Blog

Checking out the map my thought was to head to Laughlin, NV from my campsite in Quartzite.  I have noticed Lake Havasu on the map many times and it’s in fairly large type so it must be sizable for the area.  I would pass through there on my way so I planned take a little extra time to look around.  Lake Havasu is part of the Colarado River system and since there’s water, was guessing that it probably has some green areas in this mostly desert environment.  I came up from the south and on approach the whole view started changing.  There were a lot of trailered boats being towed, nice looking camp grounds and even a plush green golf course, so plenty of signs that there must be a whole lot of water available.  After riding a while through scrubby desert land you get to a place like this and it tends to be mentally refreshing. 

Rolling into Lake Havasu City, I was kind of surprised.  It was low profile like most cities and towns are in these parts, but it was like a giant oasis and play land after a lot of desert view driving.  Turns out that the city was created by Robert McCullouch the president of the McCulluch International that made chain saws and other power tools.   He was based in Southern CA in the 1950’s and to escape the high cost of doing business, built a factory here and erected some houses for employees and shortly thereafter a church and a school.  Since this place would have been the lake and then not much of anything else, seems to me to be an incredibly brave move. 
He turned out to be quite the visionary since from these small beginnings the city is now large, very nice, has a population of around 54,000, beautiful housing, businesses, etc.  You really need some vision and faith to come to land that looks like this picture, even though it has a large lake, and think prosperity is going to spring from it.  

Although this was originally going to be a pass through on my way to Laughlin, NV it had a really good feel to it so I decided to stay for a couple of days.  Got out my phone and looked for any available BLM camping and about 9 miles out of town there was a good size dispersed camping area.  It’s on a rise overlooking the main road and on the approach to it you can see some RV’s parked there.  It was right off the highway, easy to find and there was plenty of room.  I found a flat spot, threw out the anchor, took the bike off the trailer and went right back to town. 

It was a Saturday and the weather was in the high 80’s so there was a lot of activity by the lake.  The place kind of had a feel of a seaside town back east, but extremely clean and a whole lot less congested.  The lake is sizable and you can also go up the Colorado River for quite a ways. 
I noticed that a lot of the boats were like many of the pick up trucks in these parts, big, powerful, fuel guzzling, loud and probably more of a status symbol then actually needing all that boat for any practical purpose.  This particular boat that rumbled past had three outboard motors that seemed to be 400hp each which I believe qualifies that as a water rocket.

Touring around I learned that the founding father of this town also purchased “the” London Bridge from the British some years a back, had it dismantled and shipped here where they put it back to together.  Actually a very interesting story.  They put the bridge back together on dry ground near the lake and then dug what is now the Bridge Water Channel.  So today you can leave the lake, motor under the bridge and through the channel which is about a mile long and then you’re back out on the lake.  

The channel has strips of sandy beach on each side with walkways and parks and gazebos and on one side a dog park that is nicer then some of the parks I’ve seen in a lot of towns for the human inhabitants.  People can just nose their boats onto the sand, tie up and spend as much time as they like.  The place was huge picnic and family scene.  Plus you’re allowed to openly drink alcohol and BBQ, so there were lots of picnics going on right off the boats.  Other folks parade slowly down the channel as to not cause any wakes and the owners show off their gear, that being the boats and in some cases their girlfriends.   Think the only rule I saw posted was no swimming in the channel.  What a great place.  

Lake Havasu City and the area had a feel of affluence, not real high end, but prosperity seemed to live here and it was reflected in the citizens and people that came to the lake.  It’s relatively new since it was only established in 1964, it’s well maintained and looks beautiful.  Even the few panhandlers I saw that were trying to get a hand out seemed a cut above.  One couple I noticed asking for money were nicely dressed and had matching bikes with good looking wicker baskets on the front.  It seemed a bit out of place, because the outward appearance of these folks didn’t give off the aura of needing help.  The following day from where I was parked I spotted a young gal walking up street towards the highway and she had on a lovely sundress, big floppy straw hat, sunglasses and my guess is that she was coming from the beach.  When she got to the corner by the highway she sat down next to what appeared to be her male companion who was also somewhat well dressed and he was holding a cardboard sign.  I had to see what this was so I got on the Harley and motored past.  The sign said “Need money for dog food”.  Maybe they were just regular folks that blew the budget on their clothes and needed to feed the pooch, I don’t know.  I’m not typically judgmental about people looking for a handout, but I give the few panhandlers of Lake Havasu City a A+ for style and fashion.

