The first order of business was to see the London Bridge. Supposedly the second most visited thing in Arizona (after the Grand Canyon of course), the London Bridge, built in 1831, was auctioned off by the city of London in 1967. Arizonan resident Robert McCulloch then bought the bridge in an effort to draw investors to his community called Lake Havasu City. He had it transported over piecewise to Lake Havasu where it was rebuilt in three years.
We parked near the bridge and found a box by Jolly Mon, an Arizonan, and then walked across the bridge and then back. We couldnt stay long though since we had to visit so much more. Some other time it would be nice to return and explore the lake.
We then left Lake Havasu City and continued north on AZ Route 95 to I-40. We then made a detour west on I-40 to get an AZRoadie box near the Route 66 community of Topock thus fulfilling my Mohave County letterbox. That leaves only the Yavapai box before I complete the Roadie challenge.
We then returned to I-40 and headed east to Kingman. Surprisingly, there was very little traffic on the interstate, perhaps because it was Monday. In Kingman, we took a side street to a local trail loop on the north side of town. This loop supposedly takes you near the site of Beale Springs, or Fort Beale, a historic site founded in the 1850's by Lt. Edward Beale when he set about plotting a road through northern arizona along the 35th parallel.
Regrettably, I did not take the time to hike the loop in its entirety, or even research the area. I was simply looking for a trail on which I could plant my Mohave county box and then move on. Again, some other time it would be nice to return and explore the region.
We then got on US Highway 93 and headed north through the very sparse and boring Mojave desert. With the exception of the occasional historical marker and Joshua tree, this highway is straight and flat and is only useful in that it leads to the Hoover Dam (and Vegas if you're into that).
About four years ago, I had been at the Hoover Dam with friends and at that time all traffic along US 93 had to cross the dam as the memorial bridge was still under construction. Since then, the bridge has been completed.
We crossed over into Nevada and then went to the dam to do the tourist thing: walked across the dam, took lots of pictures, joked about skateboarding. By far one of the more interesting segments is the
star map that (rather confusingly) depicts the stars on the day that the dam was dedicated so that in the case that civilization falls and is rebuilt, future societies may know exactly when the dam, "this feat of civil engineering" was built. Also interesting is the art style ornamenting the dam (what I have determined since to be Art-Deco). For whatever reason, it draws imagery (to me) of both strength but also foreboding and formidibality.
We took a tour of the dam and the powerplants which were interesting, but pricy. Our tour guides were interesting, one being very short with a woman's voice and the other being an old Hoosier with a slurring almost incomprehensible speech pattern.
Following touring the dam, we returned to US 93 only to get off at the Lake Meade Recreation Area. I had no desire to drive through Las Vegas and intended to instead reach I-15 via the scenic route. What I did not realize was how large Lake Meade truly is. The roads going around are 77 miles long! But I can not complain. The area is very scenic and odd. As you drive through you will catch glimpses of the lake and the surrounding mountains, but nestled inside the park are all sorts of stranger mountains. Deep burnt red rocks on top of black rocks. Red and white sandstone. Later in our trip, Mitchel would describe it as "being on fire".
One other reason for driving through Lake Meade was for historical reasons. During the Territorial days of Arizona, the northern half of Mohave County, Arizona and all of Clark County, Nevada were part of one single county called Pah-Ute County, Arizona. The county seat was in the Mormon town of Saint Thomas, Nevada. In 1866, all lands west of the Colorado were given over to the state of Nevada and later in 1871 Pah-Ute county was dissolved.
The city of Saint Thomas, of course, continued to exist and thrive. (The Mormons actually ended up leaving for economic issues, but new residents moved in shortly) That is until the construction of the Hoover Dam when it became clear that the community would be at the bottom of Lake Meade. The residents were forced to leave there home and the city soon was under water.
Since the construction of the dam and formation of Lake Meade, however, the water levels have gone down substantially and permanently uncovering the ruins of Saint Thomas. on the north end of Lake Meade. You can access the town via a short hike (approx. .7 miles). We of course opted to do this.
The hike is very interesting. Since it is only recently uncovered, there is no old growth and so the only plants are bushes and reeds. The ground is also littered with sea shells. The town itself is quite frankly indescribable. It of course resembles a ghost town and only has foundations left, except it is quite clear that the remains are "modern" compared to the ruins of mining ghost towns like La Paz. There is clearly a city plan with a "main street" leading down an avenue of trees with buildings on either side and wells scattered about. There is even what appears (by comparing a picture at the trailhead) to be the remains of the school building with collapsed columns lying about.
