Day 6 - Kingman, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam

Well the event is over and we are moving on. We were up early this morning and left Lake Havasu around 6:45am. It was still dark and a bit chilly but in the warmth of the car it didn't matter. From Lake Havasu we took AZ95 north to I40 and then continued east to Kingman. The drive was uneventful. Early on a Sunday morning there was no traffic and the drive was quite relaxing. A little over an hour later we were making our way into Kingman. We exited to Beale Street (US93) and then turned onto Fort Beale Drive. A mile later we turned onto a road with no name and parked at the end. From here we took the Camp/Fort Beale Trail Loop to look for Squatchis' Arizona Counties: Mohave County letterbox. So we started down the trail and began following the clues. I am not sure what happened but I had some problems locating the gradual left turn and then the gradual right turn as the trail made lots of turns. Eventually I stopped and decided we had gone too far. So we retraced our steps but I wasn't able to locate the next landmark - the rock outcropping. Thomas kept going back and forth and climbed up the hill looking for a lone creosote bush. I decided to go back to the beginning and see if I could get things to work out. So I concentrated on the gradual turns - I decided to check every rock outcropping after every right turn. On my second try I found a rock outcropping and stood on the top rock, then found a lone creosote at the listed compass reading. So I walked up to it and found another rock outcropping immediately to the north of this bush - and guess what - I found the box. Sometimes I think that I think too much about the clues instead of just reading them one line at a time and follow them that way. I found a flat rock nearby and sat there to stamp in. It was a beautiful (if not chilly) morning and a great way to start the day. After I got the box securely in place we returned to the car. By this time we were hungry and decided that it would be a great time to stop for some breakfast. Today was a much simpler day - not as much driving and not as many letterboxes to find. So we took our time enjoying our breakfast.
Eventually we continued our drive north on US93 and made our way to Boulder City, NV.

Lake Mead Sign

Here we did a couple of easy drive-by boxes but our purpose here was to visit Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We entered the park on Lakeshore Drive and stopped at the entrance booth to pay our fee and get a map. We took Lakeshore Drive and the turned onto Northshore Drive - we didn't really have a plan so we just drove. We ended up at the Redstone Picnic Area.

Lake Mead

We stopped here and took the half mile loop trail for a nice short walk around a large red sandstone outcropping. This is a simple hike and has some signs along the trail that talk about the geology. We also stopped at other locations just for some pictures. Our last stop in the park was at the Alan Bible Visitor Center.  We spent about 45 minutes hear walking through the exhibits, getting the passport stamps and picking up some postcards and a patch and pin. 

Leaving Lake Mead we turned on to US93 and a few exits down we headed off US93 to Hoover Dam and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.

The Dam from the Bridge

We stopped at the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge Plaza first. We followed the concrete path where you can read all about the design and building of the bridge. This path eventually leads you up to the bridge where there is a walkway where you can get a great view of the dam. Today on the walkway was very windy - we had to take off our hats and sunglasses so they wouldn't blow away. But I still enjoyed the walk and the view. We then returned to the car and headed to the dam. Our initial plan was to stop and walk along the dam but we changed our minds because it was very busy and the parking was expensive.

Lake Mead from the Dam

There is free parking on the Arizona side of the dam but it is a walk back to the dam. Anyway, we drove across the dam and got a great view of the bridge and then we had to turn around and head back to the Nevada side to get back on US93. Thomas and I had taken a tour of the dam years ago so we didn't do that on this trip. I would like to plan a trip back to the area and maybe stay in Boulder City and spend more time at the dam and at Lake Mead and find out what other things there are to do in the area.

Hoover Dam Bridge Bypass Silhouetted

Here are some links for more information about the dam and bridge . . .
Hoover Dam Bridge: Top 10 Engineering Facts
The Hoover Dam Bridge
Hoover Dam Bypass
Expansive Hoover Dam Bridge Opens
Mike O'Callagahan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
Visiting Hoover Dam: A Traveler's Guide
Hoover Dam Travel Guide

As we drove back to Kingman the weather started changing from sunny and beautiful to windy and overcast. By the time we arrived in Kingman it had started to rain - a drizzle at first and then a steady rain. We were both hungry so we decided to get something to eat before heading to the hotel. We drove down Route 66 (Andy Devine Avenue) and found El Palacio. This is a chain restaurant with six locations in Arizona and Nevada. It wasn't the best Mexican food I have had but it was still very good. The service was excellent and we enjoyed our dinner. After eating we set the Garmin for the hotel and hit the road and the rain had stopped. We checked in and got our things into the room and got settled. An hour later the wind picked up and we could hear it howling from our 4th floor room. The rain also started again and developed into a downpour.  Thankfully we were warm and cozy in our room. Tomorrow we are headed home - we are ready -it has been a long and busy trip.

Today's Stats . . .
Starting Time: 6:15am; Ending Time: 6:05pm
Total Time for the Day = 11 hours 50 minutes
Miles Driven = 387
Roads Taken: AZ95 ➛ I40 ➛ Historic Route 66 (Andy Devine Avenue) ➛ US93 ➛ Lakeshore Road ➛ US93 ➛ I40 ➛ Stockton Hill Road ➛ Sycamore Avenue
Weather: Dark & Chilly → Sunshine → Sunshine → Overcast → Sunshine/Windy → Drizzle → Rain → Cold & Dark with Wind & Rain
Temperatures: AM ▸ Lake Havasu = 43°; Noon ▸ Lake Mead National Recreation Area = 62°; PM ▸ Kingman = 41°
Letterboxes Found = 3; Letterboxes Attempted = 3