BULLHEAD CITY – Feb. 16-22, 2021

On February 16, I headed south in search of warmer weather and my first stop was Bullhead City, Arizona. Davis Camp is a county park with a nice RV park on the Colorado River. Most sites are full hook-up but there are also dry camping (no hook-ups) directly on the waterfront. I, of course, always opt for a full-service RV site. The weather was spectacular with sunshine, warm temps and the palm trees didn’t hurt, either. Bullhead City doesn’t have much to offer other than numerous box stores, chain restaurants, and water taxi services to the Nevada and casinos on the opposite side of the river. Since there wasn’t anything to do, I just relaxed and enjoyed the warmth along with a good book.

Dry camping site directly on the Colorado River.

My corner site at Davis Camp County Park in Bullhead City, Arizona.

Convenient water taxis service the Nevada casinos across the Colorado River from Bullhead City.

EHRENBERG – Feb. 22-Mar. 1, 2021

From Bullhead City, I moved even farther (125 miles) south of Bullhead City to Ehrenberg, Arizona. I chose this location because it was pretty far south and therefore, warm but not all the way to Yuma, which is too crowded for my taste. The Palms at River Edge RV Park was also on the Colorado River but this time California was across the border. The main attractions here are jet skiing and off-roading with ATVs on the surrounding sand dunes. Since I do neither, I just chilled in the warmth and sunshine for a week. 

My site at The Palms at River Edge in Ehrenburg, Arizona.

The beachfront at the RV park.

Jet skiing on the Colorado River.

By far, the biggest draw here is off-roading on the nearby sand dunes in ATVs. Almost everyone here had at least one of these vehicles.

KINGMAN – Mar. 1-15, 2021

On March 1, I returned to Kingman for a two-week stay because Mark had planned to fly out and stay a week. This is an area of Arizona he’s wanted to explore and it’s not far from Las Vegas Airport. I booked a beautiful deluxe patio site at the same Kingman KOA I stayed at the month before complete with outdoor furniture and a gas grill to make Mark’s stay that much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, work interfered with him taking time off so I flew to New Jersey for a week, instead. 

My deluxe patio site at the KOA in Kingman, Arizona.

The view of mountains from the campground.

PRESCOTT – Mar. 15-22, 2021

Prescott is a place people have been telling me to visit for years. It’s a very pretty part of Arizona far enough north to be out of the desert but not so far that the weather gets bad. Downtown Prescott is charming with bars, restaurants, and shops surrounding the town square. I stayed a week at Point of Rocks RV Campground, just north of Prescott. Next door to the campground is Watson Lake Park with a large lake popular for fishing and kayaking along with hiking trails through, up, and over interesting rock formations. Just west of town is Thumb Butte, an interesting rock formation reminiscent of Devil’s Tower but smaller. Here, again, are numerous hiking opportunities.

My site at Point of Rocks RV Campground in Prescott, Arizona.

One morning, I awoke to this surprise dusting of snow.

Downtown Prescott, Arizona.

The hiking trail around the base of Thumb Butte in Prescott, Arizona.

Thumb Butte reminds me of a mini Devil’s Tower.

Watson Lake in Prescott, Arizona is popular with kayakers.

Hiking the rocks in Watson Lake Park. Can I call this rock climbing?

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK – Mar. 22-Apr. 1, 2021

I visited the Grand Canyon with my family as a child and was excited to return. It’s definitely one of the top national parks that everyone should see. I stayed for 10 days inside the park at Trailer Village RV Park, which is one of the few national park campgrounds with full hookups for RVs. There are two entrances to the park: one from the south and one from the east through an Indian reservation. The eastern one was closed due to COVID so all visitors had to drive to Flagstaff, then north, creating long delays at the park gate. The eastern exit was supposed to be my route to my next destination but because of this detour, I was forced to drive an extra 90 minutes and 85 miles.

Inside the park, it’s very easy to find your way around and most canyon viewing areas were within a few minutes of my campground. This place is truly breathtaking and even more so from a helicopter. I booked a tour with Maverick Helicopter Tours located in Tusayan, just south of the park gate. $300 got me a 45-minute ride across the south rim to the east, over to the north rim, then west and back across the canyon. This was definitely a bucket list item for me!

The road leading to the east entrance to Grand Canyon National Park was closed due to COVID, forcing all visitors to use the south entrance, which caused huge traffic backups every day.

Sitting in traffic is never fun but strangely, this was the only place I could get WiFi from my hotspot so I brought my laptop anytime I left the park so I could upload photos to Facebook.

My campsite at Trailer Village RV Park in Grand Canyon National Park.

Being springtime, the weather was unpredictable and snowed three of the first four days I was here, adding an interesting element to photographing the canyon. Light snow can enhance the terrain by highlighting the texture of the rocks.

Click on the image to watch a video of snowfall and clouds at the Grand Canyon. There’s a constant updraft so the snow was falling up instead of down.

Here I am with the helicopter I flew in over the Grand Canyon.

Click on the image to see how it feels to fly over the rim of the Grand Canyon.

View of the canyon from the air.

Miscellaneous scenes from around the canyon rim:

The Colorado River.

The switchback trail running diagonally through this photo is the hiking trail to the bottom of the Canyon. The trail is 9.5 miles with an elevation change of 4,300 feet. It generally takes 3 to 5 hours to hike down and 5 to 9 hours to come back up. It’s only recommended for serious hikers in good physical condition.

The March full moon rose at dusk, making for awesome views of the moon and canyon.

I saw quite a few elk in the park, mostly within the campground.

PAGE – Apr. 1-8, 2021

Page, Arizona is close to the Utah border, on the southern shore of Lake Powell and its greatest claim to fame is the “Horseshoe Bend” of the Colorado River. I stayed a week at Page Lake Powell Campground, which was a very nice location and had the cutest covered wagon cabin rentals. Horseshoe Bend has a large parking lot that costs $10.00 and an easy walk to the rim.

My campsite at Page Lake Powell Campground in Page, Arizona.

The covered wagons are cabin rentals at Page Lake Powell Campground in Page, Arizona.

Horseshoe Bend with some boat traffic.

My shadow at the edge of the rim overlooking Horseshoe Bend.

Lake Powell. The entire western United States is suffering from a drought and the water in Lake Powell is so low marinas have had to move their docks to keep boats afloat.

After my seven weeks in Arizona, I was excited to begin my six-week tour of Utah’s five national parks so stay tuned.

My 910-mile route from southern Nevada, down the western edge of Arizona, back up to Kingman then over to Prescott, up to the Grand Canyon, and a detoured route to Page by way of Flagstaff.

Next post: Utah’s Five National Parks.

My name is Lindsay Reed and I’m a photographer and retired graphic artist with a passion for both lighthouses and road trips. I am living as a full-time solo RVer in my 33 foot Grand Design Reflection Fifth Wheel trailer and have spent the past four years traveling the U.S. and Canada photographing not only lighthouses but everything else there is to see in this wonderful land. I hope you enjoy my blog and will follow my adventures in the months and years ahead.