PARKER/LAKE HAVASU ~ February 10, 2007

After leaving Swansea, this time we headed west at the four-way stop to Shea Road and Parker. It was actually a better, faster road than the one from Bouse. Parker has a historic AZ & CA Railroad Depot with old coach cars on display. The gasoline prices seemed to be a lot cheaper in Parker compared to other places – perhaps a ploy to get Californians to drive over to buy gas? We drove across the river and back again for what the kids called our “30-second California vacation.” We drove up to Parker Dam and passed over the Bill Williams River where it flows into Lake Havasu. It’s hard to believe it was the same river that we were picnicking at upstream. The river was so much wider here and swamp-like due to the lake water backing up into it. There are some nice state parks along there, as well as a national wildlife refuge. But we didn’t stop because we were making good time and were eager to get through Lake Havasu City so that we could find a camp site before dark.

When we were passing through Lake Havasu City, a lady pulled up next to us at an intersection, honked, and pointed to our front tire which was totally flat and we hadn’t even noticed. We drove around for a while looking for a gas station – which of course are on every corner except when you really need one! Then Rich wondered if there was a Discount Tire in that town. Almost as soon as he said that, he spotted what looked like a Discount Tire sign down the road as we were turning right at an intersection, so we turned back around and went that way and sure enough, it was a Discount Tire store. But it was going to be closing in just five minutes! Even so, they cheerfully took us in and checked our tires, and the rear tire was flat, too. I thought it may have been from a sharp rock on our off-road escapade, but in fact both tires had nails in them. I guess we must have picked them up in the ghost town? Rich has road hazard insurance with Discount Tire so that was good; and we were so thankful that those guys were willing to help us at closing time. We were lucky, too, because we would have been in bad shape if that nice lady hadn’t honked at us and we had gone camping in the middle of the desert that night, then woken up to discover that we had two flat tires and only one spare! We had a guardian angel watching over us I think!

That pit stop had put us behind on our time, but at my request we took a little detour so we could say that we had driven over London Bridge. Then we continued northward on I-95 which veered east a little bit, so when we got to I-40 we had to head west. Topock was a strange little place with a bunch of white pipelines stretching over a narrow part of the river, adjacent to the same spot where an old bridge on Route 66 entered California. It looked like I-40 climbed up a hill toward the sunset on the other side, while we got off and went north to Golden Shores. It was a tiny little town with one general store, a pizza/ice cream shop that was closed, a liquor store/gas station and a fire station. That area felt dark and isolated, but not as lonely as we were going to get later. Everywhere else we go in the state, there are either cattle roads or forest roads that we can camp along. But do you think we could find a side road to get off on? We drove and drove, and there were all these weird little circular turnouts on the side of the road but no dirt roads that went anywhere. We were speculating as to whether those turnoffs were something left behind from the busier days of Route 66 perhaps. Finally when we started getting near the mountains we found a dirt road with a maze of others leading away in different directions, probably branching off to old mines. The whole area seemed abandoned, and there wasn’t another soul around. Yet way down across the plain to the West, we could see the twinkling lights of a city – Needles maybe, or Bullhead City?

SWANSEA TO BILL WILLIAMS ~ February 10, 2007

We like to visit ghost towns to learn about Arizona’s history and get a glimpse of what life might have been like in past times. Unfortunately, other people apparently go there just to take advantage of the remote site and have a good time. There were a bunch of RV’s parked on one side with dune buggies riding around on the mine tailings. On the other side was a caravan of RV’s arranged in a circle around the site’s public restroom as if to claim it for their own personal use. I don’t think that’s very nice because the restroom is intended for the use of all visitors, not just them. And who would want to park so close to a stinky outhouse in the first place? The sound of dune buggies and ATV’s gets kind of annoying when you’re trying to immerse yourself in the history of a place. Here we are traveling to the middle of nowhere to get away from civilization, while other people are bringing civilization along with them wherever they go! In a quest to find peace and quiet, we drove through the town and continued on a jeep trail which was supposed to lead to the Bill Williams River (named for an Arizona mountain man who used to live in the area) and the remains of a pumping plant that brought water through a pipeline to the townsite.

This area off the beaten path is accessible by a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle. You will find yourself literally driving along sandy and gravelly wash bottoms through a dramatic canyon. Route-finding is fairly easy but this jeep trail is not recommended for inexperienced drivers. We’ve been four-wheeling since our Bronco II days in the early 1980’s and this was one of the tougher roads we’ve been on. It has a combination of rough rutted dirt surfaces, steep rocky places, deep sand and gravel, narrow sections with drop-offs, and tight clearance. Wash crossings may have mud and water if it’s rained recently. Certain sections may cause traction problems. Flash flooding is possible in places, and even in winter we got hot and were glad to take a dip in the river, so this trip is definitely not recommended during rainy seasons or in the heat of summer.

A friendly old guy and his dog were coming back up from the river on an ATV and the guy seemed amused to see us going down there in our big SUV. Although he left the area, he doubled back later, perhaps to check and see if we were able to make it out okay. The river and both sides of the canyon are part of the Swansea Wilderness, which is closed to motor vehicles. You will have to park at the boundary sign and walk to the river (approx. 100 yards). The pumping plant was located on the east side of the canyon where it joins the river. Supposedly if you climb up the cliff you will be able to see the old remains (the ATV guy said it’s basically just a concrete slab), but we were having too much fun picnicking at the river so we didn’t bother doing that. The river was running nicely when we were there and it was safe for even the littlest child to wade in, but the water must rage through the narrow rocky canyon dangerously at flood times. In the distance we could hear the braying of wild burros, descendants of those brought by long ago miners. When the mines were shut down, the burros were set free to roam the hills. We saw some burro trails but never did see the actual animals.

After we came back from the river, we drove around the Swansea townsite once more before leaving the area. We had stopped to look at a ruin that just happened to be next to a four-wheel drive road that went down to the old railroad grade, but we had had enough four-wheeling for one day so we were going to turn around. But before we had a chance to, some guy who was sitting nearby in a lawn chair next to a trailer came running over with a beer in one hand and told us that we shouldn’t go that way because “you won’t get down there without a four wheel drive.” My husband graciously thanked him and told him that we did have a four-wheel drive vehicle but we weren’t planning on going that way anyway. Hmpfh! If only that guy knew where we had just come from! What do we look like, yuppies?

We didn’t get the Ford Expedition XLT with off-road package for driving around town, that’s for sure! We’ve always been a 4X4 family, having progressed from a Bronco II to a Ford Explorer and finally an Expedition as our family has grown. The Ford Expedition is a great vehicle, by the way, if you’re looking for a large go-anywhere vehicle that is comfortable, kid-friendly and rugged. The 4x4 Off-Road Package provides skid plates for the underside of the vehicle. It also includes black tubular steel step bars, fog lamps, special shocks, and all-terrain tires. It's too bad that SUVs are falling out of favor these days due to soaring gas prices, because some of us really do need the extra room, off-road capability, and heavyweight towing capacity that a full-sized truck-based SUV has to offer. Whether you live on a rural homestead or if you are planning a cross-country expedition – or if for any other reason you may need a large vehicle that has room for lots of people and their stuff, as well as good off-road ability and heavyweight towing capacity – the Ford Expedition is hard to beat!