THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Bullhead City Arizona to Pahrump Nevada

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Time to move a bit more west and a bit more north, so, we are off to Pahrump Nevada for a week.  We are working our way towards our 3 nights of reservations at Death Valley.  Today's drive would take us up and down a bit, just Man's cup of tea.

Along the way we saw this solar farm (Nevada Solar One) in the far distance, Sony Too fought hard to bring you photos, but, it was basically a fail.  This is only part of the facility.  I know, it is a crummy photo.  You can read more about it here.    (As a gentle reminder, I see it, I feel it is interesting in some way or manner, I shoot it, I research it, I find links, I provide them to you. I DO NOT take any political stands. It is up to you to judge the sites for correct information and balance with your political stands.  This blog is not meant to be, nor will it become a venue for arguments or discussions.  Fun, people, keep it fun!)

Below is a google earth/maps image of this facility.  Whew, larger than I thought!

There were several of these large metal sculptures as we were driving through Las Vegas, believe they were on I 15.

We stopped in Las Vegas at a truck stop to grab some lunch (from our cooler). We sat in the parking lot near the highway as the truck parking area looked full and hard to move around in.  I watched the jets flying in, one after another, and I mean, lots of jets.  Here is one coming in over the truck stop.  I figure those passengers were about 30 minutes or less from slot machine time!

Leaving Vegas behind we jump on 160 and head west, and up, and west, and up, and then west, and down, and west, and down.

Along the way, we see Red Rock Canyon National Preserve area. Those that know me will know how thrilled I was.  Arizona is a great place, but, the southern portions (that will read, WARM portions) tend to be a bit beige in the winter.  My soul feeds on color and light.  On gloomy days I am a bit cranky (and yes, sometimes that is VERY cranky).  Days on end of beige drain my soul, and when I find color I soak it up like a sponge.  I was soaking this up.  Later in the week we will return for a heavy dose of color!

We arrived in Pahrump and after a quick campsite switch (not campground switch, just one site within our campground) we nabbed a beautiful view, which I will enjoy the week we are in Pahrump.

This view is through Tana's desk window, MINE for an entire week!  Charleston Peak I believe, 11, 918 feet!  And, no, that ladder does not faze me one iota.

It will be a quiet week, it is still rather early (in our minds) to wander too far north. This turns out to be a nice place to while away a week.  The campground here is only about 1/3rd full (IF), no trains, one helicopter seems to buzz around each evening, no highway traffic.

Sweet!



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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Route 66, The Mother Road

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

One of the draws/sites we were encouraged to experience while we were in the Bullhead City area was Oatman, and Route 66.  We were able to click both off the bucket list in one day trip. Leave Bullhead City, over to Oatman, south to Topock, west on I 40 to Needles and back north to Bullhead City.

There is the sign, we did it!

This well patched section of Route 66 was before Oatman (while we were still traveling easterly).

After our visit to Oatman, we jumped back on Route 66 and headed south.  I captured this memorial or monument of some kind with Sony Too and a lot of zoom.  We did not stop here, wish we had.  You know there is a story.

Route 66 stretches out before us, down hill, curves, valley floors, beautiful land forms.  Imagine if you can, driving this in 1950, in the summer, with no air conditioning in your vehicle.  A bit intimidating.

Jolly's GPS announced we were indeed on Historic Route 66.  How cool is that??

At Topock, this famous bridge, no longer for vehicle traffic.  This is Trails Arch Bridge which now carries natural gas pipelines across the river.  Google it, this is a marginal photo at best, it is quite beautiful. I took this from I 40 as we turned west for a few miles.

While in Oatman we splurged and indulged and are now proud owners of some Route 66 t-shirts and I am the proud owner of one blue and black Route 66 hat!

Route 66, a huge piece of American automotive history.  (This is at the southern entrance to Oatman.)

Slightly faded, but, never forgotten.

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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Oatman and the Burrows

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Near Bullhead City Arizona you can find the Mother Road, Route 66 and the "town" of Oatman.  They mined gold around Oatman, but the claim to fame now has to be the burrows that roam the town.  Obviously the burrows wander around outside of town as well:

Looking up the main drag:

I think one really should leave this dude a good tip, don't you.  He is kinda creepy.

Ole mining towns have to have old wheels.

I debated whether I should include this photo, but, well, here it is, so, looks like I lost the debate, eh? No, you are not looking at a rather healthy collection of cacti, you are looking at the sign.  In case you cannot read it, it says, Don't cr*p in the cactus.  OK, you have been warned!

Another warning sign:

Sign hangin' outside the Oatman Hotel.

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard were married in Kingman (just up the road a piece) in 1939 and honeymooned in the Oatman Hotel.  The hotel had a copy of the marriage license displayed on the wall,  The genie in me could not resist this photo.

You can draw your own decisions on what this next photo means.  Looks to me that the wild wild west is still a bit wild.  Swift justice and all that, a rope hanging from a very high board.  Wonder who they hung last??

But, really, one of the big draws to Oatman are the wild, err, tame burrows.

This infant just laid down in the middle of the street and took a nap.

Yes, there is a sticky note on this babie's head.  It says:  "STOP, Do not feed me anything."

