The Long and Winding Road from California to Washington, Part 5: Granite Mountain Hot Shots, Quartzsite, London Bridge, Goodbye Arizona
October 14, 2021
We worked with the realization that we needed to begin the northern part of our trek and head for Washington and Doug's kids. So our last morning in Arizona found us up early and ready to drive. First coffee, so back to Prescott and a nice coffee shop where we warmed with coffee and the sun on their patio. Then off we went, heading southwest.
Wait, didn't we say we needed to go north? One of those "you gotta go southwest to go north things," but then, what else is new with us?
Over the next three years, a new channel was dredged to flow under the bridge, and the bridge was reassembled, stone by numbered stone, over a steel framework.
In October 1971, vehicles and pedestrians began to traverse the London Bridge again, not over the River Thames, but over the new channel to an island in the Colorado River.
We, of course, chose to walk across the bridge.
Once we returned to the mainland, we discovered the staircase down to the water.
After a week of meandering and discovering, it was time to leave Arizona. But we'll come back, to places where we'd like to spend more time and to discover places yet unexplored. We found ourselves with almost 200 miles (on top of the 230 we'd already driven) and another 3 hours of driving ahead of us to reach Barstow CA for the night.
What was that we said about the 300 miles or 3:00 PM rule? But the kids were calling, and it was time to head north for real now. No more meandering detours...well, at least not as many....
Statue at Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park.
We worked with the realization that we needed to begin the northern part of our trek and head for Washington and Doug's kids. So our last morning in Arizona found us up early and ready to drive. First coffee, so back to Prescott and a nice coffee shop where we warmed with coffee and the sun on their patio. Then off we went, heading southwest.
Wait, didn't we say we needed to go north? One of those "you gotta go southwest to go north things," but then, what else is new with us?
Arizona Day 7: Granite Mountain Hot Shots Memorial, Quartzsite, London Bridge
An hour from Prescott, we came upon the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park. Must say it was rather sobering.
On a clear sunny day, it was a palpably tragic memorial. It was also a sobering reminder of the dangers that thousands of firefighters and fire support crews face, with little chance to rest and recuperate, amid the increasingly numerous and dangerous wildfires brought by worldwide climate change and drought. We owe them a lot.
After the memorial, we were off for a quick pass through Quartzsite, which wouldn't take us far out of the way to our destination of Lake Havasu City. Unfortunately, when we came to I-10, Doug took the east onramp instead of west. So much for the pilot skills.... Then to add insult, the next exit was 14 miles down the road. Sometimes meandering isn't intentional.
Once back on I-10 in the correct direction, we headed to what is labeled the ultimate desert home of snowbirds: Quartzsite, Arizona. RVs of every shape, size, and age park in campgrounds in town,fd while others prefer the open desert where camping is free. Often you will find them circled round like wagon trains.
19 of the 20 firefighters of the tight-knit Granite Mountain Hotshots, aged 21 to 43, lost their lives in the Yarnell Hill Fire on June 30, 2013, in their emergency shelters, unable to survive the intensity of the lightning-caused fire.
Our last descent to sea level in Arizona was a wonderful winding road, reminiscent of one of our favorite roads, the Moki Dugway, in southern Utah.
After the memorial, we were off for a quick pass through Quartzsite, which wouldn't take us far out of the way to our destination of Lake Havasu City. Unfortunately, when we came to I-10, Doug took the east onramp instead of west. So much for the pilot skills.... Then to add insult, the next exit was 14 miles down the road. Sometimes meandering isn't intentional.
Arizona's mountains always please with their points, blobs, and swoops rising up from the desert.
Once back on I-10 in the correct direction, we headed to what is labeled the ultimate desert home of snowbirds: Quartzsite, Arizona. RVs of every shape, size, and age park in campgrounds in town,fd while others prefer the open desert where camping is free. Often you will find them circled round like wagon trains.
The desert around Quartzsite AZ in winter.
Quartzsite is also known for Bob Wells, whom many of us read of or saw in the movie Nomadland. His YouTube channel and Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) are watched and attended by thousands to learn about RV living and van life on the cheap. In 2018, the New York Times called the RTR "the real Burning Man."
As we drove through we noticed that Snowbirds were beginning to arrive. For us, it was time to get out of town and find the London Bridge. Doug wanted to see it for reasons he is still working on explaining, but we found it to actually be interesting.
After some inadvertent detours, we found parking in Lake Havasu City below the London Bridge. The trick then was to find a way up to it. We saw another couple, similarly perplexed, start cross country up the bank, so why not, up the dirt path we went, too.
Lake Havasu City was founded in 1963 by Robert McCulloch and C.V. Wood, the former known for McCulloch chainsaws and the latter for being the designer of Disneyland. In 1968, McCulloch bought the London Bridge, which had been in use since 1831 and had been sinking slowly into the Thames River since the advent of the automobile.
Before dismantling the bridge, the stones were individually numbered. Then they and the original lampposts were shipped via the Panama Canal to Long Beach CA, then trucked to Arizona.
After some inadvertent detours, we found parking in Lake Havasu City below the London Bridge. The trick then was to find a way up to it. We saw another couple, similarly perplexed, start cross country up the bank, so why not, up the dirt path we went, too.
London Bridge, Lake Havasu City AZ
Lake Havasu City was founded in 1963 by Robert McCulloch and C.V. Wood, the former known for McCulloch chainsaws and the latter for being the designer of Disneyland. In 1968, McCulloch bought the London Bridge, which had been in use since 1831 and had been sinking slowly into the Thames River since the advent of the automobile.
Before dismantling the bridge, the stones were individually numbered. Then they and the original lampposts were shipped via the Panama Canal to Long Beach CA, then trucked to Arizona.
Lampposts were part of original London Bridge.
Over the next three years, a new channel was dredged to flow under the bridge, and the bridge was reassembled, stone by numbered stone, over a steel framework.
A new channel was dredged to flow under the rebuilt London Bridge.
The bridge was reconstructed over a steel framework.
Each stone had been individually numbered when the bridge was disassembled in London for shipment to Lake Havasu City.
In October 1971, vehicles and pedestrians began to traverse the London Bridge again, not over the River Thames, but over the new channel to an island in the Colorado River.
We, of course, chose to walk across the bridge.
British and American flags alternate the length of the bridge.
Marilyn at bottom of staircase.
At least in Lake Havasu City, British-American friendship is thoroughly intact.
After a week of meandering and discovering, it was time to leave Arizona. But we'll come back, to places where we'd like to spend more time and to discover places yet unexplored. We found ourselves with almost 200 miles (on top of the 230 we'd already driven) and another 3 hours of driving ahead of us to reach Barstow CA for the night.
What was that we said about the 300 miles or 3:00 PM rule? But the kids were calling, and it was time to head north for real now. No more meandering detours...well, at least not as many....
Thanks. We always enjoy an Arizona story.
ReplyDeleteSteve
Thanks, Steve. Appreciate your comment
Delete