Map of this blog's locations click this link to open the map
We start out 2023 driving the 68 miles on a dreary day to Lake Havasu City Arizona. This will be our third visit to the area. We stayed at Cattail Cove State Park in 2017 and at the SARA Rodeo grounds in 2018 for the spectacular fireworks show. This time we are headed to the Elks Lodge. They have nearly 40 full hookup sites in a large lot next to the lodge. This is one of the few lodges we have visited that accepts reservations and we had called awhile back as we were making our travel plans. We booked for 14 nights which surpasses the combined total of our previous 2 stays. We knew we would be heading to dry camp in Quartzsite in the middle of January and wanted to have a place before then to make sure we had everything in order before going there. We arrived at the camping area and the camp host walked over to tell us which site they had us in.
Lake Havasu City is home to the famous London Bridge. This bridge started its life spanning the River Thames in London in the early 1830’s. By the late 1960’s, it was no longer able to support the increased loads and was sold to a real estate developer in Arizona. The bridge was disassembled and moved to Lake Havasu. It was reassembled over dry land near the start of a large former peninsula jutting out into the Colorado River. Once completed in 1971, a mile long canal was dug to go under the bridge and turn the peninsula into an island. Today there are several campgrounds, marinas and resorts on the 1100 acre island linked to the mainland by the old bridge.
 |
| London Bridge in Lake Havasu |
We had done some sightseeing of the bridge during an earlier trip but that time we were on the island side. This time we head to the Lake Havasu City Visitor Center to check out the east side of the bridge. They definitely play up the British theme but given the significance of the bridge, it should be expected. The British flag flies next to the American and Arizona flags. There are a couple of original red phone booths from London as well as a few other statues and monuments brought over from London.
 |
| Fancy Fountain Near Visitor Center |
 |
| Old Style British Phone Booth |
There is a walking path to the south all along the canal and beyond. Even though it wasn’t the nicest of days, we head out along the walk and take in the sights. It is a pretty area with all sorts of small parks and beach areas along the way. There wasn’t much boat traffic out but given the iffy weather, that might be expected.
 |
| A Boat Cruise Anybody? |
 |
| Another View of London Bridge |
 |
| Coots Have Big Feet! |
 |
| Mini Lighthouse Along Canal |
 |
| Desolate Beach Area Today |
About a mile or so down the path was a large skate/bike park. There were quite a few kids out and we just had to stop and watch them try their jumps. When we were there, the bikes outnumbered the skateboards and scooters. We did get to see some pretty impressive jumps and one wipeout. We head back up to the visitor center and Chris heads in to pick up some literature. While I was waiting, I noticed a couple of visitors had decided a photo on top of one of the phone booths would be a good idea. The girl made it to the top but was having difficulty making it back down. This is a neat area and is likely very crowded on nicer days.
 |
| Cyclist Gets Some Air |
 |
| Phone Booth Shenanigans |
 |
| Entrance Gate |
The following day we decide to head out for a proper hike. There are numerous washes that head down into the Colorado River and we pick one route we haven’t tried before. The area we picked is immediately to the west of the SARA rodeo grounds and all of the hiking/mountain biking trails that start from there. The trailhead is at the dead end of Powell Drive. There isn’t a lot of parking but we find a spot along the road. Our goal was a place called Mallard Cove. AllTrails lists a 5.5 mile loop heading down to the cove and then along the shore to Chemehuevi Wash. We weren’t looking for that much of a hike but it looked like we could shorten it to a 3 mile loop by coming back up Mockingbird Wash.
 |
| Starting Down Mockingbird Wash |
The trail starts off heading down the wash. Our goal was to take the East Rim Trail down and the wash back up. We did miss the turn out of the wash to get onto the desired trail but discovered our error fairly quickly and got on the right path. The trail was quite nice especially since it was well out of the main wash. We could get glimpses of the river from some of the higher vantage points. There are a few trail intersections that lead over into the SARA trail so we needed to pay attention to our route.
