Saturday, March 5, 2016

Fun in Lake Havasu City!

After being stationary for so long, it felt good to be on the road again! We only traveled about 80 miles to a free camping area a few miles south of Lake Havasu City. We had chosen this spot for two reason; 1) it was free! 2) it was close to the Bill Williams National Wildlife Refuge. We had passed this refuge several times in the past two years and every time we passed it we would comment on we were going to stop one of these times. Well, this is the time!

After doing a little research on the Ultimate Campground app we discovered The Steps State Land Trust area. A free camping area only a couple miles north of Bill Williams on 95. Evidently this site was going to be a subdivision that went under so the state took it over. It is very easy to find and offers numerous sites on varying levels or "steps" of the proposed subdivision. During our stay there were probably about a dozen other rigs there with plenty of room between them.

Our home at "The Steps"
After arriving and getting set up we received a text from Kevin and Cathy who were still in Arizona for two more days before heading back to Wisconsin. They were in Yuma and were headed our way for the day! They arrived about 3:00, we grilled some salmon, had a bon fire and had a great night hearing about their adventures while here on vacation.

The next morning after a fantastic pancake breakfast (with some of our Canadian blueberries) Kevin and Cathy had to head to Phoenix and we had to hit the water!

It was great to be on the water, especially given the fact it was in the mid 80's! The scenery was great, the only mishap being when Daisy was walking along one of the tubes and lost her footing....plop, down goes Daisy!

 






That afternoon we jumped in the jeep to hit the trails and do some exploring! The first leg was to climb to the top of the steps to see the view of the camping area and the surrounding Lake Havasu. The view from the top was incredible.
View from the top, our rig is the dark one in the center

The cactus are starting to bloom

This is the biggest lizard we have seen, about 24" long!

Next up was to see if we could find a geocache which appeared to be in the middle of no where .63 miles to the south. We followed a wash trail in the general direction of the cache. Soon we started to climb a fairly steep grade towards this huge rock formation in the middle of the desert. Sure enough the trail ended at this formation. As we continued to climb on foot we were in awe at the honeycomb weathering within the walls of this formation. There were two holes in the middle, one of which allowed us to crawl through to the other side. Very very cool area out in the middle of no where. Beware, there are some pretty stinky spot where the bats have been using the area for years so watch your step!

Headed up to the rock formation!

Barb on the other side of the hole

Just getting ready to climb through

Honeycomb weathering was everywhere!

Daisy peeking through the crack
One the way back we followed a different wash which lead to some pretty rugged drop downs, some about 2 feet. We bottomed out a couple of times but made it through without getting hung up.




Next up? Headed to Lake Mead National Park!!!!!

20 comments:

  1. You were in Quartzsite for a very long time. I imagine you are enjoying the new scenery:) Love the honeycomb rock!! Check out our blog for Lake Meade. We stayed in Boulder City for a month and did some awesome hikes and a couple neat Jeep trails. We used the website Birdandhike.Com for hiking trail. This is an amazing site. Enjoy!!

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    1. I will check out your blog from last time you were here. I remember you did Fortification Hill. Don't think we will get to it this trip, Barb bruised her arch so we are taking it easy on the hiking.

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    2. Steve and Joan sent us on two different roads they drove while working right passed the dam. Both came to a point where you had to park then you could hike about a mile to the river. They were both a lot of fun and an easy hike. Also, The Bowl of Fire is neat and not a tough hike. Hope Barb's arch feels better soon:)

      Yes, we did just sit, read, and watch the boat activity on the lake. This so not me but since our time was limited since we could only get four nights, I had to take it all in:) Good that you took a day off as well.

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    3. I think we did one of those jeep rides with them yesterday. Looks like our time is going to run out before we get to do anymore hiking. But, that's a reason to come back next year!

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  2. Poor daisy. Glad she has a life jacket!! Looks like the kayaking was good!!

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    1. We went again the other day and she fell in 6 times! I am beginning to think she is doing it intentionally.

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  3. Looks like a great spot. Cool honeycomb rock!

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    1. We would stay there again. Constant highway noise but no worse than the drone of the generators in Quartzsite. You get used to it.

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  4. Nice spot. I bet you are enjoying the peace and quiet.

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    1. I don't think we have heard a generator since we left Quartzsite! Good to hear the coyotes yipping it up at night!

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  5. Hi Jim and Barb. Can you tell me what kind of inflatable kyak you have. It looks really comfortable with back support. Really enjoy your travel blog. Gary and Mare

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    1. We have a Sea Eagle 465. When we bought it we got the automatic inflator in addition to the foot pump. We really like it and would buy it all over again. The seats are okay, not the most comfortable but not horrible. Thanks for asking!

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  6. It's a wonderful life, you two have..thanks for sharing your adventures.
    Cheers!

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  7. The nice thing about Daisy's life preserver is the suitcase hande to pull her back in. :).

    Cool honeycomb rocks, Jim! Sure hope Barb's foot feels better soon.

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    1. We talked about that little handle on her life jacket. It makes it a lot easier when all you have to do is get a finger through the handle!

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  8. Replies
    1. That was really an unexpected bonus that made the trip!

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