Lake Havasu–Change of Plans

Well, Yuma is out, Lake Havasu is in.  The reason why we were going to Yuma was for new glasses for me from Mexico…the reason why we are not going to Yuma is because I don’t feel my knee could hold up to the long walk there and back.  In Prescott I was doing well, even got off the cane for a day…but then I stood up on it and it twisted again.  In Phoenix I did a lot of walking and then immediate sitting, which did not help.  Three hours in restaurants eating and visiting was not good on the leg, but it was sure good company.  And yes, we did go back to Greektown Restaurant for dinner Tuesday night!  We also enjoyed a lunch with Tony and JoAnn who use to live across the street from her in the Chicago area...it was nice to meet them for the first time.

So we drove through high winds from Phoenix to Quartzite to Lake Havasu.  We are in a Passport America park called Havasu Falls RV Resort, which is normally $44, but with PA it will be $22 plus $4 for the dogs.  We will be here for one night, then, depending on how I feel, move on or move to another PA park in the area which is not as nice as this one.

This park has a long dog walk which is lower than the parking level, and on the other side of that white fence is another RV park.  I don’t know if I can count the number of RV parks that are in the Lake Havasu area…along with state parks, and some good free Dispersed Camping spots. 

Look at that Palm Tree!  The wind is very high and constant.  It is 8 pm as I write this, and the wind is still blowing very hard.

But if you are going to have wind, you might as well have a nice view to enjoy it from.  There were many better views from other parks that we saw along the way…if we were to stay here for awhile, I would definitely look at some of those parks.  But for our purposes, this one is just fine for tonight.

The road today started with a few quail which crossed right in front of us as I was programing the GPS as we were leaving Cave Creek.  We saw many Quail while at the park, but these few were the only ones we had the camera ready for, and Marcia did good catching  a number of picture of them.

Despite the wind, which made the skies hazy, the scenery at times was very nice.

   

   

All of these pictures were taken along I-10 between Phoenix and Quartzite.  I know that many RVers have been along this route, and this general area is a huge Winter Haven for snowbirds who want free or nearly free camping in the area.  Quartzite itself is the home of a HUGE gathering of RVers during the month of January, with still large crowds in December and February.  With April here, the amount of dispersed campers is very low.

     

 

   

At Quartzite we head north along highway 95, and as we near the mountains to the north we get glimpses of the Colorado River, and the views are fabulous.  I have never been along this route, but have wanted to drive it for many years now.  Typically I was going along I-40 headed east or west between California and Arkansas.  The rock formations, the Colorado River, and the greenery is just wonderful.  Today the temps were in the 70’s, during the summer it can get very hot in this area…but you do have the river to cool off in if all else fails.  During January the average highs are in the upper 60’s, and the average lows in the 40’s.  Yes, you will have a few freezing nights…but typically not many.  Hence the draw for snowbirds to the area, and RV parks reflect this in their prices, that’s for sure.

But if you want to live here year around, in your RV, and put up with the 110 degree summer days, $400 plus electricity is not a bad price.  As for me, I can’t handle that 110 degree temps, especially when the nights remain in the 80s.