Cruisin' down the river: the Colorado at Earp

The Colorado river was long considered one of the most dangerous rivers in America, due to the irratic flows. To tame the river, the Americans started building dams and reservoirs (and canals and aquaducts) thus not only distributing water to 40 million people in the South West but also generating a whopping amount of electricity - more than 10% of the annual Dutch power consumption! And creating artificial lakes and recreational area's in one go.

At Earp the river is wide and quiet but with a unexpected strong current (when I swam in it I could just about remain in the same place!).

A boat trip is just the right thing to do here.
So my cousin Wendy took us with her boat first to the opposite bank of the Colorado River, where there are the 'Keys', waterways through a residential area and a great way to spot the houses built there.
Please note: these are weekend and holiday houses, so not occupied permanently and they cost 2 million up each, give or take.

This part of the Colorado river is very popular with so called 'snowbirds', people who go to California for the winter, so the riversides are full of RV Parks and Resorts. Some just a long row of identical cabins, others much nicer (as our resort!).

The route to the Parker Dam was very varied and the whole trip was that what you expect a lazy afternoon out on the river to be. Bright thinking, having your own boat there!