November 2023 – Small Wanders

RV Dog Playpen

by JamesNovember 25, 2023February 26, 2024Gear / Mods / Travel Trailer

On our trip to Lake Havasu we brought our dog Bodhi and Ollie, my eldest son’s dog. We’ve traveled with Bodhi before and he’s always been on-leash when outside the RV. So we decided to buy a fence like we’ve seen around other RV, so they could be outside without being on a leash. Ollie jumps high but we figured a 32″ high panel would be adequate. Plus we wanted to keep the weight down – a 16-panel 32″ high set is ~57lbs. The similar 16×40″ set is 72lbs.
We’ve never used a fence pen so I looked for one with great reviews on Amazon & recommended by RVLifestyle.com. We bought the FXW Rollick Dog Playpen from Amazon. We would have ordered the FXW Aster 16×32″ but it wouldn’t ship in time for our trip. Both are very similar but the Aster is silver & $20 cheaper.
The pen was easy to setup and we ended up using all 16 panels, placing the two gates at the front & back of the RV. Ollie escaped within minutes so we had to block under the stairs where there was a small gap. Using our Starlink carry bin & a shoe storage box kept him from escaping again. If possible, I’d create a complete enclosure and not use the RV as one wall.
When I ordered the pen, I added two (rather-pricey) storage bags that hold 8-32″panel + 9 stakes. It’s a significant additional investment but unless you have a good storage compartment. A necessity for keeping your panels in good shape.
The enclosure breaks down in about 15mins. The 8 panels fit snug, like a glove, in the well-constructed storage bag. Since one bag holds 8 panels/9 stakes, they weigh a little over 30lbs – manageable. Both bags fit in the bed of my Tacoma perfectly so that’s how we’ll carry them on future trips.

24 Nov 2023: Havasu Island Bike Trail

by JamesNovember 24, 2023February 19, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / E-Biking / Sightseeing / Trips

The majority of the trails around Lake Havasu are for mountain biking or quads. There is a commuter bike path that parallels the highway and takes you into town. But we wanted to a more scenic bike ride, away from traffic so we picked the Havasu Island Trail. It’s a popular ~3.5mi walking and biking trail that circles the island.

The pavement is riddled with cracks so most of the bike ride was pretty rough & bumpy. Our Zizzo folding bikes do not have suspension so we appreciated the smoother areas near the residential sections. There are dozens of lighthouses along Lake Havasu. They are 28 scaled down replicas of well-known US lighthouses from all over the country. All of the lighthouses on the west side of Lake Havasu are replicas of famous West Coast lighthouses. The East Coast replicas are on the east side. The lighthouses around the island are replicas of lighthouses from the Great Lakes.
We stopped at the Mudshark Brewery after our short bile ride. It is kind of out of the way but definately worth finding – beer, food, and the view were excellent. When we got back to the campground, we brought the pups back to the dog park. At Thanksgiving, they light-up the bridge ceremoniously – like the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, so a crowd started to build around Bridgewater Channel & the London Bridge shoreline.

23 Nov 2023: Sara Park Trail/Thanksgiving Potluck

by JamesNovember 23, 2023February 26, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Hikes / Sightseeing

There are plenty of things to do around Lake Havasu but most are boating or other water-sports on the lake. We wanted to hike at least once during our stay so we chose the Sara Crack Slot Canyon Trail. Sara Park is only a few miles north from Cattail Cove just off the road to Lake Havasu City. There are several good hiking trails of different difficulties. Lizard Peak Trail is more challenging than the slot canyon yellow trail.

This recreation area is wonderful with off-leash dog parks, lake access and boat launches, and a variety of trails for both hiking and mountain biking. The slot canyon portion of the Sara Crack Trail is pretty short but challenging with some small drops that require a short rappel, ladder, &/or sliding down the rock face. Unlike the soft earth walls of Anza-Borrego’s slot canyon, these canyon’s walls are smooth stone. The majority of this trail is gravel river bed which can be sidetracked by taking the Red Trail instead of staying on the Yellow Trail. Once we were through the slot canyon, we could continue another mile to the lake on the winding riverbed trail. But we chose to head back, lessening our time away from the dogs. Instead of hiking back up the slot canyon, we took the Blue Trail which climbs a few hundred feet above the slot canyon, towards Lizard Peak. It’s a great alternate route back since you climb several hundred feet and have a beautiful panoramic view of Lake Havasu. You can also look down into the slot canyon to see other hikers working their way down & where you were.

