Bullhead City Arizona + Laughlin Roadtrip 2023

[Music] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] what's going on everybody out there in Arizona land this is living in Arizona now coming to you from Bullhead City we're going to do a road trip from Phoenix and show you what to expect when you get out here headed out of Kingman on Route 66 this here is Mojave County Mojave County is actually the fifth largest county in terms of land area in the United States here we are at Raw Rock Creations showing you around the friendliest rockshop on Route 66 located here in the Northwestern corner of Arizona the population is around 213 000 people with the county seat being Kingman the largest city is actually Lake Havasu City and what we're going to do first is we're actually going to head down sitgreaves pass here at 3 500 feet elevation over towards a small town that's very remote known for having mules walking around the town called Oatman that's where we're headed next this part of Arizona is sparsely populated so don't expect too much activity on the way out here you're going to see small towns maybe everyone once in a while some ghost towns but really don't expect any big cities in this part of Arizona so when you're out here make sure you got enough water make sure everything about your car is working because hey you're not going to find very many gas stations or mechanics in case something goes wrong and now here we are in Oatman and look at that there's a Borough walking right along the side of the road open is actually famous for having more Burrows than people as they say It's Not Unusual to see quite a few donkeys and Burrows just wandering around here along the main stretch of road even coming up at times stretching their head into your car or nudging you asking you for treats and other kinds of snacks let's just say the donkeys and the locals definitely coexist together oatman's located in the black mountains of Mojave County at an elevation of 2 700 feet it began as a small mining camp where two Prospectors actually struck around 10 million dollars in gold in 1915 and that was when the population development grew to 3 500 people currently though the population is 102. the name Oatman actually comes from all of Oatman who was a young girl from Illinois that was captured and enslaved by natives when her Pioneer Family was massacred on their Journey Westward around the 1850s after being sold to the Mojave tribe she had her face tattooed and then eventually released in 1856 at Fort Yuma in 1921 there was a fire that burned down much of oatman's smaller buildings although the Oatman hotel that was built in 1902 it still remained standing to this day now considered the oldest two-story structure in all of Mohave County now I do realize for many of you this will be the closest you ever get to going to Oatman because really it's on an island of its own out here in the mountains not too much going on around here and most people won't actually make the trip all the way up here just for Oatman but if you did decide to come all the way up here you can expect to find lots of history about mining some Native American culture and lots and lots of burrows and as we continue to show you around this part of Mojave County in Northwestern Arizona I want to let you know that we did recently go to Kingman we made a full video you can watch that that's considered the historic heart of Route 66 also two weeks ago we did a video about Yuma so if you want to watch those videos I'll put some links down in the description below so you guys can check those out after this one because from here we're actually going to head out towards the Colorado River and show you around Bullhead City but the thing you need to know about that just across the river is going to be Laughlin which was a popular gaming casino place before they started letting the Native Americans have the casino gaming on their land but still to this day it's really cool so that's where we're headed next as you can see by these RVs lots of people come out here with their motorhomes and hang out scoping out this portion of Arizona has become popular with people because it's sparsely populated rugged and it's kind of Scenic for some depending on how much you like desert but there's a little bit of history that we're going to talk about now as we're headed towards Bullhead City but first we have a pit stop here at Fort Mohave with a population of 16 000 people Fort Mohave is actually a suburb of Bullhead City I'm going to give you a little history now it was originally explored by Spanish explorer meljor Diaz and he arrived here in 1540 his expedition team recounted seeing a large population of natives who refer to themselves at pipa aha macave meaning people by the river obviously by the Colorado River out here and that name was aha macav which later became the Spanish word Mojave now here we are at Bullhead City with a population of around 41 thousand but if you include all of these surrounding areas including Fort Mohave and Mojave Valley as well as needles and Laughlin we're talking about 77 000 people living in the larger metro area they actually have an international airport called Laughlin Bullhead International Airport located on the Arizona side because remember this is where Nevada California and Arizona all kind of come together right here along the banks of the Colorado those high-rise structures you see over there across the river is Laughlin so if you guys ever decide to make a trip out to this portion of Arizona you'll probably find it to be worth your time especially if you come during spring or fall in the summertime it gets cooking hot out here sometimes in the 120 degrees one of the hottest places in the country if you think about it right up the road from here in California is the Mojave Desert which is actually home to Death Valley Bullhead City is about 97 miles south of Las Vegas for those of you who are keeping score at home but when you're out here you'll notice that Bullhead City has quite the affluent community of boating fishing some canoeing paddle boarding kayaking and other personal watercraft people like to get out here with their jet skis and boats swimming and water skiing you know it's just a good place to get out on the Colorado River and enjoy that water even in 110 degrees 120 degrees it's good to cool off in the Colorado River this is actually the water that comes right out of the Hoover Dam from up there at the Lake Mead area so after it goes through Lake Mead comes down here to Bullhead City over the recent years it's become popular with people who are 55 and over so they have some 55 and over communities great place to retire if you're looking for a cheap accommodation right there on the river with some some very sunny climate I would say if you're wondering about the main industry out here it actually is food and accommodation and then the other ones are Healthcare and arts and entertainment not too much economic activity going on out here to be honest with you now the very few times that I've actually come out here I will say that I was impressed with the views that caught my attention as well as the high rises across the river and I thought to myself now why doesn't this place get built up more but then I took a drive through Bullhead City interior the downtown City Center area and I noticed it's got some problems and that's what makes Bullhead City a