Lake Havasu

We’ve got the motorhome back, duly repaired, and head for a chill-out week at Havasu City, a holiday resort in the Mohave desert. It was founded in 1964 and developed largely by the Robert McCulloch corporation. Most Brits have never heard of it, but would be familiar with its main tourist attraction- London Bridge!

By the 1960’s London Bridge was unable to cope with modern traffic, so was put up for sale. It was bought in 1968 by McCullough as a feature for his ongoing project at Havasu. Rumour has it that he thought he was buying Tower Bridge, a much more recogniseable structure.

He paid $2.5 million and then spent another $7 million in shipping and reconstruction. We weren’t that impressed (we have a much  older bridge at Alconbury!) but it is a focal point that attracts many holidaymakers and weekenders, particularly boaters.

 Havasu City’s existence as a holiday resort is totally reliant on the 45 mile long lake of the same name created in 1938 by damming the Colorado River. It’s wide enough and long enough that the speedboats can run at top speed along the centre of the lake.

Some of the speedboats are really powerful. This is one, close up, on the forecourt of a big repair yard just in front of the campsite. When they throttle up the monster engines, that seem not to have silencers, the whole campsite vibrates. Good earthquake training.

But let’s not be a spoil-sport; the campsite is just up from the lake shore that is most pleasant to sit by or walk along. Temperatures are in the mid 90's F (35 C) for the whole week.

The rapid tropical sunset gives some unusual shots of the palm trees in the dying light.

There is another Havasu: the nature reserves. In the northern reserve, 30 miles from the resort, we saw absolutely no-one. It’s not part of the main lake  and is maintained as shallow pools with creeks and marshes.

However, it wasn’t exactly teeming with wildlife, but we did see various birds, including a roadrunner, and also a coyote. He waited for me to point the camera, unlike the others.

Some of the original trees were visible sticking out of the water, a stark picture against the jagged mountains.

The temperature here is hovering near 100F, so we leave the mosquitos to pester someone else, and the animals to their shady resting places.

On another day we head 30 miles south along the lake shore. This reserve here is part of the main lake but joins onto the reed beds of the Bill Williams River that runs into the lake at this point. Bill Williams was a trapper and frontiersman, definitely not the Bill Williams I knew that ran our school sweet shop.

There are many more birds here. Again it’s very hot. We need to watch where we’re walking.

Fortunately, we don’t see any rattlesnakes, but apparently there are plenty around. We go farther into the reserve on a dirt road, but it’s too rough for the hire car really, so we proceed on foot. It gets bleaker and more remote. We are at the meeting place of two deserts, the Mohave and the Sonora. It’s too hot to walk any further, so we go back to the car.  

Our week at Havasu gave us a refreshing rest, and we left on Tuesday, 17^th Oct, for Barstow in California.