Bullhead City – Arizona – Laughlin – Nevada – 2012 Trip

Lake Mohave - Davis Dam

Red Rock Canyon – National Park near Las Vegas

Red Rock Canyon just outside of Las Vegas

 

Red Rock Canyon - Panormic View

 

   

Here’s pictures from our Laughlin Dune Buggy Trip and a link to my pictures on Flickr as well as a description of our day!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/collections/72157629562141775/

 We hooked up with Laughlin Adventure Tours and went out on a guided Dune Buggy trip through some slot canyons near Laughlin Ranch Golf Course.  The dune buggy’s were underpowered for my liking (that’s what happens when you leave the Harley behind and head for the desert trails I guess), but, you know what? it was still alot of fun.  It was probably a good thing they weren’t a little faster as we would have bumped, jiggled and shook our bodies to pieces!  I wasn’t expecting to go through such beautiful rock formations, the terrain was flat, but we wound in amongst the walls of the canyons.  We stopped a few times and the guide walked us through some slot canyons into box canyons where he pointed out the different plants, types of rocks and the history of the area.  From the guides description of the calvary chasing the indians thru the canyons you could just feel you were a part of the action and see where the indians had a real advantage as the calvary chased them thru the narrow canyons and they could shoot arrows down on them.  You could feel the ghosts of the people who fought and died in the very rocks and paths we were standing on. 

One of the rock peaks we seen while on our canyon - dune buggy tour.

 Here’s a couple more pictures that I took on the trip down here.  I’m always amazed at what we see along the way and how much the terrain and scenery changes as you travel to different parts of the country.

A fence located along Hwy.40 leading into Arizona.

Here’s the link to some of the other highway pictures I’ve taken along the way.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629579904829/ 

 We booked a tour from Laughlin on the London Bridge Jet Boat Tour.  It’s a 58 mile trip down the Colorado River to Lake Havasu and you have a 2 hour stop over at The London Bridge for lunch or shopping or a quick walk around.

 Here’s a link to my Flickr site and the rest of the pictures from our trip to The London Bridge:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629631679225/

The London Bridge in Lake Havasu, Arizona

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629631679225/

RODEO

We went to the local rodeo at the Avi Casino grounds on the Mohave Reservation.  We bought tickets and walked in and spent a couple of hours watching steer wrestling, steer roping, saddle bronc riding, bull riding and barrell racing.  It was fun to watch all the talent from across the different states competing against each other.

The Professional Bull Riders Association are having their event on March 23/24th.  We have tickets to go back and see the action.

Here’s some pictures from our day at the rodeo and a link to my Rodeo set on Flickr. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629219693070/ 

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629219693070/ 

 We also took a quick trip out to Oatman, AZ  It’s a great place to take people of all ages.  Buy yourself an ice cream, have lunch, check out the pottery, leather goods, and lots of other touristy stuff.  Here’s the link to the other pictures that I took while we were there.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629223353982/

Oatman, AZ

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629223353982/

An Oatman Donkey with a very crooked ear!

Grapevine Canyon, Laughlin, Nevada
 
This canyon is located 5 miles outside of Laughlin on Highway 163 that leads to Las Vegas.  Leave Laughlin, turn right onto Christmas Tree Pass (It’s a gravel road, but is easy to drive with any type of vehicle), go 2 miles and you will see a sign and a road on your left that says “Grapevine Canyon”.  Go down the road to the parking area and it’s a short, easy walk into the petroglyphs.  I think the walk back into the canyon is tougher and not for everyone, but you can easily see the petroglyphs without too much effort.  Here’s my link to my pictures of the canyon
 
 
 Mohave Resort Golf Course
 
This golf course is across the river from Bullhead City on the Mohave Indian Reservation.  It is  a beautiful “green” golf course, unlike most of the other “desert” courses in this area.  The Mohave have access to water and are not restricted in their use of it, whereas the other courses in the area have a different mandate regarding water and stick to a more traditional desert style layout.
The Cost to golf as a non-resident of the tri state area is $85 but it is comparable to other courses that we’ve enquired at around Bullhead so the plushness makes it a real treat to golf on.  There are signs advising you to watch out for rattlesnakes and we saw a few road-runners too!  Being from Canada I thought the road-runners were fascinating and managed to get a couple of pictures of them as they curiously approached our golf carts and checked us out.  Here is a link to my Flickr set of pictures.
 
 

Panorama Photo of Mohave Resort Golf Club

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/kathys-kreation/sets/72157629682181527/   

Road-Runner! Meep-Meep!!!!

Here’s a second set of Rodeo Pictures from the Professional Rodeo Circuit event that we saw March 24 – 2012 at the Mohave Events Centre.
 

The Bull

 

Airborne Bull Rider

Cactus
I was fascinated by all the different types of cacti used in the landscaping around Bullhead City, AZ.  I went out with my macro lens and tried to carefully, and gingerly manouever my way around the prickly bristles while getting as close as I could.  I discovered that no matter how careful you are – you’re going to end up with a cactus bristle poking out of your skin somewhere.
 

Cactus Spikes

and here’s the link to the rest of the cactus pictures on my Flickr site
 

Pink Flowering Cactus

Davis Dam – Lake Mohave
 
The dam is visible from the Bridge that connects Laughlin, Nevada with Bullhead City, Arizona.  It’s a quick drive up the highway toward Kingman, AZ and then turn left at the sign that says Davis Dam – Katherine’s Landing.  The road that goes across the dam is closed to vehicle traffic, but you can park in the parking lot of the dam generating station and walk across.  It’s not a long walk and it’s level walking.  I saw boats out on the Lake, a heron, and some small lizards sunning themselves on the rocks.  I didn’t see any rattlers – nor did I want too.  Here’s just a few pictures of the scenery from the top of the dam.
 

Lake Mohave - Davis Dam

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

1 thought on “Bullhead City – Arizona – Laughlin – Nevada – 2012 Trip”

  1. Great photos and commentary. It is hard to believe it is so close to town, yet so remote. We loved the trip thru the desert and slot canyons.

    Reply ↓

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