 |
| We Found the East Rim Trail |
 |
| Trail Contines |
Towards the bottom of the trail, it comes back over to meet the wash again. Once in the wash, we needed to check our maps to get a sense for where we are headed. The wash is 1000 feet wide and the trail seems to have disappeared. We work our way across and eventually spot the single track trail coming out of the wash on the far side. From here, it is obvious where we are heading. There looks to be a vault toilet and picnic table in the distance next to the cove. We don’t notice any mallards in the water but there is a very large group of coots out looking for a meal. |
| Heading Back to Wash |
 |
| Approaching Mallard Cove |
As we approach the tip of the trail, the clouds that had been gathering start to let out a sprinkle. We weren’t expecting rain. Doing a hike in a wash during a rainstorm in the desert doesn’t sound like a good idea. We take cover under the shelter over the picnic table and have a snack. Fortunately the rain was very short lived. Another couple showed up and we chatted with them for a while. They were snowbirds visiting the area. We ended up spending almost half an hour there. It turns out the outhouse and picnic shelter is part of the remote campsite intended for people arriving via boat.
 |
| Covered Picnic Table |
 |
| Little Spit of Land Due to Low Water Level |
 |
| Mallard Cove |
We head out a few minutes after the other couple and work our way back into Mockingbird Wash. it starts out very wide and doesn’t narrow down all that much as we head up. There is lots of odd debris along the way and a few areas that look like other makeshift camping spots. When we get with a half mile of the car, we spot the entrance to the west towards the other wash and decide to take a quick look.
 |
| Heading Up Mockingbird Wash |
 |
| Passage Between Washes |
On the way back up, we stop at a very interesting little shelter in the middle of the wash. It was actually rather elaborate and even decorated. There was a notebook in a container that had details of the creation. A guy named Michael had started the hut just over 3 months ago and has been adding to it ever since. It looked rather sturdy but I wonder if it will withstand the first monsoon rain of the summer when this wash probably fills up? This was a nice hike of about 3 miles or so. |
| Michael's Hut |
 |
| Chris Tries Out the Bench and Holds Basketball? |
The following day would take us to the SARA Rodeo Grounds for one of our favorite hikes. The SARA Crack Trail follows one of the washes towards the river. About a mile into the hike, the wash narrows down into a slot canyon (the Crack) for roughly half a mile before emerging on the far side of the canyon. We have done this hike twice before. Each of those times, we have gone down thru the Crack to the cove along the river and then hiked back up the trail on the north side of the wash to avoid needing to climb up some of the dry waterfalls within the slot canyon. This time we wanted to try a modified route. Still going down thru the Crack but taking a more remote trail to the south once clearing the slot canyon. Some of the trails we planned to use aren’t in AllTrails or even some of the other map sources we typically use. We had found a website called Stav is Lost that has hundreds of hikes detailed all over the country. One hike was a 9.6 mile loop hike that would give us some other options for the return trip. We didn’t plan to use his full hike but just parts of it.
We start off from the parking area and head down the wash. At about half a mile, we start to look for a side trail that heads up to Lizard Peak. Our goal isn’t to get to the peak but simply find a geocache that overlooks some sort of lizard artwork just up from the wash. The detour will be about a quarter mile round trip but well worth the effort. The proper trail goes right past the huge rock sculpture in the desert. It measures about 90 feet or so from the nose to the tip of the tail. Historical Google Earth imagery isn’t great in this area but I can see it was present in 2010 so it is at least 13 years old. The detail is pretty amazing including the white banding on the lizard’s tail.
 |
| Starting Down Wash from Trailhead at SARA Park |
 |
| We Found the Lizard |
 |
| Much Better View from Nearby Hill (with Geocache) |
Back in the wash, we continue towards the Crack. As we come around a bend, we are greeted with a couple of big horn sheep right along the side of the wash. They only gave us a passing glance as we stood and watched them as they moved slowly up the wash. We spotted a third one well up the side of the wash. Based on the horns, there were two females and a young one but we never spotted a male. We spent almost 10 minutes just watching them.
 |
| Bighorn Sheep Along Wash |
It wasn’t much further before we entered the heart of the slot canyon. The first drop is the one we remember the most from our previous hikes. There was a family of 4 heading back up the 10 to 12 foot drop. The young boy was really enjoying it and went up and down several times.
