To Head North,or not to head North, that is the question!

 

I decided a little online research was in order.

I checked out the weather and driving conditions in Calgary. (check the links)

Next, I checked out the highway web-cam in Lake Louise.

Although both looked like balmy springtime conditions are imminent,  I was still skeptical.

Overnight temps around the Grand Canyon were still dipping below freezing almost every night, so we headed a bit north from Lake Havasu.  We made a short visit to California, and got hassled by the ‘California customs’ for the firewood in the back, but made it to the recycling center to off load both aluminum cans that had accumulated since our last California visit.  They were advertising diesel in Needles for $4.79/g, so that made the decision to go back across the line an easy one.  Cheap fuel in Arizona is about a dollar cheaper than that!  We pulled in to the parking lot at the Riverside in Laughlin, Nevada and enjoyed the view of the riverboats and the nice lush green grass.

It was the same parking lot that we and countless others had stayed in last year, despite the signs.

But this time, the very nice security fellow was on top of it and asked everyone to move to another parking lot, on the other side of the hotel.  He said we could dry camp there for as long as we wanted.  Also riverfront, but the other parking lot is solid pavement and separated from the river by an ugly iron fence, and there is no green grass to help keep a cat cool.

So, after one night of traffic noise we did the long drag up out of the Colorado river valley, and through Searchlight Nevada, and up to Boulder City and the Hoover Dam.  As mentioned by Al of the Bayfield Bunch, there is really no view of the river or Hoover Dam from the new bridge,which is too wide and has too high of guardrails on the sides.

The road into Kingman wash looked too rough for a 5th, so we continued on south on Hwy 93.

Willow Beach marina and fish hatchery looked interesting, so we drove down for a look.  There appears to be a campground in their future plans, but there is no camping there now and no ‘dispersed camping’ as the National Rec site is administered by Parks, not BLM.

So it was back up to the highway to see what other possibilities there were.

After backtracking to check out an unmarked turnoff a few miles further south, we found some excellent BLM land and roads, and a very quiet little spot to stop.

After setting up and exploring a bit, there was a nicer spot only a couple hundred yards away, but the traffic count on the road has been one vehicle in 3 days and counting, so it gets full marks for privacy and quiet.

Next: backtracking to explore the Hoover dam and Lake Mead.