We left Yuma, heading west along Interstate 8, on through El Centro,
California which is in the centre of the Imperial valley. Imperial valley is a
huge farming area made possible by the irrigation of the desert, by way of the
All American Canal... one of the three canals which starts at Imperial dam north
of Yuma and drains probably at least a third of the Colorado river. At El Centro
we head north along the eastern side of the Salton Sea to a resort called the
Fountain of Youth "FoY".
The Salton Sea, by the
way, was once a dry
lake bed. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but here goes again. An
irrigation canal broke loose back in the early 1900's and overflowed the waters
of the Colorado river for two years, before it could be stopped. It re-filled
the dry lake bed for a distance of about 30 miles north and south and for
roughly 5 miles wide. And they call that a Sea! As you can see from my GPS, the
highway alongside the Salton see is at -214 feet... that's below sea level
folks! This picture to the right is the sea and the beach is located at the
Salton Sea State park... a nice place to boondock for $7.00 a night. That snow
capped mountain you see in the background... through all that s-m-o-g... is just
above Palm Springs... where all the movie stars go golfing, at the top of the
San Bernardino valley... woowaaa that's too close to civilization!
Anyway, back to the FoY resort. We were told of this place in Texas and we
wanted to check it out. So here we are
.
Or, should I say, here's Velma in the pool. This resort is all about water.
They have drilled wells to get at the hot mineral waters which they distribute
to various pools and hot tubs in the park. The one Velma is in is a regular
water pool kept at a balmy 75 degrees... and it's the coolest pool here. The spa
with falls in the second picture is a balmy hot tub with pure (chlorinated)
mineral water. There is another large hot tub with spring water plus two
whirlpools you can use and these have 100% pure and h-o-t spring mineral water.
There are also another two jet pools and another good sized swimming pool with
normal water. Did I mention, this resort is all about water? The last picture is
of a 101 year old resident lady from the park, and she is leading afternoon
exercise classe.. Hello!!!. Might have something to do with the water!
On top of this, the resort has all the familiar amenities such as a large hall
for parties and dances, other smaller meeting rooms, pool, shuffleboard, and
other games rooms and all that stuff. But, I have to admit, they are not as
active nor as organized as Victoria Palm... way-to-go Lisa and the gang down
there... cause it makes a big difference when ,many members participate in
organizing the activities.
In behind the resort are the Chocolate Mountains, but disappointingly, are off-limit, as they are part of a military shooting range. This restricts any hiking to the flat plains between the resort and the Salton Sea. We stayed 3 days and left as we found the resort way too comfortable, and had we remained for a few more days, we might have stayed till we needed to go home.
From 
Hwy 111, we
headed north to Interstate 10, then east
to the junction of hwy
177, just east of Joshua Tree National Park. This two lane highway cuts
northeast to Parker, AZ, through some very scenic desert country, similar to
what we had seen before when we travelled through the Mojave National Preserve.
It's not a long drive, but the beauty is especially appealing this year as the
desert plants received rain and many are in bloom. Though it still is early for
full Spring blooms, take a look at these pictures Velma shot... boy, she's got
an eye for pictures. The yellow flowers are from what's called the "brittle
bush". A low growing fuzzy-leaf plant that snaps its branch if you bend it just
a bit. That highway picture also shows you how much time and effort is put to
making a paved road down here!
But, the scenery in the desert never ends. Take a look at this "endless highway". The newer "black" section of highway extends to about 20 miles away. Now look closely to the right of the road and up a bit on the horizon, you'll see the little white line which is the same highway. That's a distance is about 35 miles as Velma's camera is zoomed in 12x in this shot. That road leads to a town called Twentynine_Palms, just north of Joshua Tree Park. We met a lot of bikers running these roads for tours.