Cattail Cove State Park Thanksgiving Potluck

During an early morning Thanksgiving-eve walk, I was told about the Cattail Cove Thanksgiving Potluck. A tradition at this campground that regulars know about. We would have heard about it too if we had stopped into the Ranger’s Office when we arrived. But since we arrived after hours, we had not made it to the campground office till yesterday. Being short-notice, we went into town to find something to bring. Not much was available so we opted for a charcuterie platter. The rangers and campers laid out a pretty impressive spread at the Cattail Cove Amphitheater. We missed having Thanksgiving with our family but were thankful to participate with a great group of rv’ers.

22 Nov 2023: Lake Havasu City/Parker Dam

by JamesNovember 22, 2023February 18, 2024Arizona / Day Trips / Sightseeing / Trips

About 12mi north of Cattail Cove State Park is Lake Havasu City. It is a sprawling town spread around the eastern shore of the lake formed by the Colorado River & Parker Dam. The lake is definitely the main attraction of the area. There are many lake resort communities especially on the ‘Island’. Many of the businesses focus on lake users and tourists. This is a great place to winter.
We drove around to get our bearings, have lunch, and buy some groceries. As close as Lake Havasu is to Oceanside, we’ve never visited this part of Arizona.

The main landmark in Lake Havasu City, other than the beautiful lake, is the London Bridge. It spans the Bridgewater Channel that connects the town with Lake Havasu Island. It’s a somewhat fascinating idea by developer Robert P McCollugh to add something unique to his lake development. Read the history on Wikipedia’s Lake Havasu City page here.

20-27 Nov 2023: Lake Havasu Thanksgiving Trip

by JamesNovember 21, 2023February 26, 2024Arizona / Campgrounds / State Parks / Travel Trailer

Thanksgiving 2023, our sons & families had travel plans – one to Dominican Republic, the other to Arizona. So we took the opportunity to travel to Cattail Cove State Park at Lake Havasu. We had booked here in March 2023 but ended up heading into southern Arizona to Tucson and Yuma because of bad weather. We were fortunate to find 5 nights available at Cattail Cove State Park. This campground is about 12mi south of Lake Havasu City, in a remote cove 5mi from the Parker Dam. It was a great place to spend Thanksgiving and we enjoyed it so much. We’ve already booked Thanksgiving week 2024.
Because we took two dogs with us this trip, something new. We kept our day-trips short and close-by. Bodhi, our 12yr old poodle terrier, has traveled with us, but not for a few years. We typically leave him with family during our RV trips since he doesn’t travel well. This time, since all the family were traveling, we took him and our son’s dog Ollie. Our 20ft travel trailer is just barely big enough for four occupants so we made it work. We setup a 32″x16-panel enclosure around the campsite so they could be off-leash outside. Ollie immediately escaped by slipping through a gap under the stairs. So we closed all possible gaps under the travel trailer with chairs and boxes. We also added collapsible stairs up onto the bed since Bodhi can’t jump like he used too.

We tried to hike the McKinney Loop Trail at Cattail Cove with the dogs. But Bodhi wanted to turn around after 0.5mi – it was sunny and unshaded so he got hot. He’s just not a hiker, as much as he enjoys being with us & discovering new smells. So for the remainder of the holiday, we hiked without the dogs.

Day Trips

22 Nov: Lake Havasu City
23 Nov: Sara Crack Slot Canyon & Thanksgiving Potluckn
24 Nov: Havasu Island Bike Trail

After 4 nights at Cattail Cove, we drove to Desert Hot Springs to visit family, staying at the Palm Springs/Joshua Tree KOA.