Back at the campsite, my neighbors were a quiet and considerate bunch, but no one was out and about to wander over and talk with.  So in the evening I spent the evening practicing the guitar and reading a bit.  

Up in the morning it was back into Lake Havasu City and today I went deeper into the town itself and away from the lake.  Again, it’s a nice looking place and there is even a branch of Arizona State University there.  It’s Sunday, so there isn’t a lot of traffic and I took advantage of that spending a couple of hours slowly driving around. 
Decided to have Sunday brunch and so went down to the area by London Bridge and ordered a Double Double with no cheese and grilled onions at In & Out Burger.  MMmmmm!  Perfect.  

There was something about this whole place that was very peaceful and relaxing.  Ended up going back to the Bridgewater Channel and touristy areas for a couple of more hours to soak it all in.  My original thought in the morning was to go into town for several hours, then back to the camper for a break and then back to town for the remainder of the day.  I ended up just staying in town and the lake area all day. 

Being Sunday, besides the fast food places not many restaurants seemed to be open in the center section of downtown and I was in a eating mood today.  Earlier I rode by a small BBQ place with some people eating outside and it smelled inviting so before leaving town later in the day, I stopped and had dinner.

I spotted the owner who was easy to identify.  He was hustling out the food to each table and checking on all the other tables too, then would run back into the kitchen.  There was also a waitress but because of the way he was fawning all over everyone and everything, he was either the owner or the world’s most conscientious employee.  When he brought out my dinner I struck up a conversation.  He appeared to be at least in his mid 60’s, had a bit of a limp, told me he his name is Rudy, used to live in Connecticut, drove a truck for a living and then came out here and opened this place several years ago.  He talked passionately about making all the food from scratch and before leaving the table suggested I come back for breakfast tomorrow for his homemade Pastrami Hash with a couple of over easy eggs and that he would be here to make it for me.  “We’re open 7 days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I’m here all the time”.  It was obvious that he really liked what he was doing and I found it interesting that he seemed to chase down a dream of owning a restaurant instead of chasing down a Easy-Boy recliner and retirement, and far from the northeast.  This kind of business takes a lot of work and time and is typically a younger person’s game, plus he seemed to have traded a more normal work week for working all the time.  The food he made was really good, he was proud of what he was serving and I loved his enthusiasm.  Not sure how long he harbored feelings about owning a restaurant, but it was kind of inspiring that he opened this place later in life instead of looking for a way to slow down.  No doubt there is more to his story and it deserves a return visit to his restaurant for another good meal and more conversation next time I’m in Lake Havasu City.  In the meantime he’s still knee deep in the game… Carpe Diem Rudy! 

Campers:  Plenty of BLM space where I camped which was mile marker 195 fight outside of Lake Havasu City and there were also other areas available.  This one just happened to be the most convenient to town.  Worth a stop here for a day or a week if you want to mellow out and enjoy some beach time in the desert. 

Bikers:  Not a lot of really interesting roads out here that I found, pretty much straight forward riding.  If you have a dirt or off road bike, this place looks like a lot of fun for off-roading right outside of town. 

Stretch:  Not really anything that stretched my comfort zone this segment of travel, it was just a really nice relaxing couple of days.  It did however cover some of the points from the tenets of Travel Well.  Instead of just passing through on my way to Laughlin, this place struck me as a interesting place to stop for a couple of days.  It covered the points of Travel Slower, Be Present, the trip is often better or as good as the destination, Take time to explore and Go where the locals go.  Glad I stopped!