Sunday Drive - 3 States in an Afternoon

We took a stunning Sunday drive today.  We headed out on Scenic Hwy 91 from our RV park in Mesquite NV toward Littlefield AZ. 


We hunted down 4 desert geocaches in the first few miles.  A couple of them required a short hike in the desert.  We're still a little nervous about just walking out into the desert...not sure what we might discover.  My favorite cache was the shotgun shell casing stuck in a crack of a utility pole. 

Randy Found the "Avon Calling" Cache

The geocache site

We decided to check out a place named "Historic Beaver Dam Lodge RV Park/Golf Course in Beaver Dam AZ.  I had seen an ad in a brochure and the rates to golf were pretty cheap and the pictures were nice. 

Beaver Dam Golf Course

It turned out to be a really nice par 3 executive golf course - just right for me to golf and for  Randy to practice his short game.  It was like a true oasis in the desert.  Lots of trees and shade.  Saw a heron stalking something in the water. 

This property is historic.  According to their website:

Even before the 1849 gold rush when prospectors and Mormon colonizers passed through the “California Corridor” enroute to the Southwest, the Beaver Dam Wash was an oasis for the traveler.  Located near the trail established by John C. Freemont it provided a watering hole for man and beast.

 During the “Roaring Twenties” the Beaver Dam Lodge was built (1929) in the oasis as a halfway stop to provide lodging for the traveler between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.
It soon became a popular resort for movie stars - even before Las Vegas. Luminaries such as Errol Flynn, Jack Benny, Wallace Berry, Tyrone Power and his Annabel found respite here at the Beaver Dam Lodge, away from the frenetic Hollywood life.

During the depression of the 1930s the center room was lined with slot machines. Through the hard times when nickels and dimes were scarce, the penny machines were able to provide wages for the hired help.

The lodge, now restored and modernized, has maintained the historic atmosphere which made it famous. The rooms on the north wing are the same rooms that the stars of old occupied – even some of the bathtubs are the same!  Clark Gable slept here!

Gunlock Resevoir

After golf we decided to head to St George UT.  Randy asked about continuing on Hwy 91 and was told some vague directions...we headed that way not knowing exactly where we were going.  It was a very scenic interesting route to take...even if it was the long way. 


Along the way we came across Gunlock Resevoir and State Park.  It was popular place on a holiday weekend.  We passed right through Veyo UT.  I wished we would've stopped when I saw the sign for Veyo Pies - I guess that is their claim to fame. http://www.veyopies.com/     
...except for the intriguing sign for the "Veyo Pool and Crawdad Canyon Climbing Park http://www.crawdadcanyon.com/camping.html


Leaving St George and heading back to Mesquite was some of the most stunning rock formations we have seen.  The highway was winding and you never knew what was around the next corner.







 All in all, this was a very good day.