Parker Dam

This morning, Sunday, we started the day with a walk. On this island, there is a 4 mile walk that circles the island and we thought we would give it a go. Unfortunately, Travis was not up to walking that much so we had to shorten the walk a little. Walking gave us a chance to take in the surrounding mountains at a more leisurely pace than driving around.
Later in the morning we drove about 15 miles south to Parker Dam. Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world. Only the top third of the dam is visible. In order to hit bedrock engineers had to go down 235 feet. A road crosses the dam but only cars and pick-up trucks are allowed to do so. Since the Colorado River is the boundary between Arizona and California when we crossed the dam we were in California.

From 2010-01-17

Below the dam along the Colorado River, there is an area called "Parker Strip" that includes RV resorts, parks, restaurants and even a beautifully manicured golf course with real grass. Green grass in this desert environment is a real oddity.

From 2010-01-17

Another 15 miles south and we were in the town of Parker. Since Travis was traveling with us today, we stopped at a Subway to pick up a late lunch. Tom had located a city park where we were able to eat our lunch.