BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME - WEST AZ

March 26 - 29 Yuma - RV Shopping

Yuma, AZ is located on the southwest tip of AZ, bordering California and Mexico.  Besides the famous and historic Territorial Prison, lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli fields, Yuma is a snowbird migration destination.  Hundreds of RV Parks line the roads and highways where the northerners flock to the sun and sand, while the locals cheerfully take their money.

Yuma Territorial Prison.
 Is it a country club or a  hell hole?  All depends on what side of the fence you're on.

Three hots and a cot. 

We've been dreaming of getting a bigger RV with slide-outs.  Although we truly love and like each other, the space is a bit close for the amount of time we are spending on the road.  The selection of new and used RVs is endless in Yuma with dealerships everywhere.  We found a 2006 Fleetwood Southwind being sold on consignment at Home Town RV.  This rig had everything on our wish list, and then some.  We fell in love, made an offer and waited 2 days to hear that our offer was rejected.  Yes, we were disappointed, but walked away hoping for a miracle and the owner would reconsider; if not, we would shop again when we got to Apache Junction.

March 1 - 4 Lake Havasu City - Best Place By A Dam Site

On the way to Lake Havasu City, we drove through the desert town of Quartzsite.  This is a place where $500,000 RVs towing $50,000 cars look for free campsites (no services) on Bureau of Land Management land.  The desert is full of these big beautiful rigs.  Businesses in town sell the services of dumping stations and fresh water to these dry campers.

The drive along the Colorado River was stunning with beautiful mountains, the desert greening up, and the wild flowers and cactus starting to bloom.

 

Colorado River in the background.  Looking toward California.

Blooming Desert

Lake Havasu was formed when the Parker Dam was built on the Colorado River in the 1930's.  In the 1960's a local real estate developer heard that the City of London, England was replacing the London Bridge spanning the Thames.  He had the brilliant idea to buy the old bridge, had it dismantled and shipped to AZ.  It took a couple of years to put the bridge back together over a channel of the Colorado River.  The result was what he had hoped for - "build it and they will come" to see the London Bridge and buy property in Lake Havasu City.  He made a fortune.

London Bridge is not falling down...my fair lady.

While exploring the area, we drove across the top of Parker Dam into California.  The drive along the Colorado River Scenic Byway is narrow and curvy with signs warning to drive carefully because wild Burro's are on the road.

Parker Dam

Don't Feed or Harass the Asses

That's plastic grass on the greens.

LAUGHLIN, NV

Laughlin, NV is about an hour north of Lake Havasu City, across the Colorado River from Bullhead City, AZ.  Laughlin is a mini Las Vegas with hotels, casinos, and shopping malls.  Jim and I made an agreement that if we hit the jackpot, we would call the RV dealer in Yuma and offer the owner of the Southwind the price he wanted.  The jackpot was not in the cards or the slot machines, so we left Laughlin with less money and no new RV.

Luckless in Laughlin