April 7th. 2024 - Lake Havasu City and the Bunker Bar

Another beautiful day!

We started our day by going to breakfast at the Elks Lodge - Andy wanted to inquire about some of their shirts and when we were there on Thursday, it was just too crazy busy!  The breakfast was good, the help, well, they were young and probably just learning the ropes - LOL.

From there we stopped at the local SWAP meet - lots of stuff but we were good and did not see anything we really, really needed...

We made a stop at home, then I made a stop at Walmart. Afterwards we headed to the Bunker Bar north of Havasu.  

The Bunker Bar was started in 2020 and patterned after the Desert Bar near Parker, AZ.  I will say that whether you drink or not, the views going there, being there, and coming back are worth going.  Plus the food is good.   

It is north of Lake Havasu City on US-95 and then you make your way to their turn..  (We followed Google!)

The views on the way out - it is a dirt road for 2.5 miles but easily doable in a regular vehicle.  The internet will say it for off-roaders but that is really not the case.

On our way out:

Here it is - The Bunker Bar:

It is a family friendly place - they even have Root Beer Floats!

The stage:

They are very dedicated to our military - so nice to see:

And also lots of fun things to find:

Photos from the area:

Inside the bunker - this is the gift shop:

The food trailer is in the back.  Andy has a Cheesesteak and I had a Burger - both were very good.  We also had an order of Garlic Parmesan Fries - I thought they were great.

The views on the way home:

 What a great day!  There is a lot more to see in the area and we will be back.

Tomorrow we continue our trek north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

April 5 - 6, 2024 - Lake Havasu City

 April 5th, 2024

Yesterday when I was on the trail, I met a couple who told me about another trail that gave a great view of the lake.  So this morning we decided to check it out.

The views were incredible!

There was a bench at the top so we sat there for a while and enjoyed this view.  What a beautiful day!

The flowers were abundant!

So glad we were told about this trail.

From there we went to their local museum.  It was small but nice and they had a little of everything about the area: the life of the native tribes, the steamboats on the Colorado, the Colorado River "plumbing" (in other words, where the water is diverted and where it goes), the building of Lake Havasu City and the London Bridge.

Sadly, my pictures were blurry - not sure why.

Anyway, there is some great information here:

https://www.golakehavasu.com/city-history#:~:text=Lake%20Havasu%20was%20formed%20by,of%20water%20in%201940%2D1942.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Havasu_City,_Arizona

The most interesting thing to me was how the city was planned by Robert McCulloch.  He was the inventor of the handheld chainsaw among other inventions.  There is some great information here - he was amazing!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_P._McCulloch

https://theobjectivestandard.com/2023/07/the-grand-vision-of-robert-p-mcculloch/

Lake Havasu City is also famous for the London Bridge.  We went over it a few times but did not stop.  In 2011, we spent time around the bridge and it is pretty interesting.

Here is the link to that post:

https://thehitzels.blogspot.com/2011/11/road-trip-day-yea-so-today-we-decided.html

The afternoon brought lots more wind and rain but we were able to make a stop at one of the lighthouses:

The Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club has been building a series of

lighthouses around the lake.  These lights are reduced-size replicas inspired by famous lighthouses of the U.S. and Canada. The lights are legitimate aids to navigation, with designs approved by the Coast Guard and locations approved by the state as part of a master plan for lighting the waterways of the lake. Eventually there will be more than 20 lighthouses, including several on the California side of the lake.

We did get a map of the lighthouse locations and also found that there are boat tours of those lighthouses.  That will be on our next trip.

Also on my bucket list was a boat tour thru Topock Gorge.  But the boat tour was not running Thursday and Friday because of the wind and stopped running on weekends.  Oh well, next season.

We finished our day at the American Legion for their fish fry.  Yum!

The wind and rain continued into the night - oh my!

April 6th, 2024

This was our laundry, cleaning and hang out day!  I have found that I need a down day after two go days..  And that is OK!

Stay tuned for more and enjoy today!

April 4, 2024 - Travel to Lake Havasu City and Lake Havasu Wildlife Refuge

(I am a little behind in updating so hopefully will be caught up soon.  Today is 4/11 and we are currently in Boulder City, NV)

April 4th, 2024

We did our final clean up and lock down; said our "see you in the fall" and started our trek north.

Lots of grassy plants this time of year:

Past the big guns at the Yuma Proving Grounds:

The greenery from earlier this year is now turning golden:

But the brittle bushes are still blooming:

We made a stop for fuel in Quartzsite and continued to Lake Havasu RV Resort in Lake Havasu City.  This is one of our membership parks and it is our first time here.  

And it is WINDY.  My Andy did a great job getting us here!

After setting up, it was time for a road trip to check out the area.  First stop was the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge.

"Havasu National Wildlife Refuge, originally named Havasu Lake National Wildlife Refuge, was established by Executive Order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 for the primary purpose of providing migratory bird habitat. The refuge is comprised of 37,515 acres along the lower Colorado River in Arizona and California. The refuge protects 30 river miles and encompasses 300 miles of shoreline from Needles, California, to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. One of the last remaining natural stretches of the lower Colorado River flows through the 20-mile long Topock Gorge. 

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge is within the Pacific Flyway, a major north-south migratory route along the western coast of the United States. Hundreds of birds stop here to rest and refuel during their long journey. Many species also breed and overwinter here. Because of its importance to birds, the refuge is considered an Important Bird Area in the state of Arizona. Come out and enjoy Havasu National Wildlife Refuge -- it's definitely for the birds."

All along the lake, there are trails.  We stopped at one of the walkways and took the tour.  (Sadly many of the kiosks with information have been destroyed)

The word Havasu ("HAVE-a-Sue") means blue green water in the Havasupai ("WA-Sue-Pie") language. Lake Havasu is a man-made lake formed by Parker Dam on the Colorado River.

The views at the end of the trail:

Just beautiful!

But it was windy!!

We continued our tour of the town and the island and finished our day with supper at the Elks Lodge. YUM!   It was many years since we have been here and they have really upgraded.  Nice.

Another wonderful day!  We will be here for a few nights so stay tuned and enjoy today.

(Another side note:  I appreciate all the comments on the blog.  But if you post as "Anonymous", I do not know who you are.  You can always put your name in the comment and still post "Anonymous".

Stats for today:

Miles Traveled: 166 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Arizona: South Avenue 3 3/4 E; East County 17th Street; South Avenue 4E; East County 14th Street: AZ-195; Araby Road; US-95; Chenoweth Drive; London Bridge Road