Back Ground.
Earlier this season Denis, Sue, Patti and I took a ride on the Parker to Needles Wagon Road north of Parker. The ride ended at the highway that goes from US 95 to the Havasu Landing Casino on the California side of Lake Havasu.
We noticed a power line road going south across some flat desert and into the mountains and thought that some day we should see what that power line road goes through.
On Thursday, after we finished putting my jeep back together, Denis mentioned that tomorrow (Friday) we should try to find the power line road from the south side and follow it north. This ride will be mostly an exploration trip.
Getting Going.
On the way to the meeting place we noticed a loud scraping noise coming from the front of the jeep. I checked the brakes and they worked and felt good so I decided to go on the ride any way.
We met Denis ,Sue, Johnie, Diane, Dave and Jo Ann at the fire station at 9:00 and headed north toward Parker.
We crossed the Colorado River at Parker. It looks like there is a bit more water in the river than the last time.
Once we were on the north side of the river we turned east.
Trouble.
As we were going around a curve I heard a pop and the jeep made a little jog to the left. I radioed the rest of the group and said I was pulling over.
They backed up to see what was going on.
Johnie immediately crawled under the jeep to check it out.
It turned out that one of the front track bar bolts had not been tightened enough and the track bar was shifting around a little.
I broke out the tools, Johnie tightened the track bar up and we were good to go.
Back on the Road.
We continued along the road and after a few miles we saw the first Burro of the day.
We continued driving along the road and enjoying the scenery…
and views of the river.
We passed Parker Dam.
Parker Dam impounds the Colorado River and forms Lake Havasu.
We passed another Burro standing on the side of the road.
Airing Down for the dirt.
A few miles further we turned off the pavement and aired down the tires.
Once the tires were aired down we took the dirt road to the left. The sign reads Havasu Palms RV Resort.
We took the dirt road toward Havasu Palms.
There is a big cave out this road that we have been to it a few times; a lot of people drive into and out of the cave. We aren’t going there this time.
A Bit Dusty.
This has been a very dry; year it has only rained a couple of days since we have been down here so the trails are very dusty.
Can you see the jeep in front of us?
Ayers Rock.
Patti decided that this was California’s answer to Australia's Ayers Rock.
Havasu Sub Trail.
We came to a small track going off to the right with a sign that read Havasu Sub. We turned onto the trail and after about a hundred yards we passed a fenced in area with a large transformer and some other stuff. I am assuming that it is the Havasu Sub.
The trail continued past the sub station and dropped into a narrow wash.
It wasn’t long before we came to some fun tight spots.
It took a little maneuvering to get the bigger jeeps through but not much trouble.
My skinny little jeep went through with lots of room to spare.
The next narrow spot was even too narrow for my jeep.
We decided to take the bypass.
We continued along the trail, going up some steep hills…
and dropping back into the wash.
The wash brought us back to the main trail about 2 miles south so we had made a big loop around to the south.
A Small Arch.
As we traveled along we saw this small arch on a ridge to the east.
Toys?
A little further along we began seeing small toys stuck in crevasse and shelves on the rocks along side the trail.
Mr. Potato Head.
Past Mr. Potato Head we entered a narrow canyon.
We stopped for a break next to a sheer rock face.
As we were leaving here we noticed this “Desert Tortoise” on top of a huge rock.
Oh! Its just another toy.
A little further we found a Jack-O-Lantern…
and a Teddy Bear.
Then there was a flying fish and what looks like a tweety bird in a tree.
More Burro’s.
A little farther along the trail we saw more Burro’s.
Havasu Palms Resort.
A mile or so past the Burros we climbed out of the wash and up a hill.
From the top of the hill we got our first look at Lake Havasu and the Havasu Palms Resort and Lake Havasu City in the background.
We passed the resort and drove to the top of a ridge above an old mine to the west.
From here we had a good view of part of the lake and a bunch of boats playing on the water.
Lunch.
It was time for lunch so we headed down a trail that looked like it would lead us to the lake shore.
When we got to the lake we found a perfect place to have lunch.
Shade and picnic tables and water to play in. What more could you ask for?
Here is Sue playing in the lake.
The resort was just south of us.
Back on the Trail.
When we were on top of the ridge above the old mine we could see bunches of trails going in all directions so after lunch we headed into the hills to explore.
Our objective was to eventually make it to the highway that goes to the Havasu Landing Casino.
We decided to try and stay as close to the lake as we could. Of course these trails went all over the place so we did a lot of what I call riding the merry-go-round. As in, round and round and up and down.
The trails tend to follow the ridges and the ridges mostly run east and west so in order to go north one has to go west and east a lot.
We would run along the ridge for a while and then drop into a wash for a while.
We would get close to the lake every once in a while and get a nice view.
Then we would head away from the lake for a while.
We crossed one ridge that was made up of fine chalky soil and was very dusty.
A Steep Slot.
We came to what looked like a play ground for ATV’s etc.
Johnie decide that he wanted to drive up the middle slot.
It turned out to be a lot easier than it looked.
More Burro’s.
We left that spot and continued our zig-zag trip north.
Not too far up the road we saw some more Burro’s.
Here comes the boss to check out his girls.
A short drive past the burro’s we came to the Highway. Here we stopped to air up and head for home.
A Wreck on the Highway.
We headed west on the pavement to Highway US 95 and turned south. A few miles down the highway we had to stop.
A pick up had swerved off the highway and rolled a couple times into the desert. We were stopped for about a half hour. Once the helicopter left with the victim, the road was open so we could continue our ride home.
A Stop in Parker.
I stopped at the auto parts store in Parker to get some new brake pads for the front of the jeep, I thought that there must be some thing wrong with the ones that were on there to make as much noise as was coming from that area.
Johnie and Diane followed us so after I got the brake parts we went to Mya’s Mexican restaurant for supper.
Saturday and the Brakes.
Johnie asked if he could help me with the brakes and never being one to turn down help, I said sure.
Saturday morning around 10 Johnie showed up so we got right to work on the brakes. The old pads looked okay with about half the lining left. I decided to go ahead and put the new ones on anyway.
As it turned out the squealing I was hearing from the front of the jeep was due to the dust covers for the brakes being bent and rubbing on the rotor. So I didn’t really need the new brakes but it doesn’t bother me because now I know that the brakes are new and in good shape.
Okay, That was a real fun ride but it is was long drive to get there.
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