London Bridge is not falling down ... anymore

Sunday, February 02, 2014
Lake Havasu State Park, Arizona, United States
I had never really thought much about the words to the song. But it turns out, London Bridge really was falling down. The current London Bridge in Lake Havasu was just one in a succession of bridges built in London, England to span the River Thames. And it turns out more than one was falling down, so the song originated long before this bridge. However, this one, built in 1831, was sinking by 1924, having not been designed for 20th century automobile traffic. In 1967, the City of London put it up for sale, and Lake Havasu City founder Robert McCulloch had the winning bid of $2.5 million. They disassembled it and numbered the granite block by block, shipped it to California, then trucked it to Lake Havasu City and reconstructed here in 1971. And there it now stands over Bridgwater Channel, which was dredged to make the natural peninsula into an island. You can still see the strafing scars from WWII on the bridge's granite surface, and its vintage lamps are made from melted down cannons from Napolean Bonaparte’s army. Brie will be happy to hear that they recently installed LED lights – 86% more environmentally efficient than previous lights. ;o) The London Bridge is now one of Arizona’s biggest attractions, along with the Grand Canyon. Go figure. You learn something new every day.

Lake Havasu is a young city, having only been incorporated in 1978 . It was founded by McCulloch, who owned a boat motor & chain saw manufacturing company. He had been looking for a place to test his boat motors, and decided this piece of barren dessert on the water was a perfect spot. He bought the land, moved his chain saw manufacturing plant here, started an airline (yes, he was a wealthy man), and started attracting visitors and workers here. Acquiring the London Bridge was part of his plan to bring tourism to the area. Now, its population of 53,000 pales in comparison to its 750,000 visitors each year.

After one day here, we quickly realized our campground, and Lake Havasu City, seem to be mainly comprised of two types of folk – old, and boating. Lake Havasu runs along the border between Arizona & California – otherwise known "Arizona’s West Coast". It’s huge, with 60 miles of navigable waterways. And it has no size or speed restrictions on the lake; hence it is full of boats, especially in summer. Which leads to another interesting fact – Lake Havasu City is home to 22 lighthouses ... despite it being located over 200 miles from the nearest ocean! Who knew?? Each lighthouse is an actual navigational beacon for boaters on Lake Havasu, and meets all U.S. Coast Guard requirements. And all but one have been made to look like 1/3 scale replicas of actual lighthouses by the local Lighthouse Club.

There is a ferry that runs between Lake Havasu City on the Arizona side, and Havasu Landing on the California side. At a measly cost of $2 return, it was a great way for us to get out on the water. The only thing on the California side is a Casino on the Chemehuevi Indian Reserve, which explains the cheap ferry ride! We spent about 5 minutes and a whole $1 in the casino on the nickel slots. Big spenders!!

Our home here is Lake Havasu State Park. Located at 699 London Bridge Road, it’s right on the shores of Lake Havasu, 1.5 miles from London Bridge, and close to everything in town. The park added water and electrical connections this year, and we were pleasantly surprised to get about a dozen stations on our TV . We had wonderful 75-80 degree weather (about 25 C) earlier in the week (it cooled down to the 60’s on the weekend), and our campsite is just steps from the lake with panoramic views of the water, the mountains, and California on the other shore. We enjoy sitting in the sun, with Roger watching the boats on the lake, and me watching the people go by walking their dogs. Our neighbors were John & Wendy from Revelstoke, BC until Thursday. Then Roger & Margaret rolled in from Lethbridge, AB. Go Canada!

I think every trailer here has a dog (or two) except us. :( I’ve enjoyed meeting them, and my favorites so far were Benny and Mack, two beautiful English Setters. Mack was blind and so old he didn’t want to walk anymore. He went SO slow, and when we stopped to pet him for 10 seconds, he figured it was his cue to lay down and wouldn’t get back up again. He was so sweet. I love dogs. :)

There is a hiking trail along the lakeshore (Mohave Sunset Trail) that runs from near our campsite, thru Arroyo-Camino Interpretive Garden with a variety of cacti and native plants, to the boat launch at the other end . Roger loves watching boats, which is funny because he doesn’t care to be on them. The boat launch is extra special because it has boats, AND people backing up trailers (another thing he loves to watch). :oP

Birds – some mornings, we wake up to the sound of birds tap-dancing on our roof. It makes me giggle ... as long as it’s after 7:30. Earlier and I’d be out there chucking rocks. LOL. Not sure why they like to be up there. Sometimes it’s the water from the air conditioner but, not here, as we haven’t run it. We’ve also seen Anna’s Hummingbirds (yes, that’s right, they named one after me), woodpeckers that like to peck the Yellow Palo Verde tree outside our window, and roadrunners! They are so cool. They’re only about a foot tall, and they’re pretty skinny, and they’re shy. They sure take off like a shot when they’re spooked. So neat!

On Saturday, we went to a Charity Car Show two blocks from our campground, then intended to go to the stock car races at Havasu 95 Speedway . But it was so windy I needed to tie rocks around my ankles to keep from blowing away. So instead we went to the movie “Labor Day” – two thumbs up from us. Today, there was a Swap Meet down the street. Roger had me believing it was a car parts swap meet, but when we biked by I saw it was a full blown Flea Market! OMG, I almost missed it! Had to rush to cruise by all the stalls, but I did it!

We both have our “busy” projects. Roger has had various trailer repairs along the way, so keeps busy finding parts and doing the repairs (trailer axle dust cap – we have yet to find one that will stay on, so the peach cup taped on with Rhino duct tape has been the most successful solution to date; a leaky propane hose; a broken latch on the shower door; a loose screw on the bbq handle; and a broken drawer slide). I keep re-organizing, especially in the kitchen where we have more supplies and gear than normal. Roger says “more tetris, honey?” whenever he sees me emptying a cabinet and relocating the contents elsewhere. And I acquire new organizational items here and there along the way. ;o) And writing this blog and organizing my pictures is one of my favorite pastimes.

Comments

Lorr
2014-02-02

This sounds like a great place!! As usual, love your writins & pix! re the old dog - get him a stroller? only half kidding LOL

Eva
2014-02-03

Love Lake Havasu area, and we stayed at the State Park there too - when Gil & Lois were staying at their condo. You are lucking out on the weather! Keep up the good blogging :) Love it!

Brie
2014-02-03

That's really cool about the LED lights on the bridge. And that they're remade from old cannons! Also, I can't believe the shipped an entire bridge from London... that's crazy!

I was surprised to hear that you liked hearing the tap dancing birds on your roof... until you said that you would be chucking rocks at them if it was before 7:30. I think I would be chucking rocks if it was before 9:00! I Googled what a roadrunner looks like. They're pretty cute looking, but I thought they would be bigger (like in the cartoon with Wile E Coyote... LOL).

I bet you miss Maddex... I'll give her a big hug for you when I get home tonight :) Love you!

Lois and Gil
2014-02-03

Before we went there the first time, I thought Gil was just pulling my leg about the London Bridge, but what a surprise in the middle of Arizona and a great story. I too took the boat over to the casino and likely spent $5! Aren't we the gamblers.

Sharon (Lorraine's friend)
2014-02-04

Loved the Havasu story. I knew a lot of that, but my old brain needs reminding. Your update was great.

2025-02-17

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