2014 Trip 7, Nov. 25, So. Cal and Thanksgiving in Flagstaff

Flagstaff, AZ Nov. 25 Wednesday

For those who do not recall, Lake Havasu City gained renown when the guy building this city from scratch bought a bridge that crossed the river Thames in London that was being demolished. He had it disassembled and re-built here over a channel of the Colorado river to connect to an island that now is home to condos, apartment, etc. This London Bridge opened in 1971 and is a major tourist attraction.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu City, AZ

We drove over it and took a few pictures. Other than that we did not spend time exploring Lake Havasu City. It seems like it could be a decent place to spend a week exploring the surrounding area. Spring breakers do flock here and congregate on boats in the lake.

Wild burros in Oatman AZ

Wild burros at Oatman, AZ

Oatman, AZ

Oatman, AZ

Our main stop on the way to Flagstaff was Oatman, AZ. Oatman is a town that time forgot. It is a tourist type destination but it certainly has not been gussied up. One of its unique attractions are the wild burros that freely roam the main street of town. These burros are descendants of the wild burros used by miners over a 100 years ago. They are still wild but act tame-until one starts to feed them. Then they gather around, pushing and shoving to get some food (sold in local stores so it is nutritious). We even saw one young girl get knocked over and had to be rescued by her mother. The stores have your usual tourist goods but I was able to find a Christmas ornament that was made in AZ.

Route 66 before Oatman

One of the Christmas trees before Oatman

A mountain view between Oatman and Kingman

The drive to and from Oatman was on historic Route 66, across the flat plains and then up and down the Black Mountains, crossing Sitgreaves Pass at 3550 feet. Great vistas but few overlooks that seemed safe enough to hold a car and still let other cars pass. We had read about a location where there was supposed to be a pool of water above the road but did not have specific directions to find it-until we arrived in Flagstaff. Oh, well, we will try that hike next time. Coming from the south, before Oatman we came across a number of small trees decorated for Christmas lining the road.

Once again, like the area around Niland, CA, we crossed desert plains that were dotted with RVs and trailer homes off in the distance. I wondered if the Census Bureau finds all of these people for the decennial census.

Our plans had considered a stop at a museum in Kingman AZ also but figured we had visited enough museums, etc. After coming down from the mountains, we connected with I-40 and just Interstated it to Flagstaff.

Joyce and Lou made us welcome as usual and we re-acquainted ourselves with Manning, their Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Last time together was house-boating on Lake Powell this May. Manning is still shy but at least does not run away from me.

Thanksgiving will be here and Jude (her rescue dog Lacey) will join us. Two other Flagstaff friends of Joyce and Lou will be here. Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Ed and Chris Wednesday Nov. 26 10:10 AM