We took a
morning swim with Jim and Mary, had breakfast at the café at the Resort and
then we packed up and departed Oasis Las Vegas RV Resort, until next time! As
we drove, I could not believe the different types of rocks we saw, rocks, rocks
and more rocks! They all helped create depth and unique colors to the
landscape!
Lake
Mead, is considered America's First National Recreation Area. It is also America's
largest reservoir, which was created by the construction of the Hoover Dam.
With more than 750 miles of shoreline, you can enjoy a day or more here.
Before the
existence of Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and Hoover Dam, the area encompassing the
one and a half million acres of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area was
occupied by early desert Indian cultures, adventurous explorers, ambitious
pioneers looking for cheap land and religious freedom, and prospectors seeking riches.
These cultures hunted game, gathered local edible plants and practiced farming.
The Reclamation Act of 1902 thus instituted the construction of Boulder Dam,
later to be named Hoover Dam which began in1931. The reservoir created by the
damming of the Colorado River became Lake Mead, named after Elwood Mead, the
Bureau of Reclamation commissioner at the time. The newly formed lake drew
thousands of visitors to this wondrous contrast of desert and water. Lake Mead
National Recreation Area became the first national recreation area in 1964.
Today, millions of visitors each year come to enjoy the many recreational
opportunities found within the park’s diverse landscape.
Water
level is sooooo low! Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the US and part of a
system that supplies water to at least 40 million people across seven states
and northern Mexico. It stands today at its lowest level since Franklin Delano
Roosevelt was president. This means less water will be portioned out to some
states in the 2022 water year. As of August 22, 2021, Lake Mead was filled to
just 35 percent of its capacity. The low water level comes at a time when 95
percent of the land in nine Western states is affected by some level of drought
(64 percent is extreme or worse). It continues a 22-year megadrought that may
be the region’s worst dry spell in twelve centuries. The tan fringes along the
shoreline would be underwater when the reservoir is filled closer to capacity.
The phenomenon is often referred to as a “bathtub ring.”
We
crossed the Mike O’Callaghan Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. The Hoover Dam took
five years to complete and was built using three and one-quarter million cubic
yards of concrete. That's enough concrete to pave a 16 foot wide road from New
York to San Francisco, CA. Since the bypass bridge was finished in October
2010, the Hoover Dam has become even more amazing. The graceful, concrete arch
is designed to support the bridge. Its curved shape spans the gap of Black
Canyon. The bridge connects Arizona and Nevada, and creates a faster route
across the river. When under construction, the bridge was referred to as the
Hoover Dam Bypass Project. It is now named the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman
Memorial Bridge. O’Callaghan was a former governor of Nevada and former
executive editor of the Las Vegas Sun. Tillman was a professional football
player for the Arizona Cardinals who joined the Army in 2002 and was killed in
Afghanistan in 2004. The Hoover Bridge bypass re-routes U.S. 93 traffic 1,700
feet downstream from the dam. It's suspended by a 1,060 foot, twin-rib concrete
arch, the largest of its kind in North America, and is 1,900 feet long. The
bridge is 890 feet above the Colorado River.
Just
after the bridge, we found the Arizona State Line sign. It’s our second time in
Arizona this trip.
Lake
Mead National Recreation Area – Willow Beach is surrounded by steep canyon
walls along the Colorado River. Willow Beach is a paddle crafter's dream
destination. From artifacts found along the Colorado River, Willow Beach might
have been a prehistoric trading center. The Basketmaker Indians from Lost City
started camping at Willow Beach around 250 B.C. In more modern times, Willow
Beach became a well-known fishing camp on the Colorado River, and once Davis
Dam was built, creating Lake Mohave, more amenities were added like pictured
here in 1954.
Windturbines
galore! Scores of turbines have been erected and are producing power near the
rural town of White Hills, about 40 miles north of Kingman. The 350-megawatt
wind farm began generating electricity in December 2020. The project is on more
than 24,000 acres of public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
Most of the electricity from the White Hills Wind Project is being sold to the
Clean Power Alliance (CPA), a retail provider operating in Southern California.
CPA and Next Era have a 20-year contract involving 300 megawatts of power. BP
Wind Energy first announced the project 19 years ago. Orion Energy eventually
acquired the project before Florida-based Next Era took over a few years ago.
The
11,300 acre Cerbat Foothills Recreation Area is a mixture of federal, state,
county, city, and private lands. The CFRA is in a vegetation community of
Mohave Desert scrub/semi-desert grassland, with yucca, beavertail, prickly
pear, creosote, and mesquite and provides habitat for mule deer, Sonoran desert
tortoise, coyotes, foxes, Gambel’s quail, mourning dove, several types of
raptors, and many smaller mammals, birds, and reptiles. The Cerbat Foothills
Recreation Area includes 37+ miles of trails with several trailheads. Trails
are for hiking, equestrian and mountain biking. Views from the top of the mesa
overlook various sections of the community.
Coyote
Pass is a saddle in Arizona and has an elevation of 3,737 feet. Coyote Pass is
the high point on US Highway 93 between Kingman, Arizona and the junction with
Arizona Highway 68 to Bullhead City.
Back
in Kingman AZ, but this time we are staying at the Kingman KOA and not the
Harvest Host, Stetson Winery. This KOA is where we will be staying on the Route
66 Yankee RV caravan.
We are creatures of habit and went back to Mr D’z for
dinner. I had the Cobb Salad and Charlie had the Chili Cheese Hotdog with fries.
Since
we travel in recreational vehicles, we don’t often think of what hotel to stay
in. But, if you are searching for themed hotel rooms among route 66 motels, El
Trovatore Motel, is one of the few pre-World War II Kingman Arizona motels that
are still standing.
When
taking a trip on Route 66, motels are among the attractions people want to
experience. This historic route 66 motel started in 1937 as a service station,
with the tourist court added later in 1939, and was first owned by John F.
Miller. This motel with Hollywood themed rooms is located on El Trovatore Hill,
in Kingman, Arizona, a location on a stony bluff that awards stunning vistas of
the Hualapai Mountains and the awe inspiring landscapes that embrace it. In
addition to themed hotel rooms, El Trovatore now has a map of route 66 mural
that will soon join the list of the world’s largest roadside attractions.
It's just an overnight and then we are onto Cottonwood AZ!
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