Episode 5 - Christmas and West to California

Christmas at Bullhead

Well Christmas has come and gone in Bullhead City. It was a very quiet Christmas, we spent the day over at Laughlin, had dinner at one of the casinos and spent some time walking along the boardwalk which stretches from one end of the town to the other along the Colorado River behind the casinos. They go out of their way decorating for the season but it is hard to get into the mood of Xmas when it is warm and no snow.

The big thing that was missing though was our friends from home and no Boxing Day Open House.

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West to Ludlow, Calico and Barstow

So to get back out of the doldrums we decided to go travelling in the truck. We headed down to Needles, California which is about thirty miles away and traveled west on highway I-40. We planned on checking out some caverns on our way but the name we were given for them was wrong so we missed them which means that we will have to do that another time. Our first stop was at Ludlow Calf.. Ludlow now consists of a service station, a restaurant, a lot of empty buildings and a population of 30 people. It seems that the same old story of a town at one time depending on mining and the railroad to survive has turned it into a near ghost town.

Back on the highway again we headed for Calico, a silver mining town that flourished up until the early 1900's. Walter Knott, (the same family that started Knott's Berry Farm) had worked some of the mines took over the town and restored it. They have done an incredible job and it is well worth visiting.

We were there about three hours and the day was coming to an end so we looked for a information centre to see what else was in the area. We were only a few miles east Barstow and in our ignorance figured we would find a centre there. Well we did but it was on the west side of town in a factory outlet centre. This meant taking Interstate I-15 west which at the time didn't seem so bad except that once we found the centre and got the info that we wanted we now had to get back on I-15. We were only two blocks from the highway BUT that two blocks took forty five minutes of bumper to bumper traffic to manoeuvre. We were going so slow that we ended up carrying on lengthily conversations with folks in the cars in the next lane. The only negative time in the line-up was a semi behind us that decided that if he blew his air horn somehow that we would all get out of his way. After ten minutes of air horn music he realized that his theory wasn't working and gave up.

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The plan was to travel back on Interstate I-15 to just east of the California/Nevada border and take shortcut back to Searchlight and then back to Bullhead City. Well as all good plans sometimes have to be altered, we ended coming back on highway #40. While sitting in traffic in Barstow we found a radio station that was giving out road and traffic reports for the area from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and down to Needles. Having plenty of time to listen to these reports and finding out that the traffic was tied up to the California/Nevada border we thought it best that some how once get on the Interstate we should find a way of getting back on highway I-40 and leave the Interstate for the others.

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At this point in time we realized that we were getting hungry and that we had passed a diner just on the outskirts of Calico so that seemed like a good plan to find it again and stop and eat. Now this dinner was called Peggy Sue's and was set up like a '50s diner with the counter, juke box playing and waitresses wearing bobby socks and saddle shoes. We had chocolate milkshakes and hamburgers and for a short period in time we were in the '50s.

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Our trip back on I-40 was mostly uneventful except when we stopped at the rest area. The first rest area was closed for repairs and after 150 Km we pulled into the stop and the parking lot was like a WalMart-Mart lot so I guess everyone else had the same idea.

Episode 3 - Exploring New Frontiers

We discovered that a desert is not all sand for miles and miles. The desert here is covered in fine gravel not sand. It is very hilly.

We have been spending a lot of time touring around the area.

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Travelling South, we went through an agricultural area and went down to Lake Havasu to see the London Bridge.

We travelled down as far as Quartzite where they have the big flea market in February (miles of stalls and venders). It's all pretty desolate, but we did find the place that sold the "California Rooms" we wanted to get for the 5th wheel. We decided that the Add-on Room was absolutely critical to our continued sanity (We've called it our Life Insurance policy-without it there, we would probably either drive each other crazy or our relationship would come to a dramatic end). They custom made it for us and actually came to the Park to install it.

This is what the Add-on Room looks like attached to the 5th wheel.

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Travelling East took us to Kingman and then along Route 66.

And then off to Oatman. Oatman an old gold mining town they have resurrected. Some old restored buildings and mine sites, some touristy shops and a re-enacted gun fight for the tourist bus at high noon (except it was 1:30). The old mine burrows were let loose when the mines closed and they wander freely about the town.

And Christmas decorations on the way to Oatman on Route 66.