 |
| Approaching the Crack |
 |
| First Dry Waterfall |
After they got out of the way, it was our turn. The rock face is very smooth and nearly vertical. While it might be possible to just slide down, I didn’t want to test my knees or bones to the impact from sliding. There is a rope with knots tied in it every foot or so which helps hikers in slowing the slide. I made it without too much trouble. Chris, on the other hand, sat at the top for some time before she got up the nerve to lower herself. It wasn’t super graceful but no injuries occurred. |
| Looking Down Before I Take the Slide |
 |
| Chris Gathers Her Courage |
As we continued for the next 1/3 mile or so, we were kind of surprised by how many other dry falls we needed to get down from. We really only have recollections of that first one but there were a few others that were somewhat challenging. There was one particular obstacle that was a bit strange. There was an aluminum ladder sticking out of the gravel but only the top rung. There might have been a large hole that used to need the ladder to get out of in order to climb over the three foot diameter boulder sitting at the top but it had subsequently filled up with gravel? The Crack portion of this hike is what makes it so special and before we knew it, we were out to the light of day in a wider canyon on the outlet.
 |
| More Slot Canyon |
 |
| Notice Top Rung of Ladder |
Just outside the Crack was a geocache that hadn’t been here when we visited last, so we climbed up the side of the canyon wall 15 feet or so to find it and sign in. We knew we were looking for some sort of side trail up out of the canyon and wash. As we were looking for the possible path up, I noticed a couple of rock cairns that looked pretty neat and took a picture with my iPhone instead of my normal camera. I wanted to try the “portrait” mode to have it blur the background behind the cairns. I took the shot, took a quick look at it to make sure I got what I wanted and we proceeded on to find the side trail on the left.
It wasn’t until I was getting my pictures ready for this blog post that I took a close look at the photo and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The cairn on the left had the top 4 rocks levitating above the stack below. I looked closely at the shot but was initially having trouble understanding what was going on. I discovered that I could turn off the “portrait” effect and get the original image. It appears that the missing rock in the “portrait” mode was a very similar color to the background rock wall and the algorithm used to blur the background had also blurred this rock making the others levitate. It is a very unusual effect and I am contemplating how I might be able to get some oddball creative photos knowing this fact.
 |
| Rock Cairns with Levitating Rocks on Left |
 |
| Closeup of Cairn Without (left) and With Portrait Mode (right) |
We did find the very steep and rocky trail out of the wash. It isn’t really marked but visible to the eye if you are looking for it. We climbed up and gained nearly 150 feet before it leveled out. From this point you get a good view of the wash continuing down towards the river. We noticed there was one geocache that was hidden well off even this very faint trail. We decided we still had a lot of hiking to complete to get back to the car and adding more distance might be a bad idea so we continued on.
 |
| View of Wash Continuing Past the Crack |
 |
| Follow the Faint Trail |
Once we were up out of the wash, we didn’t see anybody else in the area we were hiking. In about a quarter mile, we spotted an arch or window in the top of a rock outcropping. Our trail got us close to this and we head up the steep and rocky climb to be able to sit under the arch. We figured this was the ideal spot to enjoy lunch.
 |
| The Window or Arch Comes into View |
 |
| A Better View from Close |
 |
| Selfie Time After Lunch |
After lunch, we got a little bit turned around by following the more obvious trail only to discover a tenth of mile out, we were no longer on our intended route. Now wasn’t the time to see where this trail went and we headed back to find the faint trail that leads down the backside of the arch outcropping. The next half mile was a lot up ups and downs and twists and turns to get over hills and thru valleys as we made our way to the wash. There were a couple of geocaches along the side of this wash that hadn’t been found in almost 4 years! That gives us a good idea of just how remote this trail is when a geocache goes that long without being found especially given we are only 5 miles from the center of Lake Havasu. One other very lonely cache was a bit further out of the wash but we decided to go for it. It was a very steep climb but we found the large cookie tin container in pretty good shape. While sitting up at the cache, we spotted a couple of mountain bikers and one trail runner. At least we knew we were close to more populated trails.
