There isn’t a hell of a lot to do in Needles unless you have a watercaft of some sort and even then the river is pretty crowded during the summer, or you have to love gambling. We contented ourselves with a trip to the Avi Casino a couple of times for breakfast and some minor gambling. I mean minor. Neither of us are very big gamblers and we mainly play the penny slots – mindless masturbation and not as rewarding, but not very costly. Located on the banks of the Colorado River, it is owned by the Fort Mohave Indian tribe and offers a full range of gambling options, as well as river access and a huge private beach.
The Avi also has a great breakfast buffet and we went there a couple of times, and for me a first at any buffet ever was escargots and carrot cake, of which I had a half dozen of the snails and a healthy piece of the carrot cake, sandwiched between a great omelet and some mimosas.
There is also a great little golf course where we played one day.
Oatman is an authentic western ghost town and mining camp located 25 miles south of Bullhead City on historic Route 66 and in the foothills of the Black mountains– as a matter of fact it’s also 25 miles from Kingman and 25 miles from Needles and double that from Lake Havasu City.
Over 500,000 people make their way annually to Oatman where the town remains true to its heritage, with wild burros roaming the streets, mock western gunfights on the main street of town and a number of shops and saloons catering to the tourists. Annual events held in Oatman include “Bed Races”, “Sidewalk egg-fry at high noon” on the fourth of July and the “International Burro Biscuit Toss” on Labor Day. Fun, Fun, Fun.
We also took a trip to Lake Havasu City, and the lake from which it takes its name. Originally a recreation site for servicemen during WWII, it was subsequently developed as a tourist center for water-based enthusiasts. It is also home to the world famous London Bridge, brought stone by stone from London and rebuilt along the shores of Lake Havasu – which is the Indian word for “blue-green water”.
One other neat thing on the lake is a collection of lighthouses, miniature replicas of famous lighthouses mainly from the eastern part of the USA, and we rented a pontoon boat and circled the island where they were located.
Summer was right around the corner and it was certainly hot enough so we picked up some corn and made a corn and black bean salad…enjoy
the wooden spoon - a travel/photo blog 