hiking Arizona – Live Laugh RV

We really enjoy the hiking around Lake Havasu, Arizona. The trailhead to some really great hiking trails is located in “Sara Park” at the very southern end of Lake Havasu City. The website I found gave us information and directions to approximately seventeen different hiking trails in the area, many of which intersect.

I brief Al on a few of our options and wonder if he’ll choose my preference. I usually do the planning, but today I want him to decide the days activity. There’s one trail I was particularly looking forward to hiking; “Crack in the Mountain Trail” other wise referred to as “Sara’s Crack”.

After describing the various trail options with sights and mileage, can you guess which trail Al picked? Yep ! You guessed it…….”Let’s go check out Sara’s Crack!”

The trails are clearly marked and color coded. We take the yellow trail which follows a soft, sandy wash. Its pretty much flat the first mile and eventually leads into a canyon. As we continue, the rock walls narrow turning into a slot canyon. We have some super easy bouldering to traverse until we come to the dry waterfall.

dry waterfall in the slot canyon – there’s even a rope to assist with the 7 foot fall

I’m ready to ~~scramble~~ slide down this 7 foot high slick rock until Al puts the kibosh on my fun by asking the time. We’ve been hiking about forty-five minutes before arriving at the “crack in the mountain”. Remember when I commented in my last post about our time in Lake Havasu not being long enough? Well, case in point….we were not able to complete the whole 5 mile hike due to time constraints and commitments. But hey, we did make it to the crack …. Sara’s Crack 😆

Arizona hiking — Al standing in ‘Sara’s crack’

Oh, how I wanted to continue this hike, but that meant we needed to allow ourselves 3 hours total to complete. We knew that was not an option today as we had already scheduled other plans in the afternoon. Thus, we returned the way we came, enjoying an hour and a half hike. Although the hike was easy, the next day my calves and glutes were feeling the effects of walking in the soft soil.

We returned to camp at Cattail Cove State Park for a quick lunch and shower and then met our friends for some afternoon socializing.

We started with a little scenic drive heading south on Highway 95 then crossing over the Parker Dam into California. It’s very pretty. There are sand dunes, RV Parks, day-use parks, golf courses, and wild Burros. Since our friend Don was driving, I restrained myself from asking to stop for photo-ops. Somehow, I think that was Al’s plan all along. He knew if we drove, our usual frequent stopping may not only have Don and Nancy (hubby too) rolling their eyes but take twice as long to reach our destination. And Happy Hour was waiting!

Ah, but we did stop so I could visit with the wild Burros on one of the golf courses. I may have found these guys to be way too cute but somehow I don’t think the golf course maintenance crews find them very adorable. Nope, picking up after these guys is probably never ending 😉

I know….toooo cute!

“ok, now look straight at me”

“now turn to the left”

wouldn’t want to be the maintenance crew cleaning up the course after these guys.

After the Burro stop (s) we continued south a short distance before turning east across a bridge into the town of Parker, Arizona. We then headed back north on highway 95 where we find the perfect place for Happy Hour…….

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend. We sure did. We traveled out-of-town to visit family. It’s always nice to catch up with family and friends whom we haven’t seen in a while. During our short visit, we were able to share photos and travel tales of our winter excursion to the desert southwest.

It was during a series of conversations that I realized I never posted about our stay at Lost Dutchman State Park. I guess the combination of poor internet and having way too much fun, put blogging on the back burner.

It was early January when we headed over to one of my favorite places in Arizona. Nestled at the foot of the Superstition Mountain is Lost Dutchman State Park. We first discovered this spot back in March of 2012 and for us no trip to the Phoenix area would be complete without a visit to this unique area.

We enjoy camping at this State Park for at least a few days to be able to take in the beauty of the environment. There are numerous hiking trails right outside our front door, and the view….. Gosh, what can I say about the view? The mountain looks different at various times of the day as the angle of the sun and the weather changes. Simply stunning!

There are also lots of things to see and do in the surrounding area. If you’re adventurous and looking for a scenic drive, I recommend taking Highway 88 from Tortilla Flat to Roosevelt Lake…..aka the Apache Trail. We did this all day trek last year. Click here to read all about it. There are some fabulous places to stop, hike, or even paddle along the way. The beautiful lakes are a pleasant surprise in this desert environment.

Some of our most enjoyable hiking is here at the Superstition Mountain. There is a trail for just about every level of hiker. This year our stay at Lost Dutchman State Park was short. Shorter than we intended due to commitments. However, we did manage to get in a couple of two-hour hikes during our stay and even entertain some long time friends who live in the area.

I’ve always enjoyed entertaining and just because we’re RVing doesn’t mean we’re relegated to hot dogs and beans. Nope, I still like a white table cloth…..even if it is plastic. Lunch consisted of a grilled, marinated chicken breast on a bed of greens with a side of herbed flat bread. The meal was paired with a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio followed by a desert of apple crisp……yum 🙂 And of course, nothing but the freshest of ingredients and all prepared by moi.

Lost Dutchman State Park — White table-cloth dining with a view!

After a delicious lunch, the rest of the afternoon was spent strolling the interpretive trail, hanging at the campsite visiting, and watching the sunset while enjoying popcorn and music around a campfire. Yes, roughing it at it’s best!