Havasu Springs to Havasu Landing Ride (Saturday, October 21st, 2017)

Today was our second ride with the Havasu SxS club.  So far we have been very impressed with their organization on these rides!  They pay attention to every detail in an effort to make the rides the best that they can be.  Some of the officers of the club did a pre-ride to make sure that they knew the route and that all of the trails were in good shape.  They also planned with the restaurant ahead of time to ensure that they would be ready for such a large crowd.  The restaurant came out with a SxS Club menu with five items to choose from that they could prepare quickly upon our arrival.  Since there would be about 80 of us eating within a short period of time, that seemed like a great idea!

There is a forecast for high winds today, and like most people my list of things I enjoy doing is the wind is very short.  But RZR riding actually makes the cut.  The vehicles kick up a LOT of dust, so it's really nice when the wind blows it away before the next car comes through.  

It is incredible how great the participation is in the club events!  We arrived at the parking lot across from Havasu Springs Resort at about 8:30 and got our RZR unloaded for the ride.  There are usually four different groups, red being the most rigorous, followed by blue, green and yellow, but today everyone seemed to want the blue and green groups, so we had two blue groups and two green groups.  They had us line up in the groups we wanted, did radio checks, etc. and then waited for our turn to start riding.  

Each group will follow exactly the same route.  The ride was scheduled to begin at 9:30 am, and they staggered the groups about 10 minutes apart to help with dust, but also to ensure that we wouldn't all arrive at lunch at the same time.  We were the second group to leave the parking lot.

There was a total of 49 vehicles on this ride, with 14 in our group.

Helmets and flags (red or orange) are required in California, so since we will be crossing the dam and riding in California for the majority of our ride, everyone had to come prepared.

Each group headed down the highway for a short distance and then took the road to cross the Parker Dam.

Once we crossed the dam, we took the road toward Black Meadows Landing until we were about 8.3 miles into the ride, then we left the road and began the trail ride.

Once we were on the trail, we spread out enough to let the dust settle between cars.  Our group leader would warn us of any hazards he passed (mostly small washouts on this ride) so we could just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Desert scenery is really quite spectacular in it's own quiet way.

For most of the ride the trail was hilly, windy and very well maintained.  Some of it was on the side of a mountain, but nice and wide to keep it from being scary.

Our group kept a great distance today.  Everyone stayed back far enough to let the dust settle, but with 14 cars, we were always within 3/4 of a mile from the leader to the tail gunner.   The leader and the tail gunner always kept great communication going to make sure that no one got lost.

 

Every once in awhile we would see a beautiful glimpse of the lake.  A very refreshing sight after desert and dust.

We stopped periodically to stretch and take pictures along the way.

Lake Havasu City is across the lake in this picture.

Then back on the road to continue toward Havasu Landing where we would stop for lunch.

In this picture you can see a boat running up the lake.

Another quick stop to let everyone regroup.

As we got near our lunch destination we came upon the first group pulled off to the side of the road.  One of the vehicles had blown their engine, so the group was figuring out how to get them out of there.  

On these rides, no one is ever left behind.  We ended up going by the first group, and they ended up towing the broken car the rest of the way in to the Havasu Landing. Great to have a group to work through any issues that come up.

Our fearless leader Sam and his wife Sharon.

As we approached Havasu Landing, we got off the trail and followed a wash the rest of the way into town.

We were the first to arrive at the restaurant since we passed the first group on the trail.  We parked as close together as possible to make sure there would be parking for everyone as they arrived.

As promised, they had a special menu ready for us, so that our meals and service would be quick and easy.  They weren't kidding!  The service was amazing! and the food was good too!  Great job Sail Inn staff!

The group that we passed on the trail ended up only about 10 minutes behind us at the restaurant.  The broken SxS was towed into Havasu landing by one of the other members, and the passengers found a ride with someone else in their group.  They will have to bring their trailer in after the ride to pick up their SxS, but everyone and everything is safe and sound, and still had a great ride.

Sam and Sharon our group leaders on the left, and Bob our tail gunner in the foreground!  They made a great team! 

We packed this little restaurant, but they had no problem keeping up with all of us!

Our youngest rider!

The parking lot at the restaurant once everyone arrived.

Our group getting ready to head back out.  

Our ride is a loop, so we will not go back the same way we came.  We will get to explore some new territory.

We started back through the wash, and then stopped to make sure that no one was missing before we got onto the trails.

Another glimpse of Lake Havasu City across the lake.

Remember I said that it's nice to have wind to blow the dust away?  Well on this particular hill, as we crested the top of the hill, the wind blew the dust right back on us.  We each had to stop right at the top and wait for the dust to clear before we could see the road in front of us to continue.  

We saw a wild burro, and in this part of the desert they are actually wild!

Our final stop was on a hill overlooking the lake.  It was a beautiful spot, but crazy windy!

Donna, me and Sharon, holding on tight!

I felt like I was on the front of the Titanic!  Wow was the wind blowing!

Sam and Sharon our group leaders today.  They did a fantastic job!

We drove through some gorgeous landscape!

And some rocky terrain.

A peek back behind us.

Then back on the pavement heading back to the dam where we will cross back over into Arizona.

A view from the dam.

And back on the highway to return to our trailers.

What a great ride!  Our group was first getting back to the trailers, so we had a chance to get all loaded up before the others arrived. We did a total of 75 miles today!   

This ride went off like clockwork! It was so well planned, and even when something didn't go as planned, everyone was there to pitch in and help.  This is a great group of people and we are so glad that we have joined them!