Parker, AZ

We arrived in Parker, AZ on Wednesday...I drove! It was a nice, easy, and short drive so it was a good time to get in a little practice. We're staying at the Bluewaters RV Park located right next to the Bluewaters Casino, where alot of the 'Best in the Desert' Parker 425 off-road race is being held. And it's also right on the Colorado River...beautiful! Our site, which we got solely by luck, is probably the best spot in the park... very roomy and right in the middle of all the activity! After we set up, we walked over to the casino and of course I had to donate $20 to their slot machines...ughh! We ate at the chinese buffet in the casino, which was pretty good; nothing like the buffets at Foxwoods or Mohegan, but still pretty good. Yesterday were the practice runs and the time trials for the race and then all of the vehicles parked in downtown Parker and the fans were able to walk around and admire them and talk to the drivers. This morning (Friday) we were awakened by a line of off-road vehicles lining up right outside our RV, waiting to go to the inspection area...that was how the racers spent their entire day...contingency and technical inspection.








Nothing much for us fans to do, so we decided it would be a good time to drive up to Lake Havasu. We brought Emma with us...she's always game for a drive in the car!


When we got to Lake Havasu, we drove over the London Bridge... yes, the same London Bridge that spanned the Thames River in England. It was purchased in 1962 by Robert McCulloch, who founded Lake Havasu City and was Chairman of McCulloch Oil Corp. It cost him 2.46M to purchase it and another 7 million to disassemble and reassemble the bridge here in Lake Havasu. We parked at the bridge and walked along the Colorado River's edge with Emma...she loved getting her paws wet and chasing the ducks!



On the drive back to Parker, we took a little detour to see the Parker Dam, which took us over to the California side of the Colorado River. We followed the California route all the way back to Parker, which gave us the opportunity to see all of the sights on the Arizona side of the river that we wouldn't normally see from that side.


Once we got back to the RV, we journeyed into the desert to find a good viewing position for the race tomorrow...success! We decided we'll skip the opening ceremonies and head right for our prime spots in the desert with our chairs and our cooler, so we'll be ready when all of the race vehicles race pass us! The race is 425 miles total, consisting of 3 loops around a set course...so if we stay put all day, we'll see all of the race vehicles pass us 3 times! And we'll be sitting fairly close to the finish line, so when they've all completed their 3 loops, we'll be right there cheering them on at the finish line!

I think that's enough activity and excitement for one day...can't wait till tomorrow!