 |
| Initially Followed the Wrong Faint Trail |
 |
| Down in a Wash |
There was still a fair amount of hiking to get back to the car. At one point our route took us out of one wash up a steep hill and across a series of hills for half a mile before dropping back into another wash. We mindlessly started up this wash thinking it was the way back to the car. When we realized our error, we spotted a guy mountain biking and asked if this wash headed back to the main parking area. He thought so, but did add this was his first time here. We figured we should go with our intended trail and backtracked to another steep climb out of this wash and into the adjacent one to the west. By the time we made it back to the car we were exhausted, but since it was a fun hike, it didn’t feel so bad.
 |
| A Split in the Trail |
That 6.5 mile hike had taken quite of energy and we took a couple days off to recuperate. We also needed to deal with a new problem we encountered with the motorhome when we had arrived at the Elks Lodge. After backing into our spot, I was continuing with the setup of the rig while Chris went over to pay for our stay and handle any paperwork they had. As I was extending our main slide, I heard a very large popping noise just as the slide came to a stop at the end of its travel. The sites at the lodge are fairly close together so I was hoping that the noise I heard was simply the neighbor slamming a door. But I went out to see if I could notice any issues and spotted a glaring one fairly quickly. A 4 foot long 1/2 inch threaded rod that was tightened onto a welded bracket on one of the two main slide mechanisms was hanging in the air beneath the slide with a large gaping hole where it used to be welded to said mechanism!
 |
| Hole Where Bracket Was Mounted |
 |
| The Bracket Ripped from Slide Arm |
This didn’t look good. My first assumption what our slide was going to be stuck in the out position and we would need to get someone to fix it on site. This is the same slide that needed a replacement motor nine months ago as we were heading out from Florida on our way west to Colorado. I’ll admit that I wasn’t even really sure what the rod was used for but realized that there had to have been some significant force to break a weld like this. Over the next several day, I researched the way our slides work and came to the realization that the broken threaded rod and bracket are part of the slide mechanism used to set the max out and in travel positions. Only the rear bracket was broken and looking at the other one, I finally determined how these stop rods work.
 |
| Rear Bracket Portion of the Stop Mechanism |
 |
| What the Stop Rod and Bracket Should Look Like |
Of course knowing how they work wasn’t really going to help me in fixing the darn thing. There happened to be a RV dealer just across the street from the lodge. I went over the Tuesday after New Year’s Day and talked with the service advisor about getting this fixed. Although the place didn’t look like the type of place I would take our rig to, after discussing the problem with the guy, I felt very confident they would be able to fix the problem. Better yet, we both agreed that the slide should still be able to be retracted and extended without problem - the only caveat being that I might need to stop the slide motor manually since the stop rod on one side was missing. He told me to bring the rig over the following Tuesday early in the morning and they would be able to get it fixed before the end of the day.
That following Tuesday morning, the slide came in almost like normal and I drove it the half block over to the shop. I think he had forgotten that I had an appointment but as one of the service technicians came to drop off some paperwork, he was assigned to my job. I went out with the technician and described all the issues and showed him pictures since much of the problem cannot be seen with the slide closed. I have never done any welding in my life and as I tried to explain how he should fix this, he looked at me and said he is a master welder and would have no problems. It made me feel a bit stupid but confident I was leaving the rig in good hands.
Since we were homeless until later this afternoon, we headed out. First to the library and then we had plans to go out for lunch. We hadn’t decided what we would do for the rest of the afternoon while we waited but figured we could come up with something during lunch. It was right about noon when I got a call from the service center. I was expecting to be told they had run into some big issue and were going to need more than the one day. Instead, he told me the guy was just about done and we could pick it up around 1 PM! We still went out for a quick lunch and then back to the service place. We inspected the work and moved the slide out and back in and it seemed to be working just fine. I looked at the repair and really couldn’t even tell it was any different than the non-broken bracket up front. Better yet the bill was very reasonable. Two hours of service and $25 for supplies coming to a total of $315. When I had originally seen the problem a week earlier, I was convinced this was going to be big bucks to get it working. I was quite pleased with both the work and cost. We were really lucky to have this happen here in a fairly large town instead of a couple weeks earlier when we were in Death Valley.
