Lake Havasu City, AZ

Lake Havasu…a new destination for us. We have skirted around the edges of this city a few times on our way north and south but this is the first time we’ve actually put the feet of the RV down on the cement. And cement it is! This somewhat expensive RV “resort” is basically a parking lot with RV hookups. There is no grass and few trees in the entire place. The roadway is blacktopped, the RV parking spaces are cement pads and the “patio” areas are crushed (as in not smooth) rock. I can’t imagine this park in the summer heat.

Our main focus here was on seeing the London Bridge and the lake.

 

THE London Bridge, now relocated in Lake Havasu City, AZ

The Bridge is pretty interesting. When in London, the bridge was sinking so London put it up for sale. Lake Havasu City’s founder, Robert McCullough (of McCullough chain saws), paid $2.6 million for it in 1967. To move it, the bridge had to be dismantled but first each block was meticulously numbered. Then it was shipped to California via the Panama Canal and trucked to Lake Havasu City where it was re-assembled like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Then a small “English Village” was built complete with Dr. Who Tardis’s and most of the local business establishments (hotels, restaurants, etc.) followed suit.

 

Fountain in front of the "English" Village

Chris & Tardis

Across the bridge is an island that is much quieter than the main city. We didn’t really see a lot of the lake itself but there is no shortage of extremely pricey new homes (as there are on the city-side). Oddly, in a place that has a substantial amount of sunshine year-round, we saw only THREE houses with solar panels.

We searched hard to find restaurants for lunch but there are surprisingly few. Not that there isn’t anywhere to eat. The number and variety of fast food places is mind boggling! We finally located a couple brew pubs with good food and beer (and high prices) but the only “restaurants” were in hotels & resorts.

A really big part of the local culture here seems to be what Chris & I affectionately call "penis boats". Everywhere you look, there they are. 

About every third vehicle on the roads is a pickup truck towing a cigarette boat and, of course, they are everywhere on the water.

We saw two small sailboats parked in a dusty parking lot on the Island but none on the lake so I asked one of our waiters if there is any sailing on the lake. He looked confused so I specified that I meant sailing as in sail-boat. He said nope. Only the occasional small sailboat. Seemed kind of weird given the size of this piece of water…but…then harkened back to my sailing days on the Columbia River when the power boaters seemed to consider it “sport” to speed past us slow boats throwing a big wake and watching to see if they managed to cause damage. 

Given these speed boats can hit speeds far above those on the River, I can see the hesitation when there are hundreds of them on the water.

 

I can't imagine that this would end well.

During our stay, I really needed to get a couple of small items for the counted cross-stitch project I am working on and I was convinced there would be a fabric or craft store here. Hah! The ONLY store of that type is a Hobby Lobby. I have long managed to avoid this establishment (I dislike their politics and the way they treat their employees) but I REALLY needed these items so steeled myself and went in. Good Grief. It must have been at least a city block in size so just FINDING the right section was a major project.

Chris & I also enjoy spending time (especially hot afternoons) browsing in bookstores so I looked on line to see what was available. Huh. TWO bookstores in the whole city. One sells used books and one sells “adult” books. OK. Scratch that.

 

This guy floated right over the top of us the morning we were leaving.

Chris was quick to tell me not to even THINK about living here because it is too, too hot (said the Arizona boy), but no worries. The busy, testosterone driven atmosphere is the deal breaker for me!

Ajo: Garlic or Paint?

Ajo

Spanish translation: Garlic

Tohono O’odham translation: Copper Colored Pigment

There are 13 churches, 1-1/2 grocery stores, 2 gas stations, 2 restaurants (more on that later), 2 motels and 3 RV parks here. No joke…13 churches. This is a pretty sleepy place overall. 

This tiny town is interesting, unusual, quiet, surprising.

The day after we arrived, we drove out to the Organ Pipe Cactus National Park (the main reason we came here). More stickery things of a different shape. When we got back to town we decided to stop at the Agave Grill for lunch. We decided on burgers and both had a hankerin’ for a beer. There was a fairly large selection of bottled beer but nothing with any substance (think Budweiser, etc.). We decided to go for one of the more expensive “imported” beers and had Belgian White. At $4.50 per bottle it would appear “importing” from Colorado is an expensive proposition! To be fair, Tecate is an “import” as well even though the border is a mere 40 miles away. 

The coolest thing about Ajo is the murals. They are everywhere and they are beautiful. They are painted on buildings along the main road and buildings hidden on side streets.

In one area there is a narrow alley between two industrial buildings that in any other town would just be a dark place where garbage piles up. Not in Ajo. They have named it Artists Alley 

and from one end to the other on both sides it is covered with lovely murals. An Alley of artwork…what a unique and wonderful solution to something that could have made that part of town look seedy. 

Chris & I walked from one end of the alley taking many, many photos and I’m sure we weren’t the only ones. 

As we walked back to the car we met up with a gentleman walking his two young children home from school. I asked how long he has lived in Ajo and was surprised when he said it had been only two years. I was even more surprised to learn that they had immigrated here from the Philippines because his wife had garnered a teaching job. Andrew and his sister, Hannah, were absolutely delightful. I wish I’d thought to get a picture of them. 

And the BOOKSTORE!! OH! It was wonderful! The outside is beautiful…all the way down to and including the sidewalk. The inside is filled with new and used books, artwork and a lovely, friendly, helpful person.

The bookstore mural extends onto the sidewalk!

On our last day in town we drove up to the Copper Mine that was the impetus for the beginning of the town. We first spent a good deal of time in the Museum looking at all the old artifacts and enjoying the endless stories the curator had about the town, the mine, the folks and himself. He was wonderful and if Chris’ knees hadn’t been about to give out from standing too long we would have stayed for hours. From the museum we drove up to the overlook of the mine and took a couple pictures. 

The copper mine closed down in 1985 but the town remains. Most of the mine workers left but retirees and Border Patrol families have moved in and the population has grown to about 3600. Everyone we met was very friendly and welcoming. While here I had a minor medical issue and saw a wonderful doctor at the brand new medical clinic (the staff are clearly very proud of it).  Over the weekend, there was a big fiesta on the town square with music, food and families. One evening a coyote loped across the RV park right next to our coach (which Abby took great offense to). This little town is a great place for just vegging out but make sure your wine supply is up to snuff. THE grocery store has a limited supply.