Decided to get out of town today, if nothing else to get away from all the traffic. I figured I'd just head north and maybe make it up to Lake Havasu City. It's only about 50 miles away so would make a nice short day trip. On my there I seen the turnoff from the Parker Dam and decided to have a look.
Built between 1934 and 1938, workers had to dig down 235 feet through the sand and gravel of the riverbed before hitting the bedrock needed to secure the foundation making the Parker Dam the deepest dam in the world. The dam created Lake Havasu, a 211 billion gallon reservoir. I drove across the top of the dam and ended up on the California side of the Colorado River.
From there I headed back south through an area called the Parker Strip. The Parker Strip is a recreation area that runs from the Parker Dam down to the Headgate Rock Dam just north of Parker AZ. This area, on both sides of the Colorado, boasts a large number of resorts, parks, boat launches, ORV trails and other recreation facilities. All of this is nestled among the Colorado River and the surrounding mountains. I truly beautiful area.
I stopped at a few of the parks, access points and RV parks. During a couple of these stops I saw some wild burrows and roadrunners. If I would have known these places were here when I first stopped in Parker I would have picked a nice site right on the river to spend my week instead of an old fashioned campground. Live and learn, I'll do it next time.
You can see more pictures in my Photo Gallery.
Tomorrow I wake up early to try and get a good spot to watch the race. I'll post more info on the race once I get back.