few miles, and the pavement improved. 

Our drive today took us through Lake Havasu City, which prompted the discussion of is it Hava-Sue or Hava-Saw?  The city is much bigger than I had realized.  Population over 41,000.  The shopping centers, including a Super Wal-Mart, Staples, Home Depot, Lowes, Safeway, and all the requisite fast food places one could imagine, were fairly new...and if not new, well maintained.  I was surprised that at the number of homes we could see from the highway that were without grass.  With all the water from the 45 mile long Lake, I would have expected to see more green.  Pulling out the AAA travel guide, I did some 'research'.

Lake Havasu City was originally an Army Air Corps landing strip, presumably for bringing in supplies while they were building the Parker Dam, the land was purchased in 1963 by Robert P McCulloch Sr, and developed as a planned retirement and recreational community.  The city's claim to fame came when Mr McCulloch bought The London Bridge.  (Side commentary - either he was a genius or a kook - who buys a broken down bridge and transports it from London to Arizona?).

So back to the lawn question - the water from the lake supplies water to Arizona, Los Angeles and other cities in between.  If I had to guess, I'd say that the water is more valuable to sell, and therefore the cost to maintain a green lawn is probably higher than someone on a fixed income (ie a retiree) would want to pay.

Coming from the north, the London Bridge is on the far side of town.  You can see part of it from the highway (still Arizona Hwy 95), but we might have missed it had I not been looking right at the London Bridge Parking sign (which is definitely in need of updating).

(photo credit http://www.desertusa.com/)

Anyway, it looked like a nice pleasant and clean community, and we will come back here to camp at some point.  There are plenty of camp sites along the river between Lake Havasu and Parker.   It's a pretty drive along the river here.  We stopped in Parker at the Blue Water Resort and Casino.  It's a nice little casino.  I only saw 2 table games open, and the rest was slot machines.  We played a 25¢ Wheel of Fortune Machine.  I should have stopped after my first 'spin' of 100 coins and walked away, but alas, I didn't, and we once again contributed to the economy, this time of the Colorado River Indian Tribe.

We had lunch at the buffet, opting for the salad bar which included tossed salad and all the standard extras, coleslaw which was wonderful, cucumber salad, potato salad and macaroni salad, plus fruit and cottage cheese, bread/crackers, soup (a very delicious beef vegetable), dessert bar and drink, for $5.95.  The casino is small, but quite clean, with friendly employees.  There is also a movie theatre in the complex, and although I can't be certain, it looked like there were 4-6 screens.  They do have an ampitheater as well.  Three Dog Night is scheduled to be there on November 21st.  http://www.bluewaterfun.com/


Next stop, Quartsite for fuel.  Finally, we paid less than $3 a gallon for diesel.  The sign said $2.83 on the Shell reader board, but it was actually down to $2.75.  We drove through town just to get a feel for it.  We will be returning in January or February for the big rock and mineral show.  There's not much there.  Population is around 3,400, but swells into the hundreds of thousands during January and February.

                                     (Photo credit http://www.desertusa.com/)


An interesting little note, there is a Memorial to a man named Hadji Ali (from the Middle East - the AAA Guide refers to him as an Arab man) who came to Arizona in 1856 with a herd of camels at the Army's request.  The camels were never used successfully in the area because they caused the horses, mules and cattle to stampede. 

Quartzsite to Ehrenberg is a short drive, about 20 miles.  We are staying at the Colorado River Oasis, in spot #20, a pull through.  The sites are all gravel, but there are cement patio pads with full hook ups.  Because we were just staying the night, we didn't want to unhook.  The electric and water hook ups are at the front of the pad, and we did not have enough extra electrical cord to plug in without unhooking.  So instead, we pulled in backwards, and ran the water hose and the electric cord under the trailer.  We did not hook up to the sewer.  (A side note, the sewer hook up did not have a solid cap, and it was a little smelly.  There was a slotted cap, like a drain filter, and we put a plastic bag on top of slotted cap and covered it with some rocks to deal with the stench).

Again, it's a clean park with nice swimming pool, hot tub, laundry and rec center.  I'd rate it 3 out of 5 stars.  Nothing special, but quiet and clean with friendly hosts.

Most of the sites are pull throughs on the gravel, but there were about 20 back in spaces right on the river, with a grass lawn between river/beach and camp site.  We stayed here on our Resorts of Distinction membership, so it was free for the night.  If we could reserve one of the waterfront sites, we'd come back again for sure!

Picnic tables by the Colorado River

The grassy area in front of the primo sites (picnic table shot above is to the right of this shot)

Today, we are off to Laveen.  No camping tonight.  We are spending the night at Kim's brother Tom's house, and visiting with their folks, sister Cathy, and brother David.  And I have a scheduled date for a luxurious sea salt bath in Tom's garden tub!  Tuesday, we are off to Buckeye, AZ for a week stay to see if we like the area.  Rumor has it that Buckeye is a bit like West Seattle, only warmer LOL.

Three Days and Counting to our Launch

Today I am off to an "Until We Meet Again" lunch with some good friends in West Seattle.  Kim is building me a desk that will fit perfectly in the slide.  Tomorrow we hope to clear out one of the storage lockers, and finish up stowing the odds and ends.  Saturday will be family day and the last loads of laundry.  And then...

We leave Snohomish for Phoenix on Sunday.  Plans will take us down I-5 to Salem, OR the first night.  Then on through Canyonville, OR (Seven Feathers Casino - yay!), Red Bluff, CA, Bakersfield, CA, and then to Laughlin for a 2 day stay (Ask us if we like to gamble? LOL).  Then we have a short trip to Ehrenberg, AZ for an overnight there, and on to Laveen, AZ where Kim's family lives.  We will overnight there, and hopefully by the time we arrive, I will have figured out where to stay in the Phoenix area until Thanksgiving.

If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!