difficult place to live because it's not necessarily so safe and they do deal with some crime that has riddled the area so I just want to point that out before you guys get all excited and see the beautiful desert meeting up there with the river and all these high-rises and you start seeing the opportunity that's out here I think it's there but it's still got some problems Underneath It All some may even call it the poor man's Lake Havasu City although I see it as Lake Havasu City's little brother because both of these places are definitely up and coming getting more and more popular especially as the air conditioning units get more available to people because you can't really live out here in the summertime without one as you can see they have a mixed variety of homes out here and the average median home price is around 247 thousand dollars that's around 211 dollars per square foot so it's pretty quite affordable the average Bullhead City home value though is around 305 thousand and home values do appear to be down over the last year to year and a half due to the downturn that we've been experiencing so it could be an opportunity for some of you to go out there and do some hunting for homes if you're in the market for it these New home builds you see out here really are quite nice and something along the lines of what you would see in Las Vegas or even in Phoenix these Trek home subdivision communities so it's modernizing for sure definitely getting built up as the population out here continues to grow I would anticipate it's double in population probably over the next 10 to 15 years out here although do keep in mind that they say Lake Mead is going dry which means that the Colorado River just isn't getting enough snow melt from the Rockies that it used to get so keep that in mind also because you never know water shortages Could Happen out here aside from the Colorado River where else would they get the water maybe some groundwater aquifers but there's no real tributaries aside from the Colorado right here unlike Phoenix that pulls off the Salt River the Verde River the Agua Fria and the Gila River as well as the Colorado River now let's go across the Colorado here to Laughlin you'll notice once you get over here there's no real residential communities but there's plenty of hotels and resorts right here along the waterfront and it really does create a fun environment for people who like to get out there on that Colorado River and partake in some water sports Laughlin is a very new city actually founded by Don Laughlin that's where it gets its name out here in Clark County and it was founded in 1964. along the Nevada state line here on the banks of the Colorado River with a population around 7 500 people here's an interesting historical piece of information in 1943 the land here where the Laughlin is was actually purchased from the state of Arizona for construction of the Davis Dam power plant that was initiated by the borough of reclamation out here in 1947. so this used to be part of Arizona that's why we're allowed to show it here in uh Arizona channel right Laughlin has had a long reputation of being considered a smaller and more relaxed version of Las Vegas sitting about 90 miles south but in the same county now outdoor recreation is the big thing to do here beyond the casinos and also exploring the nearby desert Landscapes Laughlin also hosts many different festivals throughout the year ranging from concerts to car shows outdoor competitions on the water here and then food festivals now if you're wondering about the weather out in this area it's the same as Bullhead City very hot summers and Mild Winters some of the popular hotels out here Resorts Harrah's Laughlin which has a private beach with soft sand right there on the Colorado and also they have two swimming pools as well as the other hotel resort that's popular called the Aquarius and what we'll do now is just show you around some more of the hotels and then we'll pick back up and head over to the Lake Mead National Recreation Area what do you say oh wow [Music] foreign and now here we are at the Lake Mead National recreation area right here along the banks of the Colorado Corridor it actually borders with Nevada and Arizona out here in case you're wondering some history about Lake Mead it's dammed up by the Hoover Dam which was completed in around 1935 and the main purpose of the Hoover Dam was to provide irrigation water and hydroelectric power to the surrounding areas so it's a power plant as well as a way to distribute water and also as you can see it's used as a recreational area out here at Lake Mead and the way the water actually gets through the dam is through these spillways so you'll see the excess water is routed right through the power plant and is released through the spillway which ultimately turns back into the Colorado River now this typically happens during the high flows or overflow of the lake which we haven't been seeing as often right or during spring runoff when the snowmelt happens even sometimes after a monsoon heavy thunderstorm you'll also see these spillways being used a lot of this is Water Management they do manage the levels of Lake Mead so sometimes you have to pay attention to whether or not they're using the spillways or if there's actually a water shortage because some information can be put out about this but there is no doubt when you come up to the Lake Mead Reservoir that the water levels were a bit higher than they were now and that's evident by just looking at the water level and then looking up you can see the water line of where it used to be and then where it is now even if you look at the Hoover Dam you can still see a difference in the water level [Music] and you could see these chairs with the cover right there for sun protection really a nice Beach to just hang out at right [Music] they have a lot of camping up here you can also get a boat and sleep on that if you wanted just rent one a pontoon boat but they have many different lodges that's common with people who come out here they just stay at one of these lodge hotels they're very old though not too much modern hotels and resorts out here for some reason they haven't undertaken any new projects but camping is always an option also same with a RV motorhome that's popular with people as you can see the landscape out here really does look otherworldly I mean I don't know whether to call this Mars or the moon or what but it's really some unique looking alien style terrain isn't it in case you're wondering this was a day trip that originated in Phoenix although the video started from Kingman and it did take the whole day to do this as you can see it is sunset so anyways guys if you enjoyed this episode of living in Arizona now please do hit the like button consider subscribing to the channel and becoming a channel member and we will see you guys on the next one you can watch some more of our other videos like the one we did from Kingman and Yuma click on either one of these videos next [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Living in Arizona Now

Views: 34,887

Keywords: Arizona, Phoenix, moving to Arizona, live in Arizona, Bullhead City, bullhead city arizona, Fort Mojave, Lake Mead, Colorado River, Laughlin, Nevada, Mojave County, Oatman, Oatman Arizona, Arizona beach

Id: euDba26OPUI

Length: 16min 56sec (1016 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 11 2023