RATING: ♦♦♦♦♦
While hanging out in the desert, we stumbled upon this fun balloon festival in Lake Havasu. It is about 70 miles from where we’re staying in the desert, and a pretty drive up through the mountains.
The weather was perfect for the festival. We arrived early in the afternoon and went down to the park where there were musicians, magicians, comedians, and dancers, plus a food court with anything you would want to eat. And then there were the balloons! The festival had around 70 balloons this year, with all kinds of shapes and colors.
We were able to get up close to watch the balloons being prepped to go up. It was interesting to see fans inflating the balloons so the pilots could check them for any tears or other issues. Then a propane burner heats the air inside the balloon to blow it up and make it float above ground. Fun fact we learned: You can buy a new balloon system for around $30k or a used balloon for as low as $10k.
They held a mass ascension every morning and evening. We watched the evening ascension the day we arrived, then spent the night at a local motel so we could watch the early morning ascension. It was fantastic watching the balloons float over the hills. The highlight was the shaped balloons. So fun!
After that, we took a short drive to see the famous London Bridge that had been moved to Lake Havasu from London back in the late 60’s.
The story of the bridge is fascinating. Desert land that is now Lake Havasu City was purchased by Robert McCulloch, Sr. in 1963. McCulloch had a vision to build a city at Lake Havasu where he could test the small marine engines his business manufactured. A landing strip provided him the airport necessary to bring in prospective land buyers. But he needed a reason for people to want to settle in his new city.
It so happened that London was selling an old bridge that crossed the RIver Thames to make room for a new one. McCulloch purchased the London Bridge on April 18, 1968 for $2,460,000. To prepare the bridge for transport to the Arizona desert, each block was 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.
The bridge was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City on dry land on a small peninsula jutting into the lake. Then a channel was dug underneath it turning the peninsula into an island and making a “river” for the bridge to cross. Pretty crazy. A re-dedication ceremony was held on October 10, 1971. Including the expense for relocation and reassembly, the total cost of the bridge was $5.1 million.
The establishment of Lake Havasu City was a success! The population grew from 15,500 residents in 1975 to 52,527 residents in 2010. The city regularly tops the lists of best Arizona tourist attractions. The Lake Havasu Tourism Bureau estimates that 1.5 million people visit the city each year.
