Via
Water
Excerpt
from Where the Road Ends, Havasu Palms...Recipes & Remembrances
Road's End Restaurant employees affectionately referred to Havasu Palms
as Gilligan's Island. And it can certainly seem that way, when
travel by land is rugged and the most common access is via water.
Yet, in the early years commuting by boat was not a practical
alternative. Lake Havasu city was in its infancy, it had few
businesses and no high school. Because of Parker Dam, there was no
way to reach Parker by water.
Parker was where Havasu
Palms first shopped. It took a long dusty hour to travel the 28
miles from Havasu Palms to Parker, Arizona. During the first half
of 1968, Caroline and her daughter, Lynn, would often drive Bobbi to
school in Parker Dam, then head to Parker's General store, where they
would purchase candy, groceries and other dry goods for the Havasu Palms
store. When Bobbi would occasionally join one of the shopping
expeditions, she felt as if she been transported back in time.
Accustomed to the supermarkets of Southern California, she was amazed to
find denims and overalls, and other dry goods being sold the market.
What a new
grocery store was built near the current location of Lake Havasu city's
Holiday Inn, Havasu Palms and its tenant began occasionally shopping by
water. Yet it was not easy. Boating around the peninsula now
the island, shoppers tied up on the undeveloped shoreline and hiked up
to the grocery store.
By the
time Lake Havasu High School was built in 1969, Walt had grown very
weary of transporting his youngest daughter, Bobbi, over to Parker Dam,
where she would catch the bus to Parker. Lynn, who had originally
driven Bobbi to school, had gone off to college and Bobbi was now a high
school. Bobbi transferred to the then new Lake Havasu High School
for the beginning of her sophomore year in 1969. Walt assured
Caroline that he would boat their daughter to and from Lake Havasu City
each weekday. There was not yet a paved road from Lake Havasu City
to Bill Williams Bridge.
Many of the new students who attended Lake Havasu High School during
that first year in 1969 had attended school in Kingman. Others
were new in town, as a high school offered jobs for their parents and
Holly development was busy pushing the land rush in to Lake Havasu city.
It would not be until October of 1971 that the London Bridge would
officially opened
The first
crop of Lake Havasu High School students had the unique opportunity to
each began on equal footing. Even those new to town did not have
to feel like outsiders. A unique demographic factor was that
students were from just about every state in the union. This
helped to broaden and distinguish the student body.
After the first week of
school Walt and Bobbi were boating back to the Palms. Just as they
reached the 5 mile marker at the Havasu Palms shoreline, their boat
died. Within moments after the engine failed, the wind suddenly
kicked up and instantly churned the calm water into white caps. As
Walt unsuccessfully toyed with the engine the storm pushed their craft
away from their destination into a distant cove.
Hail began to fall and Walt and Bobbi witnessed a small twister travel southwards along the center of the lake, heading straight for Havasu's Palms. Minutes later their stalled craft was being pushed deeper into a swampy code. As the hail plummeted down with force, Walt grabbed a life cushion, raise it over his head as a shield, and yelled with glee each man for himself!
What may have originally been a moment of despair was transformed into a humorous adventure. After the hail stopped, they secured the boat and began walking the undeveloped shoreline, heading for home. Singing marching songs and laughing, Walt and his daughter momentarily forgot their troubles.
Yet, when they reached home they discovered the roof had been ripped from their living room and a drenched Caroline, who had not only been fraught with worry for her husband and youngest daughter, was in the midst of the rescuing the contents of their living room. Fortunately Havasu Palms tenants had pitched in, as they always have, and had come to her rescue.
Before the first month of school was completed, Walt forgot his promise to Caroline and Bobbi began driving the boat herself, thus relieving Walt of this responsibility,
For the next three years Bobbi traveled via boat to high school. At first she would moor at the Nautical Inn, yet when their docks were destroyed during a storm, she began tying up at the Havasu Marina.
During that particular storm, her boat, the Red Baron, was
washed ashore where its hull plummeted relentlessly on the beach,
causing permanent damage. From then on, Bobbi was forced to bail
out the boat each morning before leaving for school.During one winter's journey from the Havasu Marina to Havasu Palms Bobbi found herself in the middle of Thompson Bay in a boat which was rapidly taking on water. Pushing the throttle to full speed, she quickly slipped on a life jacket and continue to move southward keeping as close to shore as possible.
By the time she reached Pilot Rock she spotted a fishing boat, in those days few, if any, boats were on the lake during the winter. The unsuspecting fishermen looked up, horrified at the sight of the red speedboat driven by a deranged teenager, aiming, full speed, directly at their craft. Just before reaching the fishermen, the Red Baron swerved, and as it headed for the shore. Bobbi yelled I'm sinking! After successfully beaching the red Baron the fishermen transported her to Havasu Palms. In spite of this mishap, she continued to boat to and from school.
Only once did Walt consider the possibility of serious harm to his youngest daughter, as a result of her boating alone. Returning from Havasu City, during the fall of her senior year, the Red Baron stalled in the bay outside of the Havasu Marina. Bobbi began yelling for help, but the Marina was too busy to send assistance. Boaters began passing the stalled craft, yet all ignored the Red Baron. Time passed, and a breeze began to gain strength, slowly pushing the boat to the California side of the lake. Bobbi found herself alone on the water, moving northward with a gale gaining force. Meanwhile, Caroline had called the Marina and asked if they had seen her daughter She's broken down they said and madder than hell because no one can stop to help her.
Walt had already set out in search of Bobbi. As he reached the middle of Thompson Bay,, within the sight of Havasu Marina, there was no boat to be seen.
Moving northward he came across floating debris, bits of scattered wood, wood that was red. Walt's face became ashen and for a moment he forgot to breathe. He continued to traveled northward praying the debris was not the remains of the red Baron. But there in the distance he spotted his daughter's red boat, fully afloat, but pushed far into a cove, partially hidden by reeds and weeds. So delighted was he to find her, he ignored the fact that she was cursing like a sailor, enraged that no one had come to help her before now.
Yet it was not always Bobbi who was being rescued. Once, while returning home during the early spring, Bobbi and a friend, Karen Witcher, were boating across Thompson Bay and Karen spotted a canoe on the far side of the lake, which had tipped over and was submerged, due to the weight of its engine. A lone man was clinging to the protruding tip of the canoe. They helped the shivering man into their boat, and after he righted the canoe they transported him to his campsite.
As the years went on and Lake Havasu City grew, Havasu Palms began to
rely more on the city across the water and less on Parker. When
the Roads End Restaurant was built, Havasu Palms discovered the only
practical way to obtain supplies was to transport them by supply boat.
Each week the Havasu pontoon boat can be seen transporting goods for the
resort.What was once a lonely waterway, between Havasu Palms and Havasu City, has become a well-traveled highway during all four seasons.
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Havasu Palms’ lease with the Chemehuevi Tribe expired in 1999. The Tribe, which refused to negotiate with Havasu Palms for a new lease, seized much of Havasu Palms’ personal property in 1999 – a direct violation of terms set forth in the lease between the two parties. Havasu Palms Inc. went to Federal Arbitration with the Tribe, and although the judgment was in favor of Havasu Palms, the federal government later set aside the judgment, stating it was not in the best interest of the Tribe.