Sunday, November 1
The drive down Hwy 95 into the Lake Havasu city was surprising to say the least. We haven't been in that area for a very, very long time. It sure has grown, as everything tends to do. It was fun seeing the changes, but it was really a kick to count the stop lights in town. There are 19 traffic lights in the stretch considered to be Havasu! 19 lights! Last time we were there, there might have been one! Ha ha! We counted because we'd been given a heads up on stop and go traffic. We sailed through all but about four of the lights. Cool!
The canyon is gorgeous with the Colorado river running through it. Not long after we set up at La Paz county park, Geri was commenting on how she could live here! A little place on the river is the water she needs in her life, and the hills are full of color in the rocks. Watercraft of all kinds ran up and down the river, four-wheelers and other sand toys were seen, and wild burros (real wild burros) that came down to the shore across the river for their evening drink of water was the icing on the cake. Too bad we didn't figure this out 20 years ago.
The fencing in this picture ends to the right of this picture. The burros are not fenced in. We only saw them this one evening.
We took an evening walk on the boardwalk at the park with Howard and Diana, friends from Palm Creek who met us at La Paz on their way south. A full moon, warm 80-or-so degree evening, friends in a stunning setting, and the river going to sleep. Perfect!
This particular hill really is that red at sunset!
Bats came out and were everywhere around us! How fun! Dipping and diving for their evening meals, of which there were plenty!, they added character to an already wonderful experience. Though Diana is an avid cave fan, she's not crazy about the bats. We said our good nights and turned in for the day. Great way to begin our stay!
Tuesday, November 3
Before we get started with today's adventure, you gotta see this. Now this is a first. Never have we seen a truck tied to the trailer to hold one or the other in place. Amazing. They have to be newbies. Yes, there were blocks under the left (port) side tires to keep the trailer from moving, but there had to be more to the story than we know and we weren't going to ask. Sheesh! Add this one to our list of interesting setups.
Okay, so back to the focus for today. Bruce was like a little kid going to Disneyland this morning as he prepared to golf Emerald Canyon. He was almost levitating with excitement! It must be fun to get that enthusiastic about something. We've heard what a great course it is from several of our friends. This was to be our first experience with Emerald Canyon but certainly not our last. It's a fantastic course and very challenging. Little did we know! Ha! Anyway, the slope on this thing is 119. It should be about 200! Talk about target golf!
The golfers readied for their round (l-r Howard, Diana, Bruce). The terrific trio! Geri had decided way back that this course would kick her butt into next year, so she was perfectly content to take pictures and tell the story of this event.
And we were off! Undulating greens protected by mogels, and the only cool spot on the whole course was this tunnel under Hwy 95. Geri wanted to stay in the tunnel, but Bruce drove our cart on. Darn!
Check out the layout of this course! Someone did some real thinking. And this is just the beginning!
The deep green, lush course was such a stark contrast to the colors of the desert that surrounded it.
See the two little tiny people on the left of this pictures? That's the green that Diana is hitting to. Yikes!
Again, check the layout curving around and cut into the hills. Gorgeous design but . . .
treacherous! And we hadn't seen anything yet!
Dancing waters looked like angel's wings on these greens.
Speaking of angel's wings, a tree growing at the base of this Saguaro looked cool.
Dynamic duo - Howard and Bruce.
Check out the view of the Colorado in the background and the golf course in the foreground. Awesome! One hits their ball off a cliff to a postage stamp sized green. Ha!
Look at the size of the mowing machine! You could get a nosebleed getting up to a tee box! At times, it took all the cart had to haul us up a hill.
Another shot of the view. This is hole number 17, if memory serves correctly. Geri's on the tee box of the blue tees taking the picture. From the white tees, down lower, one can't see the back half of the first part of the fairway. It rises up in the middle to block the view of the 130' cliff to get to the second half of the fairway and, hopefully, ending at the green. Bruce said it was like playing bumper pool as he bounced off the cliffs on the right side. Ha!
We saw a couple of Roadrunners, but they were pretty elusive. It took a dozen shots to get this picture of this little guy. They're funny little birds.
Howard took this picture of us at the end of the round. Fun day with fun people!
The golfers finished their round, and all were happy to be finished. It had been so hot with little or no shade. No wonder we were hot. The temperature at the truck when we reached the clubhouse at the end of the round was 92! The air conditioning in the truck was working it's tail off on our ride back to our RVs.
Geri's first move after arriving back at the trailer was to strip, pull on her swimsuit and head for the river. Ahhhh, how cooling the Colorado felt. No one else ventured in above their knees. Being used to the cool temperature of our lake at home, the river felt wonderfully refreshing! About the time Geri realized the river had a strong current, she started to swim hard for shore. Then . . . she realized . . . she could simply stand up! DUH! Ha! Silly girl.
After the swim, we were all sitting outside enjoying the spectacular evening and what did we see but a gorgeous sunset! Perfect ending to an awesome last day at La Paz!
Arizona sunsets are sometimes spectacular, and this one turning the blue waters of the river into blood red was exceptional! See that little tiny spot in the middle right of the picture? That's a bat that flew in front of the camera. They were everywhere for a few minutes then gone! Hmmm, wonder why they're only out for a very few minutes. They're fun to watch!
So ends our experience near Parker, Arizona. We're already talking about returning next year for a week or two, but we'll stay at a full-service RV park with all the hookups and, of course, we must be backed in on the river. Outstanding location!
Tomorrow, Casa Grande for the winter. We'll keep you posted if we do anything fun or exciting while there. See ya down the road!
