Lord Colliers Active Retirement Life

I left Kingman at 9:00 AM with the desert already heating up fast. Triple-digit temperatures were waiting ahead in the Mojave Desert. I had plenty of water, plenty of fuel, and one unplanned stop in mind: Lake Havasu City.

Lake Havasu

Finding a lake in the middle of the desert feels strange enough. Finding the London Bridge there feels even stranger.

The waterfront was packed with boats, restaurants, and tourists escaping the heat. I remembered seeing Lake Havasu years earlier while flying a Bonanza from Los Angeles to Wichita. From the air, the bright blue water surrounded by barren desert looked almost unreal.

What surprised me most this time was how developed the town has become. Lake Havasu is far more than a reservoir — it’s a full-scale resort community built in one of the harshest environments imaginable.

At the dockside, locals pointed out the numbered stones still visible on parts of the London Bridge, reminders that every piece was cataloged before the bridge was dismantled in England and rebuilt in Arizona.

Into the Mojave

At 11:49 AM, I crossed into California and headed deeper into the Mojave Desert. By early afternoon, the temperature had climbed past 108 degrees.

The desert is stunning, but it demands respect. Out here, water, fuel, and a dependable vehicle are necessities, not conveniences.

Oatman and Needles

The winding road into Oatman came to a halt when wild burros wandered straight down the middle of the street. The old mining town feels frozen in time, complete with stories of Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooning there decades ago.

Farther west, Needles looked weathered by heat and time, though the restored railway station still hints at the town’s railroad past. The biggest surprise was the Colorado River running through town. Pockets of waterfront homes created a sharp contrast against the brutal desert heat, giving parts of Needles an almost Riviera-like feel.

Barstow

I ended the day in Barstow, another railroad town shaped by freight yards, desert highways, and the long reach of Route 66.

At Oggi’s Sports Brewhouse Pizza, I met a man driving the entire route from New York. Like so many people on this road, he had stories worth hearing — proof once again that Route 66 is as much about the people as the places.

Thought of the Day

Beauty can be dangerous.

The Mojave Desert delivered some of the most spectacular scenery of the entire trip — endless mountains, glowing rock formations, and skies that seemed to stretch forever. But beneath that beauty was extreme heat, isolation, and real risk.

The desert is a reminder that some of the most breathtaking places in life also demand the greatest respect.