Feb 26 Oatman

Oatman is a village of 78 permanent residents and only 125 residents in their Zip code. The main street is about 1/2 mile long lined on both sides with tourist businesses all related to route 66. 

It was a ghost town with only 3 residents  for a number of years until it was revived as part of the historic 66. We camped on the BLM just over 3 miles out side of town. It was a beautiful day so we hiked the 3 miles into town and back.

These buildings along the road we walked into town is what remains of the gold mine from around 1800. They claim this area was one of the richest goldstrickes during the Gold Rush.

Burros that were let loose at the end of the mining era , still  live in the ssurrounding mountains and wander into town. There were at least 1/2 a dozen or more wandering around the town, They have become very tame due to the attention and food that every one gives them.

One of the burros was having a rest on the side of the street. After the 3 mile walk I decided I needed a rest as well.

Just a couple of donkeys hanging out

These pictures were taken inside of the hotel. The ceiling, walls, posts etc ,every square inch of space is covered with one dollar bills, that people have left. They estimate that there is over $200,000 of them.

On the way back to the camp we met 17 burros along the highway. This guy was alone but most were in groups of 3 or 4.

Feb 25 Kingman

The weather is finally warming up a bit so we decided to move on and explore part of the famous Route 66. We went to Kingman first because it was a higher altitude and then moved on to Oatman for the evening where it would be a bit warmer. The towns along route 66 all became ghost towns or close to it when the mining shut down for world war 11 and the creation of interstate highway 40 . 

The museum here was very good . It documented the history of the region from the time of the Indian's, the gold rush, which we always hear about as the California Gold Rush but Arizona takes claim for a lot of it, to the wars, building of the railroads, and the interstates.

The one think for sure is Americans celebrate wars, they are and have been a waring nation since the beginning of time. They will have a statue for everything or anyone who gets shot. They tell the stories about how they beat the Indians, the Mexicans and even their own during the civil war. 

Even today they are at war with themselves fighting one another rather than trying to make piece. 

At the flea market they sell pictures of their own people to be used as target practice.

Snow on the mountains as we are driving to Kingman

First gas station when you enter town is called Canada Mart. Wasn't able to get an explanation

Most of the businesses have been restored to look like old route 66

I never saw this before. The apparatus hanging on the window was a funnel shape with a turbine in it. It captured the out side air and blew it inside to cool you off .

Not a good picture but this was a display of various electric vehicles maybe 25. The one on the left is Willie Nelsons electric golf cart with a replica Rolls Royce body. It came complete witha  bar including a water tap. It also had a special ash tray that would be more legal today  than then. His wife Connie gaveit to him as a present.

Feb 23 Hiking Sarah's Crack

There is no shortage of wonderful places to hike in Arizona. The Sarah's Crack trail is in Sarah's Park  and is a five mile return hike to Lake Havasu through the mountains but there is about 1/4 mile that goes trough a very narrow crack in the mountain and thus the name. We were not able to complete the hike down the main trail because due to the recent rainfall there was one hole that had water that was too deep for us to cross. We back tracked a bit, scaled the side of the crack to the top and continued on a parallel trail that crosses over the top of the mountain

1/4 of the trail is through this narrow crack in the mountain. The crack is around 100 feet deep in places

Lake Havasu in the back ground

Chelse Sleep and Matt Boekel  from Canmore Alberta.  We hiked most of the trail with them.

The end of the trail

Feb 21 New tires and a Wheel Alignment

The right front tire was getting badly worn on the out side so we had a realignment and 4 new tires installed. Ready to roll for another 70 thousand klm . We had replaced 2 of the tires previously .

Feb 20 Hiking across from Craggy Wash

We spent a couple of days hiking 

Feb 18 Lake Havasu

Robert Paxton McCulloch  of McCulloch Chainsaws was an American Entrepreneur.  He bough the London Bridge when it was being dismantled and had it brought to Lake Havasu where it was reassembled to form abridge across the Colorado  from the Arizona side to the California side. It now is the made tourist attraction of the city. 

Feb 17 Moved to Lake Havasu , Craggy Wash BLM

 Craggy Wash is located about 3 miles out side of Lake Havasu. It is a 3.5 mile trail that winds in a valley between the mountains on both sides.  Campers can just park on either side of the trail  in any suitable location along the way

our campsite 

Our neighbours

Feb 16 Parker Swap meet and Parker Dam

Parker Dam, located just out side of Parker is what controls the water in Lake Havasu. All of  the water for ,Los Angeles is pumped out of this lake. The system is 242miles long, made up of 2 reservoirs, 5 pumping stations, 100 klm of canals, 148 klm of tunnels, , and 135 klm of tunnels. It moves 1,200,00 acre feet of water per year.   An acre -ft of water is 43580,sq feet of water one foot deep. They talk about what a wonderful system this is, but if the Colorado river ever dries up as is happening, there will be no water in Los Angeles and no water to grow all of the vegetables in the lower valley.  I see it as insanity.

Feb 15 Swansea Ghost Town

Swansea Town site is an abandoned silver and copper mining town. We drove 30 miles from Parker on some pretty rough road to get to see it.The area was worked starting in 1862. The town eventually reached a population of about 500. It included a store, saloon, church, movie house and a post office.