Interestingly, all the trees and buildings are leveled and chopped down. All the trees appear to have been cut before the town was flooded which suggests that the city was perhaps leveled. Maybe in an effort to prevent obstacles in the lake. I have not found any resources to confirm or deny this.
After leaving Saint Thomas, we went down the road to Valley of Fire State Park a fairly large section of pocketed sand stone. The wind has literally sand blasted this section of rock and left it with all sorts of natural features. We got into the park later than anticipated and so only did a driving tour grabbing two boxes while there.
We then continued up to I-15 only sustaining the loss of my storage bin's lid. We then took the I-15 east to St. George, Utah where we grabbed Papa Johns and "celebrated" Saint Patrick's Day by sleeping.
We then got on US Highway 93 and headed north through the very sparse and boring Mojave desert. With the exception of the occasional historical marker and Joshua tree, this highway is straight and flat and is only useful in that it leads to the Hoover Dam (and Vegas if you're into that).
About four years ago, I had been at the Hoover Dam with friends and at that time all traffic along US 93 had to cross the dam as the memorial bridge was still under construction. Since then, the bridge has been completed.
We crossed over into Nevada and then went to the dam to do the tourist thing: walked across the dam, took lots of pictures, joked about skateboarding. By far one of the more interesting segments is the
star map that (rather confusingly) depicts the stars on the day that the dam was dedicated so that in the case that civilization falls and is rebuilt, future societies may know exactly when the dam, "this feat of civil engineering" was built. Also interesting is the art style ornamenting the dam (what I have determined since to be Art-Deco). For whatever reason, it draws imagery (to me) of both strength but also foreboding and formidibality.
We took a tour of the dam and the powerplants which were interesting, but pricy. Our tour guides were interesting, one being very short with a woman's voice and the other being an old Hoosier with a slurring almost incomprehensible speech pattern.
Following touring the dam, we returned to US 93 only to get off at the Lake Meade Recreation Area. I had no desire to drive through Las Vegas and intended to instead reach I-15 via the scenic route. What I did not realize was how large Lake Meade truly is. The roads going around are 77 miles long! But I can not complain. The area is very scenic and odd. As you drive through you will catch glimpses of the lake and the surrounding mountains, but nestled inside the park are all sorts of stranger mountains. Deep burnt red rocks on top of black rocks. Red and white sandstone. Later in our trip, Mitchel would describe it as "being on fire".
One other reason for driving through Lake Meade was for historical reasons. During the Territorial days of Arizona, the northern half of Mohave County, Arizona and all of Clark County, Nevada were part of one single county called Pah-Ute County, Arizona. The county seat was in the Mormon town of Saint Thomas, Nevada. In 1866, all lands west of the Colorado were given over to the state of Nevada and later in 1871 Pah-Ute county was dissolved.
The city of Saint Thomas, of course, continued to exist and thrive. (The Mormons actually ended up leaving for economic issues, but new residents moved in shortly) That is until the construction of the Hoover Dam when it became clear that the community would be at the bottom of Lake Meade. The residents were forced to leave there home and the city soon was under water.
Since the construction of the dam and formation of Lake Meade, however, the water levels have gone down substantially and permanently uncovering the ruins of Saint Thomas. on the north end of Lake Meade. You can access the town via a short hike (approx. .7 miles). We of course opted to do this.
The hike is very interesting. Since it is only recently uncovered, there is no old growth and so the only plants are bushes and reeds. The ground is also littered with sea shells. The town itself is quite frankly indescribable. It of course resembles a ghost town and only has foundations left, except it is quite clear that the remains are "modern" compared to the ruins of mining ghost towns like La Paz. There is clearly a city plan with a "main street" leading down an avenue of trees with buildings on either side and wells scattered about. There is even what appears (by comparing a picture at the trailhead) to be the remains of the school building with collapsed columns lying about.
Interestingly, all the trees and buildings are leveled and chopped down. All the trees appear to have been cut before the town was flooded which suggests that the city was perhaps leveled. Maybe in an effort to prevent obstacles in the lake. I have not found any resources to confirm or deny this.
After leaving Saint Thomas, we went down the road to Valley of Fire State Park a fairly large section of pocketed sand stone. The wind has literally sand blasted this section of rock and left it with all sorts of natural features. We got into the park later than anticipated and so only did a driving tour grabbing two boxes while there.
We then continued up to I-15 only sustaining the loss of my storage bin's lid. We then took the I-15 east to St. George, Utah where we grabbed Papa Johns and "celebrated" Saint Patrick's Day by sleeping.
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