With the concern over the slide problem behind us, we set out to explore more of the area. We had noticed a string of 15 geocaches along a remote road just south of I-40 about 20 miles north of town. From the sounds of it, Franconia Road is a popular off road route. It wasn't clear from the descriptions we read how extreme the road was but figured we could give it a try. We make it to the start of the dirt road and find it in pretty good shape. It is a rather desolate area but the views were pretty good. One of the geocaches was a good 500 feet off the road so we parked and headed into the high desert. The cache was named "High Tide" which seemed odd for the location until we got close to ground zero. Here in the desert, far from any water, was a boat. Not a small one like a kayak or canoe, but a 15 foot boat. It had seen better days but it would be nice to know how it ended up in this remote spot. We managed to find all the geocaches we went for and while the road did continue to the south, the geocaches were not as densely placed so we turned around after five miles.
 |
| View Along Franconia Road |
 |
| How'd This Boat Get Here? |
 |
| Distance View Of Franconia Road |
We did one more day trip out of Lake Havasu. We headed down to Cattail Cove State Park just a bit south of town. We had camped here for 6 nights back in 2017 but we hadn't managed to get in all the hikes during that stay. We don't have an Arizona State Park Pass so there is an entrance fee but it was only $6. I think if we had a boat to launch, it would have cost a bit more. Our goal for the day was to hike the Cattail Cove Perimeter Loop at about 3.5 miles. The park was rather quiet once we got away from the campground which looked to be full. The parking lot near the trailhead only had one other car parked there. We start up the trail, planning on taking the loop clockwise. The initial portion is along a wide wash. There were actually rocks all lined up creating the intended path in the wash. I suspect this wash must not get much water flow otherwise there would be a lot of upkeep to maintain the rock lined pathway.
About half mile up the wash is a trail that leads up and out of the wash. We know this is the way we intended to go but there is a geocache about 1/3 mile further up the wash so we go for a detour to get it before heading back. There are three large drain pipes that go under the road. I was really tempted to crawl through one to see what was on the other side but passed on this part of the detour. The climb back out of the wash was a steep and rocky trail. It seems those two adjectives gets used a lot with trails in this area but it seems like they are just a fact of life here. The climb does have the reward of getting us some great distance views.  |
| Drain Pipes Under US-95 |
 |
| Looking Back on Wash We Just Hiked Up |
 |
| Getting a Glimpse of the Colorado River |
Once at the top of the climb, the next mile or so is generally downhill. We didn't run into anybody else on this part of the hike. We then get into another smaller wash that heads down toward the river. It was a pretty section and even had some small slot canyon features. At one point we got to a location of another geocache but this was one we had already found almost 6 years ago. I didn't actually climb the hill to look for it but there was nothing about this spot that rang any bells for us. We must have come partway up this trail during a past hike but hadn't gone beyond the geocache.
 |
| Another Narrow Wash |
 |
| A Mini Slot Canyon |
As we came out of the wash near the river, there was a short spur trail that headed to a small peninsula sticking out into the river that had also formed a small cove and beach area. There was a restroom and picnic table and two primitive campsites that boaters can use. Based on the signs, this is Whyte's Retreat. We looked around the area before settling down at the table to enjoy our lunch. It was a nice spot except for the fact that it was a very windy day and we were right in line with it coming off the water. We did start to see a few other people out and about.
 |
| Hiking Trail Above the Water |
 |
| One of Several Coves Along the Trail |
As we made our way back to the main area of the park, there were many more people out, but there were no boaters and definitely no swimmers! There had been some sort of geocaching event here a few months after our last visit so there were even more caches scattered near the campground and ranger station. We took our time to wander around and have now found all of the caches hidden in this park.
 |
| Overlooking the Beach and Boat Launch |
The 2 weeks in Lake Havasu seemed to go pretty fast. We had tried to have dinner at the Elks Lodge one evening but it was so crowded that we felt like sardines in a can. We came back a couple days later for lunch and it wasn't too busy. We had received a token from the camp host when the sites had lost water due to a water main break just down the road. It turned out the token was good for a half pitcher of beer to go along with our great lunch. When we make it back to the area, we will need to make it a point to make it over for food more frequently.
Now we just need to do a little bit of prep work for our trip down to Quartzsite for the Newmar Rally in the Desert.
No comments:
Post a Comment