The fun thing about a last minute change in plans is we get to see some sights we had not planned on.  A quick look at the map and we could see that Lake Havasu City was an easy day trip from our current location.  We had thought about making the trip here when we were in Las Vegas but the distance was a little too much.

The drive up to Lake Havasu City from Salome, AZ took us about 2 hours. The first photo op came early in the trip as we left the town Hope that is right next to Salome.  We had to stop to get a picture of the hilarious sign leaving town.

Sign as you leave Hope, AZ

The next hour of the trip was pretty much flat desert with not a lot to look at.  The ride became much more scenic between Parker, AZ and Lake Havasu City.  The landscape was full of red rocks and mountains with the Colorado river and then Lake Havasu on our left.  The Bill Williams River NWR was a particularly scenic area.

Roadside Scenic Turnout at Bill Williams River NWR- designated as a globally important bird area

Our main objective of the day was to see the London Bridge.  The London Bridge was built in the 1830s and formerly spanned the River Thames in London, England. The bridge was purchased in 1968 for just under 2.5 million dollars.  It cost another 7 million dollars to move the bridge to Lake Havasu city.  The construction of the bridge was finished in 1971.

View back towards the London Bridge

We all had a fun time walking through the shops on each side of the bridge and walking across the bridge.  We both agreed the area had a “Caribbean island” feel to it.  Of course we had to check out all the British sights near the bridge.  The vintage lights on the bridge are made from the melted down cannons of Napoleon Bonaparte’s army.

There are lots of historical plaques scattered throughout the area that tell about the history of the bridge and London.

The beginnings of the Salvation Army

There are even replicas of the dragons that guard the city of London.  

Of course you can never pass up the opportunity to pose in a red phone booth!

One thing we learned about while we were at Lake Havasu City was the Lake Havasu Lighthouse Club.  Lake Havasu City has more functioning lighthouses than any other city.  These 1/3 scale replicas are actual functioning navigational aids built to the specifications of famous lighthouses on the East Coast, West Coast and Great Lakes.  We drove to several of these, but not all are accessible from land.  There are guided boat tours that you can take to see the lighthouses.

East Quoddy Head

West Quoddy Head

We both love lighthouses and could have spent the entire day looking for them, but we still had one more stop and a two hour drive back to the RV.

Our final stop of the day was at Parker Dam.  This dam was built between 1934 and 1938. The main purpose of the dam was to create a water reservoir (Lake Havasu) and hydroelectric power.  The dam is 320 feet high, 235 feet of this height is below the river bed, this makes it the deepest dam in the world.  We made a quick stop here to take in the sights and read about the dam.

Parker Dam