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| Lovely skies over Salome KOA. A pair of hikers at the Buttercup Sand Dunes, part of the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area used for Off-Road Vehicles. Water fill and dump stations allow people to just pull off the highway and explore the dunes while living off the grid. FUN FACT - The location in Butternut was used during the making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi when stuntmen take the plunge into the Sarlacc, a creature buried in the Great Pit of Carkoon, except for its massive mouth and beaked tongue. Jabba the Hutt entertained himself by forcing prisoners into the creature's tenticled maw. |
A few more serene views near Salome is the variety of hummingbirds that arrived at our feeder, the ultralight flying over past our campgrounds and the open desert behind the KOA for walks with the dogs. Nearby is the town of Quartzite, the famous RV boondocking (no hookups) capital of the world and a two month long gem show and swap meet |
| We took advantage of a small but warmly heated pool and spa. We had to swim during the "heat" of the day since the less than 10% humidity chilled us quickly. |
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| Pretty aromatic roses lined the walkway back to our RV. |
Colorado River Heritage Greenway Park, Laughlin, Nevada - 6 Nov 2019
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| Another good spot for a walk, getting us all out in the fresh air along the Colorado River, Laughlin on the west side and Bullhead City on the east side. |
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| A well maintained path makes for a very enjoyable long walk. |
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| The Colorado River is dammed in to provide seven states with irrigation, flood control, hydroelectric power and regulation of stable flow downstream. Ninety miles down from the Hoover Dam is the Davis Dam, an earth-filled dam with a concrete spillway. Its purpose is to re-regulate the releases from the Hoover Dam and facilitate the delivery of water to Mexico. Bullhead City was originally a construction townfor workersbuilding the dam. |
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At 1,600 feet in length and 200 feet high, the dam begins on the Nevada side, but it does not extend to the Arizona side on the east. Instead, there is an inlet formed by earth and concrete, that includes the spillway. The hydroelectric power plant is beside the inlet.
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Airbnb in Bullhead City, Arizona - 6 Nov-22 Nov 2019
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| Two Bedrooms, two baths |
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| Living room, kitchen and full laundry |
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| Backyard with a patio. |
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| An old mining town, founded about 1906, producing over 1.8 million ounces of gold by 1931. The boom was over by the mid 1930s and the last remaining were closed in 1942 as nonessential to the war effort. |
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| Burros first came to Oatman with early day prospectors, the animals were also used inside the mines for hauling rock and ore. Outside the mines, burrows were used for hauling water and supplies. They were released into the surrounding hills. |
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| The town's roaming burros are descendents of the domestic work animals. People drive for miles to see and feed these wild burros. The foals have stickers on their foreheads asking that they not be fed. We presume they are still nursing and introduction of pellet food would disrupt their digestive tract. |
Lake Havasu City, Arizona - 12 November 2019
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| The gate dates from 1862, fountain and dragon boundry posts, established in Roman times, mark the boundary of the City of London Land in Lake Havasu City. |
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| In 1968, England discovered that its iconic London Bridge was falling down. Robert McCulloch, a Missouri-born industrialist, had a penchant for pie-in-the-sky schemes. He had purchased thousands of acres of land near Lake Havasu, Arizona with designs of making it a tourist oasis. He concluded this was just the eye-catching centerpiece needed. Carving one of the lake's peninsulas into an island so the bridge would have something to span, McCulloch purchased the bridge, labeling each granite brick and shipped to Long Beach, California via the Panama Canal. |
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| Shipping, assembly and dredging cost over $7 million. On 10 October 1971, the London Bridge was ready for its debut. The dedication ceremony included skydivers, fireworks, marching bands, hot air balloons and a dinner featuring lobster and roast beef - the same meal served to King William IV when the bridge was first opened in 1831. London's Lord Mayor attended accompanied by a sword bearer. |
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| A red British phone booth, water-spouting lion fountain and a welcoming spot for our puppies at a local eatery. |
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| The Heraldic Dragon boundary posts. |
Grapevine Canyon on Spirit Mountain, Nevada - 14 November 2019
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| Known for the hundreds of petroglyphs, the Grapevine Canyon is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. |
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| This area features over 700 petroglyphs. Created between 1100 and 1900, their meaning and creators remains unclear although the area was inhabited by the Mojave. |
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| Some rock climbing was necessary and ultimately barred our path as they became too slippery and treacherous for us and the dogs. |
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| Fascinating rock formations. Too bad we couldn't have gone further along the path. |
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