Eventually they built a train track to it. By 1908 it had blast furnace, power plant, water system and many mine shafts. By 1911 the company was forced into bankruptcy. 

The last 3 miles over the mountain was very steep and narrow. for 1 1/2 miles going up and 1 1/2 miles going down.  It was really mean for only 4 wheel drive vehicles.

The bunk houses in this picture are to only remaining buildings standing. The rest were just foundations where you could see where all of the buildings were originally.

They had mine shafts  going down deep into the earth ,but some shafts were right near the surface.

The remains of the blast furnace building

Feb 13 Indian Museum and Lunch at Club Road Runner

Arizona has large Indian Reservations through out the state. Each reservation is governed  by its own tribe. This is the second Reservation Museum that we have visited. The Apache in South Eastern Arizona was the previous one.  The Indians in the USA were treated much like in Canada. (Residential schools etc.)  Read about the trail of tears if you want to learn more. 

Colorado River Indian Tribes

Description

The Colorado River Indian Tribes is a federally recognized tribe consisting of the four distinct ethnic groups associated with the Colorado River Indian Reservation: Chemehuevi, the Mohave, Hopi, and Navajo. The tribe has about 4,277 enrolled members. Wikipedia

Languages: English Language, Navajo language, Hopi language, Colorado River Numic language, Mohave Language

Regions: California, Arizona

Tribal leadership: Dennis Patch

Related ethnic groups: Navajo, Hopi, Mohave people, Chemehuevi

Total population: 4,277

Official website: http//www.crit-nsn.gov

Coordinates: 33°55′54″ N 114°23′19″ W

Stopped here fora drink and a few laughs with the locals, just a neat bar on the bank of the Colorado River

Feb 12 Moved to Parker BLM

Parker BLM

The BLM ( Bureau of Land Management) is much like our crown land. Sine it is desert land and not of any great value they let you camp on for free or in some cases 6 months for 180.00. There are no services , but when you are self contained  we don't need any. This BLM was about 5 miles out side of Parker where all of the services are. Walmart, etc.

You just pick your spot, respect your neighbours and be happy. Lots of people use this land to 4 wheel.  Unless you enjoy living in a 20x40 lot in and RV park , this cannot be beat.

Unlimited hiking.  We hike almost daily for an hour and a half or so.  Rose is more dedicated than I am.

The P on the Moutain  is for Parker AZ. This was taken onthe way to the BLM

Feb 11 Went to Mexico

Spent the day with David,Cynthia, Lou and Krista   in Los Algadones Mexico.

You park on the US side of the border and walk across to Los Algadones , there is always about a 2 hour line up to come back through customs, so as you are lined up there are always people trying to sell you water, trinkets or souvenirs. A Mexican fellow was trying to sell silver necklaces,( chains), as there is silver mined in the area.  I was chatting with him and was telling him that his prices were way to high.  As part of the conversation I asked him what he was going to do with all the money from selling his stuff that was priced to high. He laughed and said, "I going to pay for the wall".
Everyone got a good laugh from that.

Typical street scene.

While in line I met a lady from Ottawa , mid 70's and I think with some  signs Parkinson's. She was spending the winter in her Roadtec camper by herself travelling in the warm weather. Like most of the people who cross, she was there getting dental work done. She planned to return to Canada in April. I think that is when her 6 months would be up. When I questioned her about spending all that time alone she told me about a couple blog groups that she stays in touch with . They travel alone but get together when they want company . Amazing the number of single retires , both male and female
that we meet.

Feb 10 Rodeo in Yuma

 Yuma Rodeo celebrated its 74 year. About 20% of the competitors come from Canada
One of the events was the regular barrel racing, but after the horses were finished they had both motocross bikes and ATVs compete in the same race. Neither the bikes or the ATVs could beat the horses times.

Bronc Bucking

The Rodeo clown

The had a stunt riding exhibition with 2 girls from Calgary who travel the rodeo circuit through out North America

Feb 9 Mardi Gras in Yuma

The Mardi Gras in Yuma is not a very big deal. Just a bit of a street part and no parade. We went to it with a bunch of friends from the Camp site.

LtoR
Garry and Mary Campbell River BC,Bob, David and Cynthia, Lynhurst, Krista and Lou from Syracuse

Feb 7 University of California farm research station

We did a our of the University of California research farm. They have 5 farms like this around the state , this one only does work on desert farming. Since they only get 4-5 inches of rain per year all crops are grown with irrigation from the Colorado river. lake Mead has dropped over100 feet in the past century. Not only is this water used for crops it is the only source for the cities like San Diego and LosAngeles. This water is all transported in open ditches and canals. They claim that if you eat any fresh vegetables in Canada or the US during the winter it most likely came from this area. If that river ever dries up , as is slowly happening, Los Angeles resident's will not have water and the rest of the country will not have vegetables. It is also the larges dairy producing area in the US.

Something close to 90 percent of the workers cross the border from Mexico to work here, many of them daily. If Mr T closes the border we will have no food.

That is a ground owl . They burrow into the ground to make their homes

We were each given orange plastic bags that we could fill with vegetables. About 30 Lbs.
Carrots, beet, cauliflower, cabbage , lettuce chard, broccoli,onions, radishes etc

these were our bags of vegetables