We missed the shootout show, but, had a very nice lunch and a leisurely walk round town.  Yes, you do need to go to Oatman, at least one time. I mean, old gold mines, historic hotels, and burrows walking the streets, what more do you need??  Nothing I can think of - - 

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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Laughlin Nevada

 Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

Sister city to Bullhead City Arizona is Laughlin Nevada, a gamblin' town.  A smaller version of Las Vegas, lights, slot machines, a number of casinos up and down the strip, err, Colorado River.   Yes, they have some buffets and I did see a few signs for shows.  For the most part, Man and I don't partake, and for the most part, that is because we are so sensitive and allergic to smoke (SIGHHH).  There are at least 2 casinos that have non-smoking areas, trouble is, the smell still seems to waif in, and to get to the buffets, UGH.  We did wander into Harrah's, as we were able to find the back door, which is the entrance for us non-smoking types.  Man took a dollar, I took a dollar, we played the penny slots for about half hour and lost and left.  One night we did go to a buffet (seafood, as in fish, not he sees food - - ) so Man could overeat, errrr, indulge.  Other than that, we drove around the strip a few times, and that was that.

Below, a view of Laughlin, and the Colorado River in front, from Bullhead City.

There are water taxies/ferries that will take you up and down the river and across the river from Bullhead City to Laughlin.  You can actually leave your vehicle in Bullhead City, take the water ferry to Laughlin, gamble, eat, enjoy and return via ferry.  Total time for the ferry to cross the river, ohhhh, the ones I saw, about 1 minute, or less!  The ferry below is cruising up and down the river, I am going to guess that maybe they show tourists the Davis Dam.  As we were not interested, we did not investigate.

The cabana type structures are actually at campsites (boondocking sites).  We did not drive in, but,  believe these campsites are accessed via the Davis Camp Park.  We did see RVs parked there several times.  If those sites had power I would have been so tempted.  Beautiful!

Now, over in Laughlin if you drive south along the Colorado River, and the main strip of casinos you will eventually get to this large (LARGE!) hill, and up there, wayyyy up there is a boondocking area for RVs.  Lots of room up there!

This would be your view if you were camped up there!  Not bad eh??  I could handle that, eh??

You can see this motor home is using his solar panels.  We did not observe anyone using generators, nor did we stop to read the rules.  We DID enjoy the view and checking out the facilities.  There is also RV parking in almost every casino parking lot.  Some spots are just for parking, others are for staying all night.  There is also a campground with full facilities.  With all the campground choices over in Bullhead City, this really is a RVer's camping haven.

The Davis Dam from the Nevada side.  Actually, what you can see from this vantage point is the power plant portion of the dam.  You can read some of the facts about the dam here, as well as a photo from another vantage point, showing the earth and rockfill.

And, YES, there are lights in Laughlin at night! Yes, it is a parking area.  Pretty tho, isn't it??

Man and I visited Laughlin many years ago, when there were only about 3 to 5 casinos, and some of those were still under construction.  When we were there, the way to Bullhead City was a water ferry.  The bridge that is near the Davis Camp Park was built in 1987.  I do not remember if that bridge was there when we visited, but I don't think it was.  I do remember the water ferries tho.

You can find a brief history of Laughlin on this page.  The history of Laughlin and Bullhead City is  interesting and connected.  If you want the Vegas experience downsized, Laughlin is for you.   And, nearby there is Oatman.  There are petroglyphs, the most beautiful I have ever seen, just a short drive and a short easy hike.   If you visit the petroglyphs, you will be away from the glitter, glam and slot machines and gazing at the ancient ones drawings.  Really, it is an interesting area.

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THE Trip, THE Encore' :: Buckeye Arizona to Bullhead City Arizona, Up Up and Away

Copyright 2013, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

We actually cut our stay in Buckeye a few days short so we could work out a future 3 night stay in Death Valley.  First stop though is Bullhead City Arizona, cross the river from Laughlin Nevada.

We took a route that went on "back" roads, first Wickenburg, then, on west to Kingman and final destination, Bullhead City.

We passed through a lovely area chock full of Joshua Trees, but, could not find a safe place to pull over,  I was desperate, there were some blooms.  I just could not get a shot of them at 60 MPH.  I did however get a over all shot showing quite a few Joshua Trees and a lovely mesa behind.  (Watch out now folks, I just purchased a tiny little book naming landforms in Arizona!  Best $2.00 I ever spent!)

That said, I am not sure about this land form (dead center in the photo), so, guessing it is some kind of "butte".

Below, the road winds between the hills, up and up away.  We eventually climb to oh, approximately 4,000 feet, give or take.  Ya, that is the disclaimer way of saying, I know we were close to that, but, I was too busy looking at the scenery to capture the high point numbers on the GPS.

All of a sudden these round boulders and rocks appear.  They go on for a couple of miles, then, disappear.  My new little book says they are granite boulders formed from spheroidal weathering.  OKKK now.  Neat fact, they are formed just where they now lie, they did not roll down some hill.

Now, this photo was cropped, shopped, sharpened and sharpened some more. I hope you can see that sign that says, "NOTHING".  And, there was nothing much here, cept that hanging sign.  OK, I have a weird sense of humor, we all know that.  This cracked me up!

Man has been looking for some mountains and hills to drive with his truck Jolly.  We found a bit here.  Yes, it says 6 % grade for the next 12 miles!  AWESOME!!  He says he never touched the brakes, he had the exhaust brake on.  I thought he did brake one time when I indicated I was out of my comfort zone.  Anyway, I do believe I heard a bit of "yeeee hawww" coming from the driver's side of Jolly.

Personally I was busy with Sony Too, is this beautiful or what??  Mother Nature and her elements, showing off a bit!

Caught these fellows doing a bit of some kind of construction on that steep grade.  Guess if you go slow enough you get up there, eh??

Thankfully, we did not need this runaway ramp.

Home for the next week:

We had reservations at a well rated campground, did not work out as we could not put up with the site they gave us.  So far, it is still not very humorous.

We ended up at the county park near the Davis Dam.  It has served us well.  So, stay tuned for Oatman, Route 66, some Laughlin and petroglyphs!  The view from this Davis Dam campsite at night is pretty good, eh??

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