Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Lake Havasu . . .



LONDON BRIDGE - IS NOT FALLING DOWN . . .
Lake Havasu, home of the London Bridge. In 1962, the bridge was falling down and couldn't handle the traffic going across the Thames River in London. They put the bridge up for sale and Lake Havasu bought it for 2.4 million dollars and moved it here piece by piece and rebuilt it over a small channel connecting Thompson Bay and Lake Havasu. We walked around beneath the bridge which happened to be the main trail today for a group of Breast Cancer ladies all dressed in pink tutus who were jogging thru.
Me and Sweet Pea

Guy and Sweet Pea

London Bridge from the Dock



We found a place in Lake Havasu to get our RV oil changed. It was lucky that we pulled into this place. While we were waiting to get into the bay our RV wouldn't start. Dead battery had to be replaced. Can't believe it quit on us at such a great location. All work was done right there.

SEDONA - GEM OF THE WEST . . .
We drove thru Flagstaff then into Sedona via hwy 89, the most picturesque drive in Arizona, which reminds me of driving down into Brevard, NC from the Blue Ridge Parkway back home. Coming down the mountain was foggy till we rounded one of the last vantage points overlooking Sedona. Such a beautiful sight with all the red rock formations surrounding the town.

Hwy 89 in fog toward Sedona

Continuing down hwy 89
Getting closer
Oak Creek


Sedona was the first place I fell in love with out West years ago. We stayed almost downtown at Rancho Sedona RV Park right on Oak Creek. It was within walking distance to downtown. A cool, quiet and shaded park, this was a great place to spend a couple days. It was located right on the Oak Creek and gave opportunities to explore.
Drive into town
Rancho Sedona RV Park

Our private creek




And of course downtown is always a treat, with its classy shops and cafes.




We spent time at the state park where you could get a great view of Cathedral Rock. A riparian habitat follows the Oak Creek meandering thru the park.



Leading up to Cathedral Rock
A nice quiet few days here and then the rains started coming and it rain and rained and rained. We had to depart, since Guy is not a patient man waiting on the rain to stop and too we had a call from back home that we needed to attend to in person. So, as the rains fell, our jaunt out West on this trip was soon to end. Driving up toward Flagstaff we actually ran into snow.  A drive back thru New Mexico with a stop over in Gallop to see the turquoise jewelry in Richardsons Pawn Shop, then on into Roswell, NM where the spaceship crashed in 1947, both being boondocking sites at the local Wal-Marts.  And then making our way into Arlington, TX where we spent a haired nights sleep at a nice campground, Treetops RV Resort,  listening to the rains coming down. It was literally flooding in Texas and we departed early that morning before daylight to get the . . . out of Texas before we were stranded. We came across numerous wrecks along the interstate and flooded side roads nearby. Our trip back home was hurried but without incident as we escaped the worst of the flooding along the way.













London Bridge
London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, Arizona












Reconstruction of London Bridge
Photos in the visitors' center illustrate the reconstruction of the bridge


LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA—
In 1962, London Bridge was falling down. Built in 1831, the bridge couldn't handle the ever-increasing flow of traffic across the Thames River. The British government decided to put the bridge up for sale, and Robert McCulloch, Founder of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corporation, submitted the winning bid of $2,460,000.
- See more at: http://www.roadtripamerica.com/places/havasu.htm#sthash.rAeKx247.dpuf

Monday, October 19, 2015

And then there was a Ghost Town and Route 66 . . .




Barstow California's Calico Ghost Town . . .

Heading out toward Barstow, CA, we stopped at Calico Ghost Town and spent of couple of hours here stretching our legs and letting Sweet Pea get some much needed exercise. Everywhere we go she gets attention. Guy says she picks up the ladies for him. I had a pic of some ladies playing with her, but due to not getting a release I didn't put it on here.
Calico Ghost Town with a Campground
Sweet Pea attracts women for Guy

This is an old mining town that was turned into a tourist attraction. We went thru part of the old mine shaft and just explored the area. They even have a campground here.  We could have ventured further into California, but decided to save that for another time.





Route 66 . . .

Traveling out onto  old route 66  back into Arizona toward Lake Havasu we found an old cafe, some run down dilapidated and abandoned hotels and houses.
Route 66 in California

Bagdad Cafe on Rt 66
 

Sign telling a little about the cafe
Another sign

It used to be a motel

Explored this old house

Another old house view

Old out-building
Trouble is we managed to somehow get on a very old section of route 66 that almost shook us to death before we could find an interstate ramp to put us back onto I-40. But we did manage to see some very old homesteads and stores along the way.This old Route 66 rivaled the bad roads we traveled in some of the New England states and especially throughout Canada. This was by far worse than any of those. We rattled a few things loose in the RV. We should have turned around at the Bagdad Cafe and headed back to the interstate.
The rough road ahead