Lake Havasu, AZ

Dorian has been eyeing the Lake Havasu area for its combination of two of our favorite features - desert, and water. And water was in abundance at Lake Havasu when we arrived, due to the recent monsoon rains in Arizona (yes, there is mid-summer rain here .... ominous clouds, sky-splitting lightning and thunder, and deluges almost every afternoon, scattered here and there). 

The ranger at Lake Havasu State Park's entrance told us to proceed slowly through the storm runoff, without which advice we would certainly have turned back at several roads covered by rushing waters, one nearly 1-foot deep. A half-hour later all that was left were piles of mud and debris already being cleared out with front-end loaders. Clearly this is a routine occurrence here! (Going through the foot-high water was on the advice of the ranger but, in retrospect, one questions whether the ranger really knew how high the water had gotten.)

Our campsite was lakeside. We were just here for one night so we didn't have time for kayaking or exploring the area before heading off to our next stop. But before leaving town, we checked out the London Bridge as we breakfasted al fresco.