Lake Havasu was created when the Parker Dam was built in the late 1930s. That brought the fishermen to the lake that was created. That created a fishing camp at the current location of Lake Havasu City. In 1964 it was incorporated.
The centerpiece and the tourist draw is the London Bridge built in 1971. The bridge was dismantled and moved across the Atlantic Ocean rock by rock from London and now spans a channel in Lake Havasu. Not that I have ever been to London, but I doubt this desert terrain in any way resembles London. More likely, fog would have been a usual feature.
People have been coming and building a life (or vacation home) at Lake Havasu City for the past 40 years. Recreation is the draw. On the water with jet skis and high powered jet boats. On the nearby desert hills can be found the four wheelers and the ATVs. Lots of those.
With large open expanses of water, warnings are required to mark the land forms that may prove hazardous to boats. Time to build a lighthouse. This one third size replica of the Split Rock lighthouse at Two Harbors Minnesota was built by the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club.
The warm days and clear skies have been a daily occurrence with the exception of one day. Time to capture the sunset. Not a great sunset. So with Topaz plugins and Photoshop, this is an artist's (that would be me) representation of the end of the day on the east shore of Lake Havasu.
From the curmudgeon... When did Halloween turn into a major holiday. Halloween cards. Candy by the bushel. Pumpkins by the ton. Ready made costumes. Deserted retail space becomes a Halloween shopping bonanza for one month. Then there was the pumpkin carving kit. Huh.
Havasu grew up (blew up) fast. I love the water and winter temps there but I would miss the lush deserts near the Superstitions and Tucson... not to mention mountains.
ReplyDeleteDown river, Yuma is beginning to fill up for winter. I don't get it's draw either... other than warmer temps. What do people do there for entertainment? It is so barren, too. Astro turf must be a hot seller in Yuma. It does, however, have a great Art Deco era downtown... but everyone shops the big boxes.
My daughter always laughs and asks why I think Halloween is a major holiday. You have just confirmed it!
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit surprised that you failed to use the line "follow the money".
ReplyDeleteLet's start with Easter. Marshmellow peeps anyone?
Don't forget Memorial Day - Flags ya know.
July 4th - Same thing but add some fireworks that aren't really.
Labor Day - Sales Tax holiday here in Texas, but dang, the sales!
Halloween - Gotta feed the sugar high and make sure there's no slacking on the obesity scale.
Thanksgiving to Christmas - Is there any real differentiation between the two now? Oh yeah, one has a tree, lights and a plethora of buying 'gifts' of Made in China/Pakistan/Thailand/Viet Nam crap.
Follow the money and you'll have the explanation for most of modern society.
Cynical? Moi? Not so you'd notice.