London Bridge is Falling Down~Not

I had some great guesses in comments and over on Facebook as to where we currently are. The consensus seems to be Death Valley. Very good guessing guys but we’re not in Death Valley. We are currently parked in the Mojave Desert in Needles, CA.

Needles is a sleepy little depressed old railroad town. As I mentioned previously, the summers here are some of the hottest both nationally and internationally. Average temperatures in July/August reach 120•F.

As per this Wikipedia post, this is what they have to say,

The Needles weather station is frequently reported by the United States government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as the site of the highest daily temperature recorded in the U.S. during the desert summers. Needles occasionally sets national or world daily temperature records.

So you may be wondering what this all has to do with the London Bridge? Well, not far from here, in Lake Havasu City is the original London Bridge. Not kidding. According to this Lake Havasu official tourist website this is how it came to reside in the desert of Arizona:

Lake Havasu City founder and entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch placed the winning bid of $2,460,000 on April 18, 1968. McCulloch came by this figure by doubling the estimated cost of dismantling the structure, which was $1.2 million, bringing the price to $2.4 million. He then added on $60,000 – a thousand dollars for each year of his age at the time he estimated the bridge would be reconstructed in Arizona. Each block was meticulously numbered before the bridge was disassembled. The blocks were then shipped overseas through the Panama Canal to California and trucked from Long Beach to Arizona. Following reconstruction of the London Bridge, Lake Havasu City rededicated it in a ceremony on October 10, 1971.

Pretty interesting ah? They literally pieced it back together like a puzzle. So today, we wondered over to check out this unique antique. While it’s not nestled over the Thames anymore but rather Lake Havasu, it’s still pretty cool. Rumor has it the bridge is haunted.

The bridge may or may not be haunted by ghost but it’s definitely graced with bats and swallows. The bridge is hollow inside so the bats have made it home. The swallows gather up mud from the lakes edge and make the outer portion home. When I saw the mud, I immediately thought it was from mud wasps. I’m glad it’s swallows instead.

London Bridge in the background

While driving around the last month, there’s something interesting I’ve noticed. Having never spent much time in the desert, I never realized that instead of naming rivers like we do back east, they name their dry washes.

I’ve seen names like Buck Mountain Wash, Big Dry Wash (how unique), Spring Wash, etc. Every time I drive by one now, I have to see what the name is going to be. I think it’s hilarious that they name a patch of ground that’s dry for most of the year.

I hope everyone out there is enjoying time with family and friends as the hustle and bustle of Christmas is upon us. If you still have shopping to do with Amazon, I’d be most appreciative if you clicked through my Amazon Affiliate Link before doing so. It doesn’t cost you a thing and I get a small percentage to keep this blog and crew going. Thank You!

And remember, London Bridge is not falling down. It’s safe and sound here in Lake Havasu City!!

 {HUGS} from the Crew!