Our campground is located on the Colorado River in an area called the Parker Strip... a length of road about 15 miles long heading north of Parker, AZ, and along the eastern side of the Colorado river. It's a tourist Mecca in the summer and is full of trailer parks, resorts and river-front homes. We found a County park called Le Paz right on the water for a reasonable price.
Parker is known for the Parker dam. Built in the 1920's I think, to create
Havasu Lake, a water reservoir for all the thirsty folks down in Los Angeles. It
is now also a major tourism "water recreation" area. The City of lake Havasu was
built simply because of it, (and the London bridge, of course).
From this lake, water is pumped up over a total elevation of 2,000 feet,
through mountains, and along miles of aqueducts and canals! It ends up
down in the valley of the dolls!
Here's a shot of Parker dam which creates Havasu Lake, and one of the pumping stations where the water is pumped through a mountain. This pumping facility is located about 5 miles away. The dam also generates electricity, and about half of it is used simply to pump the water over and through the mountains.
Of course, the scenery around this man-made lake, against the stark treeless
desert, is very beautiful. This is a picture of just one of the many resorts
found along the Parker strip. This one is actually reasonable at $350.00 / mo or
$500.00 for waterfront lots.
March 6, 2009,
Lake Havasu, AZ - 72F - Diesel
fuel $2.09
I forgot the map at the start of this page so here it is.
Lake Havasu is a stop over as we migrate north. We were here last trip, so there
was not much new to see this time. This is the City that was built by McCulough,
the chain saw magnate. He bought and relocated an old stone bridge from London,
England. Placed it on the Colorado river shoreline, diverted water under it, and
then proceeded to build a town, which today is rather larger. Doesn't seem to
take much to have folks move to the desert around these parts. We're located at
a BLM spot called Craggy Wash, a strip of land surrounded by small mountains,
offering great views. The one above is of the moon... not the truck and trailer!
March 8, 2009, Laughlin, NV, Arrived at 11:00 am - 70F Gas $2.39 Diesel fuel $2.29
As we continue our way northwards along the Colorado river, we come to a
small town 
called
Laughlin.
This town is located across the river from Bullhead City. It did not exist
in the 50's and it does so today because of one man named Don Laughlin. It is
reported that he started his career running small time gambling during his high
school days in New York City! He grew his business to the point of being able to
solely build his own casino across the river from Bullhead City, in Nevada. He
named the place Laughlin, of course. Today, it's a sizeable gambling town with
about a dozen large casinos, all located along the Colorado river.
It's also the location
of the world famous Neon Cowboy sign from Las Vegas, as the sign ended up being
too large for the Freemont covered mall, and was replaced by a smaller one.
Things are reasonably priced in this Town as it competes directly with Las
Vegas. There's free campgrounds at most casinos, great buffets and, I'm told,
the slot machines are more forgiving than in Vegas.
Close-by are petroglyphs located in a small wash off "Christmas
Tree Pass".
As you can see, there are a mixture of native designs, as well as,
unfortunately, newer statements made by irresponsible hikers. But, in the US, we
find they are more prone to leaving things such as this open to the public. Just
like they let the public walk on
trails that are
only a few feet from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Thrilling walks for sure, but
something that Conservative Ontario would not allow.
On the right are some of the rock formations found in the mountains of this
area. Time, wind and sun shapes these mountains into well rounded and curved
features. As difficult as it is to believe, the rock appears to be a granite
stone. It is fractured into small bits that looks like shattered windshield
glass, and with time, the wind blows it off the face of the rocks and into the
valleys and washes below, with the resulting smooth rock formations you see,
clean of any debris. Here Velma is leaning against the rock as the wind is quite
strong today, and it tried to blow her down. On the left is a barrel cactus
along with yellow Desert Spring daisies
March 11, 2009, Lake Mead (Las Vegas), NV, Arrived at 2:00pm - 68F - Diesel fuel $2.25
Our last stop northward along the Colorado
river is at Lake Mead, near Las Vegas. A man made lake, 100 miles long, created
by the construction of the Hoover dam during the depression. We were lucky and
got a water view campsite at the Lake Mead Campground, in the
Lake Mead National
Recreation Area, our base for visiting Vegas. This is also where the folks from
Las Vegas come and play. And they better make the best of it because, since our
last visit three years ago, the water has dropped another 65 odd feet for a
total of about 100 feet below normal levels. As you can see from this picture of
the Mead Lake marina, the "white" rock on the island in the lake, is what the
water used to cover. If this continues, it will be a major problem.