Episode 4 - South to Yuma & Beyond

Bullhead City to Quartzite

We took off from Bullhead City, AZ heading south with our friends Ann & Eldon and the decision was to use as many secondary roads as possible so that we could spend more time venturing and less time watching traffic. The first leg of the trip was down the west side of Lake Havasu which is in California. Then we swung back east to Quartzite, AZ. Now Quartzite is a small place where Interstate #10 & State #95 cross. Normally it is nothing more than a truck stop but come winter, vendors setup stalls along the highway and sell about anything you can think of. By mid January the population swells to thousands of trailers and motorhomes boondocking (camping in the desert without electric hookups or running water). They end up as small communities scattered over the desert. There are trucks that will come to your RV and supply you with fresh water and others that will take away the "used water". Most of the RV's have solar panels for electricity. Many have been doing this for years and have formed small mobile groups that seem to travel around according to the weather. Some of these RVs are pretty elaborate, 35-40 ft motorhomes with new cars in tow to older units. While we were there they were just starting to show up so there was only fifty or so vendors and just a few hundred boondockers in the desert. We will be going back later in the new year and hopefully get some pictures of the area.

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Travelling South from Quartzsite

After leaving Quartzsite we headed down #95 toward Yuma. Most of the terrain is flat desert until you get close to Yuma, all of a sudden the desert turn into very large vegetable farms. Then you realize that you are now driving on a river delta which was formed long ago from all the silt that has flowed down the Colorado River towards the Gulf of Mexico.

We were told that Yuma has a population of about 60,000 in the summer but that doubles during winter with all the "snowbirds". It seemed larger then that to us or it might have been that we have spent most of our time in small towns or out in the desert since being down here.

We booked into the Travelodge motel and then went looking for place to eat and ended up at a Chinese buffet, seems that we can't get away from buffets, anyways it turned out to be great Chinese restaurant and of course we eat ourselves into a stooper.

The next morning we headed for Mexico which was only a few miles away. We crossed the border into a town called Algodones which is noted for its cheap dental work & and glasses. You can also get your prescriptions filled there at a quarter of the prices in the Sates. Not needing glasses, dental work or drugs we spent our time wandering around the streets checking out the wares that were for sale wherever you looked. We spent time talking to the locals and then back to Yuma to get ready for another day of sightseeing.

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The next day we spent at the Old Yuma Prison

and also at the Fort Yuma Indian Mission, just over the border, in California.

We spent some time watching them harvesting fields of lettuce, parsley and other vegetables. It is amazing to see how these are harvested, boxed and shipped directly from the fields.

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The next day we headed west into California to the town of Calexico which is across the border from Mexicali, Mexico. We were told that there was a parking lot right at the border where we could park and walk across just like we did south of Yuma. Well, something went wrong and as we passed the sign saying that this was the last u-turn before the border and then got into a line between two concrete barriers you guessed it, "Welcome to Mexico". The next thing to happen was a Mexican customs officer telling us to do something in Spanish and then ordering us all out of the car and to open the trunk. Then he told me to open one of the suitcases. Well, he seemed satisfied with what he saw and told us to get back in and welcome to Mexico.

At this point we realized that we didn't have Mexican car insurance and one look around told us that we might need it so the unanimous decision was to turn around and cross back into the States. The only problem with this plan was that the street was only one way so this meant finding a street going the other way and also one that would take us back across the border. After revising the rules of driving we finally got into a line of traffic that seemed to be heading back to the border and after running the gauntlet of peddlers, we arrived at the U.S. border. The U.S. customs officer asked us how long we had been in Mexico and after finding out it was less than one hour he smiled and said, "Have a good day".

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Our next area to explore was the Salton Sea, California's largest inland body of water.

The Sea was created in 1905, when a canal flowing from the Colorado River collapsed and ran into the area where the Salton Sea is today. Being the lowest area (240 ft. below sea level), the water settled there. The canal was repaired after a year and a half this landlocked body of water is all that remains of the flood.

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Further north on Highway #111 we stopped at a date plantation called Oasis Date Gardens near Thermal, Calf. It was quite a view to see date palms growing for as far as you could see, and of course we had to leave there with a few samples.

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Seeing that the day was coming to an end we decided to stay over in Indio, Calf. and then head towards home base the next morning. Not wanting to drive the interstates we chose Highway #177 & then #62 to Vidal Junction. This area is quite desolate and I can't imagine breaking down here in the middle of summer as the only thing going for you would be the solar powered emergency call boxes every couple of miles.

Once we got to Vidal Junction we turned east towards Parker, AZ. Now this section of the road isn't much different but there is a railway track which runs along side the highway for about twenty five miles. For most of the way along the gravel edge of the track, people have placed rocks to spell out words. Some were just peoples initials - others were quite elaborate with full poems, letters to loved ones, etc. We have no idea how this got started or how old some of these are but what a great idea.

The next "strange" thing to see on this stretch of road was what we nicknamed " the sneaker tree ". We spotted a large tree that was completely covered in peoples sneakers, cowboy boots and other forms of footwear. Lynne was able to find a sneaker a ways down the highway so we were able to contribute to this trees different crop.

After the sneaker tree we headed off towards Parker and then north to Lake Havasu City where we stopped at the London Bridge to have a bite to eat and then back home to Bullhead City.