London Bridge, the original moved to Arizona in the 70’s during development of Lake Havasu City.
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Wild burros and a bobcat..a great hike
Today we encountered some actually wild, wild burros. They were wary of us but also very curious. They kept their distance but watched us closely until we moved out of sight around the corner. We teased them a little (bad, I know) They even moved to be able to see us when we hid behind trees.
The bobcat: we got a nice long look at a bobcat down by the river. He just cruised by, not at all bothered by our presence.
Wee….a slot canyon with a slick-rock slide
Crack in the Mountain hike. The locals recommended a hike that runs though a slot canyon down to the Lake. It starts in a dry wash but the best part is a section through a gradually narrowing, smooth walled, canyon. There are lots of small rock falls to scramble through and one about 7 feet high that we “had to” slide down like a playground slide. Fun. We returned on the high route—not climbing back up the slot canyon—and had some great views of the lake. The locals are right, it is a good hike.
Surprise visitors
It was a quiet, moonlit evening and I was out enjoying the cool evening air. I heard a terrible racket from the nearby mesquite brush. It sounded like elephants breaking their way through the underbrush. Then there was a growling sort of sound and more crashing of limbs. I was spooked enough to climb up on the picnic table but stayed to see what might be coming…..it was feral pigs! A sow and four piglets and one other adult. They wandered around between camp and the lake then came in close to chow down on the mesquite beans at the corner of our site. This park is lakeside and the other three sides are surrounded by city/residential. Seems odd they would tolerate these beasties. It pretty much disrupted the tranquility of the evening but no\ harm and fun to watch. They scuffled a little over the best mesquite beans and the piglets kept insisting on nursing.
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New Bridge across Colorado River @ Hoover Dam. Highway has been rerouted over new Bridge to relieve congestion over dam. You can still drive across the dam after passing security checkpoint.
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Two bridges across the Colorado in the bottom of the canyon for Kaibab & Bright Angel Trails.
Route 66 and a pushy burro named Jellybean
Historic Route 66 from Kingman to Oatman, a twisting mountain road that made the drive as much the experience as the destination. It winds between mines, both small and large…at least some of them gold mines; and through acres of desert landscape laced with ocotillo, cholla and barrel cactus and lots of scrub brush. It was a good Miata road.
Oatman is a pretty serious tourist trap. There are lots of little shops but the burros are definitely their real claim to fame. Jellybean stood braying at one of the shop doors and I couldn’t resist. I bought a bag of hay cubes and he became my instant friend, actually my instant pest, until the last cube was gone. Three baby burros with their red “Don’t feed me” stickers on their foreheads were there too. They were still nursing so they didn’t seem to mind the slight. It was a fun stop.
Into the Canyon
We boarded the “Hiker Express” @ 6 am to get to the trailhead. The express skips all the scenic stops along the rim and goes straight to the trailhead. Temperature on the rim was in the low 30’s. We headed down S. Kaibab Trail before 7. S. Kaibab Trail starts at 7,260 and passes Bright Angel Campground just across the Colorado River at 2,480 in 6.8 miles.
On the trail and bus we met several hikers who either were staying at the ranch or had arranged for duffle service so their gear was hauled by mule. Needless to say they were traveling lighter and much faster than we. The N. Kaibab trail continues on past to Roaring Springs and up to the North Rim where we hiked last week. By the time we arrived at camp after 1pm the temp was in the mid 80’s. We still had a little of our 7 liters of water left. At Phantom Ranch we checked out the canteen lemonade and a ranger program. Quiet hours at the campground started at 8pm so we were in bed early. It had nothing to do with the days activities.
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Cape Walhalla Overlook North Rim Grand Canyon
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The Grand Arch of Zion with another grand arch.