Petrified Forest National Park

As we left Arizona this spring, we stopped for a day to visit Petrified Forest National Park, located along I-40 near Holbrook, AZ.

This piece of American heritage was set aside in 1906 to protect and make available for public viewing one of the largest petrified wood deposits in the world.  Millions of years ago this area of Arizona was once a steamy, swampy, equatorial forest. The tall trees that inhabited the area eventually fell, and raging rivers washed them into the floodplains. Silt, mud, and volcanic ash covered the trees. As they were buried, silica-laden groundwater seeped into the wood fibers and changed the logs to rock.  Over the next millions of years the logs were uplifted due to shifting of the earth's underground.  Wind and water eroded the sands away and exposed the ancient logs.

Humans inhabited the area at some points in time; a large petroglyph wall called "Newspaper Rock" contains etchings from the past.   Archaeologic remains of a 100 room village built between 1250 and 1380 are located within the park.  And fossils of some of North America's earliest dinosaurs are being discover there.

In 1932 another 50,000 acres of land formations called the "Painted Desert" were added to the park. Sediment deposits from the past are now exposed as distinct colored bands in the landforms surrounding this area. 
The 28 mile drive through the park offered many overlooks and trails to give visitors a chance to stop and see the beauty of this massive area.

Oatman, Arizona

Oatman, Arizona is an old mining town between Kingman and Lake Havasu City, reached via old Route 66.  Walking Main Street is like returning to the Old West...in fact scenes from How the West Was Won were filmed there.  The Oatman Hotel, where Clark Gable and Carole Lombard spent their honeymoon in 1939, is still there, and serves as a sort of museum. Old buildings now serve as tourist shops and art galleries; gun fights between gold robbers and the sheriff still occur on Main Street (courtesy of actors who perform there); the saloons still serve drinks and food. 

However, the main attraction in town are the wild burros. These burros are thought to be descendents of burros who worked the mines, then were released when mines folded and miners left the area. Now they wander into town from the nearby hills and meander among the tourists. Hay pellets sold by several of the business folks will have these "wild burros" eating out of your hand in no time! 

Lake Havasu City and London Bridge

After leaving the RV park on April 1, we headed west to spend some time at Lake Havasu City (located in the northwest corner of Arizona along the Colorado River).  We camped two nights at Cattail Cove State Park, a small park located right on the shores of the Colorado River.  There we watched the boats launch and travel the river, sat on the white sand beach, and walked the trails along the shoreline.  From there we moved 15 miles north to an RV park in Lake Havasu City.

 London Bridge is Lake Havasu's claim to fame...originally built in 1825 in London, England, the bridge was scheduled for replacement in 1968 as it was sinking into the Thames. Havasu City founders purchased the old bridge, had it disassembled, shipped to Arizona, and rebuilt it stone for stone near the lake.  Once built, a mile long channel was dredged under the bridge to connect Lake Havasu with a nearby bay. The channel is a popular place to "cruise" with any type of watercraft, and the shoreline is lined with parked boats and sunbathers. A replica "English Village" with shops, restaurants, and pubs, was built along the shores on either side of the bridge. With abundant sunshine, warm temperatures, and plenty of beaches and water, Lake Havasu City has sometimes been called the Arizona Riviera.