Blue-Green Water

WE made it to Yuma, AZ!
Next Up:  Phoenix until early January


So after being in Lake Havasu City a few more days, we learned about the area.  First, Havasu means "blue-green water" in the Yuman language spoken by the Havasupai Tribe.   Makes sense.

We walked along Mesquite Bay one morning because of the number of bird species that habitat there.  Actually, we only saw the American coot.  But we also found out the  name of those mountains in the background is Chemehuevi, also named after a Native American Tribe.

It was quite peaceful and pretty along the Bay.

I was really looking forward to hiking in the Lake Havasu area.  But when we got here, we found out that there weren't really any good hiking maps.  I was a little hesitant about hiking in the desert without a map, so I looked up reviews of common hikes on the internet.  That made me more hesitant.  I found out there are not trail markings and it is easy to get lost.  Scratch that off the list.
I did find a couple of "walks" along the lake and with one hike into Lake Havasu State Park.  How dangerous could that be?  So we did it!

First we walked through the State Park.

We finally found the trail marker - it was hiding!

We were treated to another lighthouse replica on the shore of the state park.  The original is in Cape Henry off of Virginia Beach, VA.

The trail went in and out of the trees/bushes and the shoreline with beach.

We also walked through the RV campground area of the of the state park.

 These folks got an awesome site right on the beach!

Finally, we found the nature trail at the state park that highlighted desert plants and trees.

We had to walk through the London Bridge tourist area on the way back, and there was a car show going on!

This one was really fun!

One of the most enjoyable things we did in Lake Havasu was a sunset boat cruise to Copper Canyon.

We saw this awesome view of Lake Havasu City with the Mohave Mountains in the background.

On the other side of the lake we got another view of Cupcake Mountain which I found out is part of the Whipple Mountain Range.

We made it to Copper Canyon which was extraordinary.  It was named for the abandoned copper mine on top of the canyon.  Now it is a party spot for many boats!

The boat went a little further into the canyon.

There is a jump rock there - 80' high! We were told that at some point in time, every boater tries it.

So we saw several more replica lighthouses.  I'm a little obsessed with these things.

White Shoal  - Mackinac Bridge, MI

Pigeon Point - Half Moon Bay, CA

Pemaquid Point - Bristol, ME

Chicago Harbor (and I captured the flashing beacon!)

Grays Harbor - WA

East Quoddy - New Brunswick, CA (and the beacon!)

Johnny got a great shot of the sunset.

When we got back to the boat dock, London Bridge was lit up and lovely.  We learned that the street lamps on top of the bridge were also from England.  They were built from melted cannons captured in the Napoleonic wars.  So how about that!

Such nice memories of Lake Havasu City.