Parker, AZ

We took the blue route

We left Yuma this morning, and headed north on Highway #95.  On the way, we drove through Quartzite, AZ, famous home of free desert boon docking.  The countryside is very sparse, kind of like driving through a very large gravel pit that has a few (but only a few) shrubberies here and there, lots and lots of dust.   There were hundreds, maybe thousands of RV’s scattered around the desert like drifts of expensive trash. On the highway, RV’s outnumbered regular vehicles 3 to 1.  The entire town is based on servicing the hordes of RV’s.  It reminds me of the old lie, when you were a kid and having your tonsils out, “You can have all the ice cream you want”.  The unexpected catch was, your throat was so sore, you did not want any ice cream. The line here was “You can camp for free for as long as you want”.  The catch - you don’t want to camp there.

We headed through Parker, AZ, which is on water/lakes created by daming the Colorado river.  It’s apparently crazed in the summer, when Phoenix comes to the water to escape the ever present heat.  (In Yuma, the average high temperature for June, July, and August is over 100F.  September, it cools down to 91F). The state parks we wanted to stay at were full, so we settled for dry camping at La Paz County Park, at $16.00/night.  Turns out, we lucked into the right choice.  The park is on the Colorado River, with beaches, boat launches, and camping sites right on the water, where you can have your boat in front.  It is also very dog friendly.  We set up shop, had lunch, and I had the usual snooze while Nancy & Kirk went exploring.  I later went exploring on the Runner.  After supper we drove Riverside Drive to Parker and back, to get a sense of the lay of the land.  There is a day use area just south of us, with cabana benches at the waters edge, where you can sit and fish (Nancy), lay about and admire the water (me), or roll in the grass and chase the Coots grazing there (Kirk).  Oh, and the water is crystal clear...

Tomorrow's fishing spot.

Very Happy to be here.

188 Km. today.