Kathleen's Window: From the Mojave Preserve to Lake Mead or Burros, Burials, and Boulder Beach

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Yesterday we left our boondock spot behind the mesa and next to Banshee Canyon. Our “close” neighbors were still there, so it was time to move on. It was about a 20 minute drive south out of the park to I-40 where we turned east. After crossing the Colorado River and arriving back in Arizona, we exited at Topock and began the ascent up the historic Route 66 to Oatman, Arizona. The road runs over the mountains from Needles to Kingman. We arrived in Kingman too late last fall to drive it, on our way to Lake Havasu City, and took the interstate instead of the detour over the mountain.

Cholla Garden Wilderness Area next to I-40

Crossing the Colorado into Arizona

Heading north on Route 66 toward Oatman

Boy were we glad we didn't try this road late in the day and in a hurry. Once out of the Colorado River valley it climbs in twists and turns to Oatman. The scenery and geology were great and we figured we'd pull over for lunch at Oatman before descending the other side. We thought the town was an old abandoned ghost town. A “Watch for Burros” sign, and then a peeling paint, “Welcome to Oatman” sign greeted us. There was a small art gallery before the curve into town. As we rounded the corner we had to stop. There was a large parking lot full of cars, and a street lined with tourist shops and filled with people and burros! The first burro I saw I thought was stuffed. But, then it moved, and as we crawled through the town we saw them on the sidewalks, on the boardwalks, and in the street. Everywhere people were feeding them. Most of the burros were overweight, except the baby.

"Will Bray for Food"

"If I ignore the noisy diesel right behind me, it will go away."

People feeding "wide" burros

The shops looked mostly junky and we really weren't interested in feeding the burros in their “natural habitat”, so after crawling along through town, we were suddenly back on the twisting winding road and descending. We found a pull-off near the top and stopped for lunch. Walking out on the point of the cliff we could see the Colorado River Valley and a large copper mine below. Then we realized that on the backside of the point people had turned the slope into a “memorial garden”. There were a couple dozen crosses turned into shrines, some with solar lights and plastic flowers. Some of the crosses were elaborate. We guessed that there may have been ashes spread here, but it certainly wasn't a cemetery. Oddly, there was a big for sale sign on the property, so it wasn't public land, even though it was near the road and in a wilderness area. We had lunch in the rig and drove on down the mountain.

Escape from the crowds of Oatman. Note the drop-off with no guard rails!

Wild curves and no guardrails

Memorial Garden Viewpoint

The descent into Kingman had 10 mph hairpin turns and no guardrails to keep us out of the canyon below. I was glad Greg was driving! He is Mr. Cool and after 15 months driving the rig and negotiating crazy roads all over North America, not much fazes him. From Kingman we drove north on US 93 and had a straight, flat shot to Lake Mead. We checked for boondocking sites along the way. The road runs near Lake Mojave as it nears Lake Mead. Lake Mojave runs south out of Lake Mead below Hoover Dam. The only one we found was down a very steep dirt road with no turn-arounds. Rather than pay the $30 to the RV Park on Lake Mojave we continued over the Colorado River into Nevada on the new bridge below Hoover Dam. I had the camera ready to shoot the dam. Well, the side barrier on the new bridge is so high you can't see it! The bridge was full of people looking at it, but you have to take a turn-off, park, and hike to the bridge.
We passed the dam by a few miles, and found a spot in the Boulder Beach Campground in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. $10 a night for no hook-ups, but access to water, trash, and a dump works for us. Our campsite is in the second row above the lake, so we have a view of the water. Nice, except that the beach used to be up to the campground and is now ¾ of a mile away! Tomorrow we can head back to Hoover Dam. Because we have a motorhome we have to park on the Arizona side of the river and walk over the dam to the visitor center.

Descending into Kingman - is that our own taillights ahead?

Lake Mead

Good exhibits in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area Visitors Center

Lake view from our campsite. See the houseboat!

Getting all the way to the water was quite a hike

Boulder Beach

Greg found out about a 34 mile paved bike trail along the lake, around the River Mountains, and back to the lake again. He took off on that this morning, with a detour to Hoover Dam along the old railroad path and tunnels built to construct the dam. The ride totaled 48 miles and Greg claims it was all uphill. Tomorrow we can drive to see the dam, and then head into nearby Henderson for groceries and to do the “monthly” laundry. Food is running low after all our desert wilderness boondocking. Woo-Hoo! I located a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods! Hopefully after that we can drive along the western shore and find a good boondocking spot. This end of the lake is crowded and noisy due to being close to Las Vegas. The jets are landing at the airport, the helicopter tours flying overhead, and there is the loud humming of RV generators morning and evening in the campground. Viva Las Vegas!