Lake Havasu City, Az
On our way to Lake Havasu City we stopped for the night in Quartzsite, AZ. We spent the night on BLM land off of Plomosa Rd about 2 miles from where we spent 2 weeks in January. This one night stopover was a milestone for us because it was the first time we spent the night with the 5th wheel still connected to the truck. We’ve seen many folks do this but haven’t gotten the nerve to do it ourselves. With our good friends spending the night right next door we felt safe giving it a try. We did lower the leveling jacks for stability and the rig was perfectly level so there really was no issue.
After checking in on Monday at the Rodeo Grounds in Lake Havasu City for Winter Blast 2019, we met several new friends that were also with the Boomers group. The size of our spot was barely big enough for the 5th wheel and as we were getting setup, the folks next to us were just arriving. They were two sisters that were recently retired from teaching and had a relatively short RV. Dan asked them nicely if they could keep their RV towards the back of the space and allow us to park our truck in front of their rig. They said “No problem.” and we had 2 new friends just like that. In true Boomer fashion, there was a happy hour at 4:00 pm for all to gather and get to know each other more. This is a wonderful tradition that the Boomers have whenever there is a gathering like this.
Across the road from the rodeo grounds where we were camped is the SARA park hiking trails. We ventured out on the trails on Tuesday morning to hike to the top of the small mountains to get a view of the surroundings. Along the way we met up with a nice gentleman named Paul who helped us navigate to the top. He spends his winters here and hikes these trails 3 or 4 times a week to keep in shape. We guesstimate that he is in his early to mid 70’s. At the top of the trail is a picnic table that had found its way up there somehow. Paul was kind enough to use Dan’s cell phone to take a picture of us sitting on the table. He walked back down with us and when we came to a fork in the trail he asked if we had an extra 20 minutes or so because further along the ridge we would have a good chance to see long horn sheep. As it were, we were already be a bit late for Amy to make a trip to town to visit a quilt shop or two so we told him we would likely return later in the week to see the sheep.
Wednesday was an adventure-filled day going off road riding with Jim and Corinne in their Jeep Grand Cherokee. The trail we took ended up being more than was bargained for and we often wondered whether we would make it or not. I think the only one that wasn’t too worried was Jim, so it was a good thing he was doing the driving. At one point we stopped so Dan and Jim could strap our GoPro camera to the passenger side mirror of the Jeep to try and capture the excitement of the ride. We finally made it out, traveling over 34 miles at an average speed just over 5 mph. It was quite the adventure!
Wednesday night brought the beginning of the multi-night fireworks show, the reason we were here in the first place. This first night is when the amateurs fired off the fireworks they had made and some of them did not quite do what they were supposed to. On several occasions there wasn’t enough propulsion to get the firework to the desired height and the explosion would occur after it had fallen back to earth. This did not seem to bother anyone as there was hardly any pause in the action when this obvious failure would occur.
Thursday was a complete washout. For the second time in a month we spent a day in the desert where it rarely rains and experienced close to an inch of rain. They announced that the evening’s show would be canceled and what was to be fired off would be mixed in with shows on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, the Boomers were planning a gathering at the Mudshark Brewery at 2:00 PM. We joined Jim and Corinne and went into town early to check out the London Bridge, which was purchased from London by Lake Havasu City and moved to this location. We walked across the bridge and had lunch at yet another brewery. The calzones were excellent as was the beer. We left there and made it to the gathering place in time to hook up with the group of new friends we were camping with. One retired couple that was with us has a daughter that is part of the company putting on the fireworks shows and she joined us for a while. Listening to her tell us how the things work was fascinating. We had a greater appreciation for the show we saw later that night.
On Saturday morning we took another hike to see if we could locate the long horn sheep. As we approached the area where the sheep were likely to be we crossed paths with Paul, the gentleman that hiked with us on Tuesday. He pointed out where we could see the sheep and said we could get much closer if we continued along the trail. We parted ways and made our way to the area of the trail where it was easiest to see the sheep and get a few pictures. Later that afternoon we had a barbecue dinner put on, in part, by the Sea Scouts of Lake Havasu City. The food was ok but the ice cream stand with homemade ice cream was just what the doctor ordered. Evening brought on more fireworks.
On Sunday we enjoyed a pancake breakfast put on by the Sea Scouts and then we traveled into town to fill up the truck in anticipation of our departure on Monday. Dan likes to fill the truck up before each departure to avoid having to go into a gas station with the RV in tow. That afternoon we got together with the 2 other couples we traveled here with, Jim and Corinne along with Paul and Kay, for a community dinner where everyone brought something made in their Instant Pot. Amy made zuppa toscana soup that we had once before. Along with the soup we had chicken, mashed potatoes and a variety of vegetables. The meal was awesome!
The weather had cooled down significantly so we all gathered in Paul and Kay’s rig after dark for what little fireworks were being displayed. We all returned to our own rigs just before 9:00 PM and we weren’t inside more than 10 minutes when the fireworks got big and very loud. we were 1/2 mile from where they were being fired off and the sound waves would rock the RV. Falling to sleep with those going off late into the night was a challenge. We think they were trying to get rid of all the stuff they brought with them to the show so it was lasting late into the night.
This was definitely a unique experience and Amy thinks she would like to do it again sometime. There is a lot to see in and around Lake Havasu City that we did not do this time so it may be in our future to visit Winter Blast in Lake Havasu City again.
Great post!!!! Love the picture of the fireworks reflecting off your RV (I may want to borrow that…we’ll talk). It’s amazing how we can attend the same event and have similar and yet different experiences. I’m loving this life!
Nice synopsis of your visit. I enjoy traveling vicariously through your adventures via the posts. The fireworks shows sound wonderful. Glad you are meeting new people and enjoying drinking beer and eating ice cream across the country! (Recurring theme 😉)
I’d be interested to hear who has the best ice cream!
What a variety of experiences you are all having! Seeing the long horn sheep must have been such a treat (I remember seeing similar animals on the cliffs when I was in Israel – sure footed creatures)!. Glad you had another wonderful pit stop!