We were also here on our last trip and had visited the Hoover dam then. At
that time they were building a new bridge to cross the Colorado at Hoover dam,
in order to prevent the bottle neck and security risks created with crossing
over the dam itself. That new bridge was supposed to have been completed in '08,
but it seems they ran into major difficulties and are now hoping for a 2010
opening date. Here's where they're at... and a similar structure appears on this
side of the river.
We met up with our friends from Montreal again, Pierre and Judy, as Judy is to
meet her brother in Vegas. They are planning on takling in the show called
"Love", a Beatles performance put on by Cirque-du-Soleil, and we're going to
take in a show called "O" by the Cirque-du-Soleil performance group... along
with a visit to a few casinos we hadn't seen last time.
There's nothing like the view of the night skyline in Vegas. It is considered
one of the 10 major attractions in the USA. Our performance is at the Bellagio
Casino and what a classy place that is. The show "O" has been playing here for
about 6 years and it still sells out as our 7:00 pm show was full... and at $150
bucks a seat it's surprising! But what a great show. It is the most visually
appealing show we've ever seen, and the
combination of
acrobats, costumes, colors, water and music makes this show one of the best we
will probably ever see. Cirque-du-Soleil has 6 different shows on in Vegas at
this time, and even the Beatles presentation called Love, was not sold out. This
speaks to the show "O".
The Bellagio is one of my three favourite casinos in Vegas. Look at the pool
area on the right. The others are Caesar's Palace and the newer Venetian Casino.
The Caesar, for its age, competes well with the newer casinos because it was
built with a lot of granite, marble and tile and it's classic looks are as
appealing today as it was when built years ago.
Take a look at some of the Venetian below.. It's got its own Venetian canal and
there is enough marble and granite and ceiling paintings, I'm sure, to give the
Vatican a run for its money. It is a marvel to look at.
The money spent building this place is simply mind boggling. Check out the floor
design in the centre picture. It's made with granite and marble and this only a
hallway. The ceilings are full of classic painted panels. The gondolas in the
first picture are authentic Italian built ones and every oarsman (woman) signs
"Godfather" like tunes. At times you can walk around these places and actually
see nothing but European architecture, inside and out, and enough of it to feel
you're actually there.
In Vegas, there
are free shows at all casinos going on all day long. The Bellagio has
the water shows
out on the front lawn and we were lucky to arrive on time to see the mime show
at the Venetian. Take a look at these three statues on the left. The tourists
are walking right by thinking they're real statues. Then all of a sudden, they
start to move and walk right onto a stage and put on a great 10 minute show in
front of a water fall and magically have water squirting out of their fingers.
What a treat Vegas is... of course at an expense, even if you're not a gambler.
One of the best deals in Vegas is a buffet at a major casino. Take the one we
went to at the Bellagio before going to the "O" show. The lunch buffet is $20,
but what you get is... all you can eat Italian, Japanese sushi, Asian or
American and it includes all types of steaks and roasts and ribs, all types of
seafood including Alaskan King crabs, oysters and smoked salmon, deserts of all
kinds including bread pudding to die for, and all non- alcoholic drinks. If you
get in at around 3:00 - 3:30, you basically get a super and lunch combined.
But, after the smoke clears, and your mind gets un-fuzzy again, you realize if you stay, you go broke... so... as with all things, Vegas ends and tomorrow, March the 17th, we move on to southern Utah.
.