The Pirate's Cove Resort and Marina is nestled on the California side of the beautiful Colorado River at the end of the historic Route 66.
We were disappointed to see that they were closed for the season. However, next door was the Moabi Regional Park and we found a site close to the Colorado River Inlet. After checking out the campground, we settled in and cooked dinner.
The next morning, Ernie and Cathy met us for breakfast at our site. After one of Bob's delicious pancakes and bacon breakfasts, we drove down to the campsites that are on a peninsula, right on the Colorado River with their own beach; we will keep these sites in mind for our next trip. It was time to hook up and move on to Lake Havasu, only 47 miles down the road. We parked our truck and 5th wheel in a mall parking lot and hopped in with Ernie and Cathy to go to the flea market. The guys went looking for tools and Cathy and I checked out all of the booths. We came across one booth with unique jewelry made from antique silver spoons and different gem stones. As I started looking at the jewelry, the owner of the booth asked me, “do you have a boat?”. A little surprised, I said no, that I had an airplane. He then asked, “are you married?”. I laughed and said yes, for 40 years to the same wonderful man. At that time Cathy came up and he asked her the same questions. He then proceeded to tell us that he was looking for a woman that had a boat and money. Then he gave us a big toothless smile and said, “but she would probably make me get new teeth”. We wished him good luck with his quest and moved on, never really getting a thorough look at the jewelry, saving both our husband's some money.
Since it was a hot day, the guys called us from the VFW to join them for a cold beer. From there, they showed us around Lake Havasu including the State Park where we decided to stay for a few days. On the way in, we saw a huge snake in the road that sent shivers up our spines. After saying good-bye to Ernie and Cathy, we went back and checked in at the Park. It is a favorite launching place for boats to cruise the lake and the several of the campsites are right on the lake.
We enjoyed the 1.5 mile Mohave Trail that winds through the lowland desert, along the shoreline, and ends up at an overlook with a scenic view of Lake Havasu. It passes through the Arroyo-Camino Interpretive Garden showing the diverse plant life in the park.
We were told by the ranger that there was a 650lb. wild boar, sow and two piglets roaming the park at night. On our first hike through the park, we saw many signs of their presence on the trail. At first we thought that it was horse manure but realized the droppings were from the wild pigs.
After we watched the sunset and hiked back to our site it was getting dark and I was hoping that they only came out in the middle of the night. Running into them on a narrow trail would be quite an experience, one that I could do without.
The next morning, we hiked over to the London Bridge...the same London Bridge that was constructed over the River Thames in England in 1825-31.
This 5 arch bridge made of granite was “falling down” by 1962 and started sinking into the River Thames. In 1968, the founder of Lake Havasu, Robert McCulloch, purchased the Bridge for 2.5 million and moved it the 10,000 miles to Arizona. He spent another $7 million to re-construct, including a one mile channel that was dredged under the bridge with water diverted from the lake through the Bridgewater Channel.
The evenings were lovely and we loved sitting outside looking at the lake by the fire.
Our only complaint was a noisy ferry that ran 24 hours a day from Lake Havasu to a casino on the California side of the lake and back. We are used to ferries on Lake Champlain, but they are quiet compared to these. On our last morning, we overheard our neighbor tell the ranger that when he came out of his tent during the night, he saw the wild pigs down by the lake and trail, just a few yards from our site. Time to move on!
Click HERE to see where we are.
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