Havasu City?

OK. In a moment of desperation for a way to get out of the cold and use up a time-share week at the same time, I've booked a week in late March in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Anyone got any pointers for good photo-ops within an hour or so? I know there are LOTS of places three or more hours out, but I'm looking for the neighborhood shots. I do not wish to immortalize the misplaced London Bridge. I'll be shooting a Retina Reflex 35 and a Rolleiflex 3.5., my favorite traveling duo.

Hi Whitey,

You're not too far from Joshua Tree when in Havasu. A little more than the hour you mentioned, but well worth it. Could be a really great day trip. Depending upon how far you want to drive, there are a couple good circle type drives you could do into California. North to 40, west to Needles and up or down 95 for a way. It's a great stretch of Highway in either direction. North you could go just shy of Las Vegas, cut over to 93 and go back through Kingman. South you can go all the way to 10 and east to Quartzite and up through Parker. You can also go west further on 40 and hit the Mojave reserve and go south to old Route 66 and hit Amboy. There's a great old Route 66 gas station there, but I can't remember the name now. Really cool sign if you're into that kind of thing.

Hell... it's all good. You're going to have a great time.

Bill

As mentioned, Route 66 is close by. Old motels, gas stations, junk cars, etc. can be interesting. Another place is Lake Powell Recreation Area. Some beautiful red rock, the lake, etc. are very photogenic. Much of the area reminds me of an old cowboy movie.
Speaking of old cowboy movies, check out this link: http://www.lvlg.com/lasvegas/attracts/ghstwns.htm
Several of these old ghost towns were used for the movies in the 40's and 50's. Oatman, AZ is pretty neat, with a shootout at noon every day.

Another place is Lake Powell Recreation Area.

Click to expand...

Lake Powell is certainly beautiful- spent a couple of nights at Wahweap in the late 80's, but Page, AZ is 343 miles from Lake Havasu City! Not exactly an hour or so away. The Route 66 stuff sounds great, I'll be sure to do as much as I can. Thanks

Do you need someone to carry your luggage??!!

gene

The Hoover Damn ? - its only a couple of hours from Havasu

Martin

Thanks, Martin. Good idea. I'll probably make that one - especially since I'm flying in to Las Vegas, practically next door to the thing.

There's lots of cool stuff in that area. Check out Kingman, AZ, especially the old downtown with dozens of thrift and and antique stores and friendly natives - striking scenery all around.

Too bad you can't get into Havasu falls - the water is spectacular.

I'll try to make Kingman for sure. Havasu Falls looks to be closed to tourist traffic for a bit, I'm afraid. Thanks all

Really, I hadn't heard. I do know it was a 3 hour hike to get to it, so I assumed it was farther than you wanted to go.

This link says that access is out until May. I should add, however, that the designation of the trip as "strenuous" probably puts me out as well. I'm a fat old geezer.

As you are flying into Las Vegas you might try the western Grand Canyon area as part of your drive to or from your time share. Lake Mead at the dam is pretty low due to the drought. There is a lot of construction in the area with the new bridge they are building to get the traffic off the dam. There has been a little more rain than usual this winter and there may be more wildflowers than in past years. There may also be opportunities in Red Rock Canyon on the western edge of Las Vegas if you end up with a little time in the city.

Ooooo, ooooo! Can I play? From where you'll be, and knowing you, you might like this http://www.nps.gov/moja/planyourvisit/visitorcenters.htm The Kelso Depot is a restored train station that serves as the visitor center for the Mojave Preserve. I went last year and it's really fun. Plus you'll drive up through some fabulous wildflowers along the road. I looked it up and it's just over 2 hours from LHC. A little longer than you asked for but it'll be fun.

Along the way, stop at Goffs, CA on the old Rt. 66. Also on the 66 is (as mentioned before) Kingman where you'll see the Rt66 sign up on the town's water tank. Classic! Also, mentioned before is Joshua Tree, though it's a good 2.5 hours before you get into the park. So, if you wanted to spend the day, I'd say you could drive south out of LHC to the Cottonwood entrance into JTree. Take the Pinto Basin Rd north through the park. It's a really nice drive. You drive from the Sonoran (Coloradan) desert into the Mojave. Continue out through the north into Twentynine Palms (very large Marine base) where you can continue up to Amboy on the Rt 66. Head east back to LHC. It's a full day of driving.

We can talk later.
IBBY!
Lizz