Time for an Off Day - Ascaping Covid and Winter in Arizona - CycleBlaze

December 10, 2020

Time for an Off Day

I think this call's for you! You can see the London Bridge behind Don. Its architecture, while interesting from a historical point of view, is not too outstanding.
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These California Quail had the run of River Island State Park. I love the top knots!
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Scott AndersonMight be their close cousin, the Gambel’s quail. Their ranges don’t really overlap, and you’re in Gambel territory here.
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3 years ago
marilyn swettTo Scott AndersonYes, I agree. They are very close in coloring but the picture of the Gambel's in my book showed that they have more black than brown on the wings.
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3 years ago
Sunrise on the placid Colorado River near River Island. We're thinking we might buy a tandem kayak when we return home. This river would be perfect for kayaking.
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One of the original 1831 lamps on London Bridge. They were made from the melted down cannons of Napoleon Bonapart's defeated army.
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Now this is the way to party!
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Since we had done a good ride yesterday and had some shopping to do in Lake Havasu City, we decided to take a day off the bike. 

There had been a little rain during the night and I saw several coveys of what I think were California Quail on the way to the bathhouse. They were so cute, running along the ground in a little cluster.

After breakfast, we drove north to Lake Havasu City where we first stopped in Walmart for some items we forgot to buy yesterday. Then we went to both Home Depot and Lowe's, looking for a piece of vinyl flooring that we could roll out at camp for use as a 'dance floor'. 

We found an 8 ft x 12 ft piece of vinyl that should work. I'm sure the employee helping us thought we were really weird when Don pulls on his suede bottomed dance shoes to try out the floor in the store! This should work fine as it rolls up for travel and will fit beneath our outdoor rug.

Next we stopped to visit the London Bridge.  Built in the 1830's, it spanned the River Thames in London. The bridge was sold in 1967 to Robert P. McCulloch for $2.46 m because it was in poor condition. He was the developer of Lake Havasu City and wanted a draw for buyers considering this area. 

It was dismantled and moved first to a quarry in AZ where 6-8 inches were shaved off of many of the stones, then moved to this location where reinforced concrete was clad with the original masonry so it could support vehicle traffic. A canal was created in the lake so the bridge would cross over water to an island. It was completed in 1971. 

We walked down to the lake and wandered around their little English village of shops. It was very quiet as due to Covid, there weren't many visitors. There were lots of rental boats in the marina, including a tiki bar party boat with an outboard motor. The bridge itself wasn't too exciting to look at but at least it wasn't falling down anymore! 

On our way back to camp we stopped in a bike shop where Don bought new tubes and a couple of tires. After lunch, we rolled out our new dance floor and did a few dances. We had brought a speaker and Mp3 player to provide our own music. The space was a bit tight, but our dance shoes can move on it and we can at least practice some moves. We don't want to forget anything while on this trip!

The rest of the afternoon was spent chilling in camp - relaxing outside, reading and watching the many birds in the campground - grackles, quail, hummingbirds and even a vermillion flycatcher! We did walk up to the office later to hook up to the park's wifi and check our e-mail. 

The campground was very quiet tonight as many people have moved elsewhere. The sun sets early around here with the cliffs blocking the light and it gets cold quickly, so most of our evenings are spent inside the trailer eating dinner and watching a movie.

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Rachael AndersonWow! You brought you own dance floor and music! I was thinking that Scott and I should do some dancing when the weather gets foul but Tucson has been having amazing weather.
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3 years ago
marilyn swettTo Rachael AndersonI'm jealous of your nice weather! Ballroom dancing is a new activity for us - we've been taking lessons and going to group dances for the past 4 years. Great physical and mental exercise. Last spring and summer when everything was shut down, we would bike to a park in Denver and dance in a historic outdoor pavillion just keep up the practice. Now it's too cold to do that.
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3 years ago
Kathleen JonesGood on you two for keeping up the dancing. What a great idea to get that flooring.
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3 years ago
marilyn swettTo Kathleen JonesThe floor was Don's idea and I was surprised by how well it worked. It rolls up on a tube so we can transport it easily in the trailer. But we had to get used to dancing within view of the other campers. They did seem to enjoy watching us!
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3 years ago