Our plan was to head north to Las Vegas to visit my cousin and her husband, but the weather turned and now we were expecting snow in the mountains and very cold temperatures everywhere else on the way.
We scrapped the initial plan for a detour to visit the Grand Canyon Western Rim, and soon after, decided to retreat little south to ride out the cold weather.
We drove about 80 km (50 miles) back towards Lake Havasu and settled at Lone pine dispersed camping. It wasn’t easy but we managed to find a nice quiet spot with a beautiful view.
We managed to squeeze in a nice walk through the red rock formations just before the rain started.
The clouds rolled and soon we were engulfed in a misty fluff.
It rained and rained and rained all night, but the temperatures held above freezing and we were cozy in the van.
It was a clearer and warmer in the morning.
The sign that warned us not to park too close to the runoff ruts was in danger of washing away itself. Good thing we parked at a distance from it.
The weather looked promising and we decided to head north again. On the way south we noticed a strange structure that we wanted to visit on the way back.
Intrigued by this moon-like structure, we had to stop. Or is it a giant golf ball? No, it’s a death star!
Built in the 1970s as the headquarters of the Lake Havasu Estates. They sold desolate unserviced desert lots as future resort-like paradise featuring water skiing in Lake Havasu (40 miles away). They went bankrupt in 1972 and the globe, known as the Dinesphere Space Station Restaurant, stood empty until it was purchased in the 1980s and renovated to be a residence.
It was then known as The Golf Ball House, with over 3000 square feet of living space. 
Today this 40-foot diameter dome, known as Area 66, is a UFO museum dedicated to the alleged crash of a mysterious craft outside of Kingman, Arizona, in 1953.
Curious, we stopped. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovations for the next few months. We could have a space burger if we wanted.
Instead, we walked around and looked at the sculptures and orbiting moons.
and wondered: what cosmic stroke of luck is it when you have an idea to open alien museum and you find a structure like this in the middle of the desert for sale? Or was it the other way around and the structure inspired the theme…
We continued on north, but had a couple of interesting stops along the way. Mineral Park is not a park at all, but rather a ghost town. Mineral Park was a mining town, The Mineral Park mine is a large open pit copper mine located in the Cerbat Mountains. But this was not the reason we stopped there.
Our sources revealed that Skunk Creek that runs through the area has turquoise bits laying around and of course we needed to see for ourselves. This is our little haul.
After this short and fruitful expedition we continued the short distance to Chloride.
Chloride, once a silver mining camp is considered the oldest continuously inhabited mining town in Arizona. It’s an “almost a ghost town” type of place.
but managed to hold on and reinvent itself and attract some tourist that are looking for an old-time rustic feel.
antique stores, eclectic displays,
and an abandoned gas station,
frozen in a bygone era. The price suggests sometimes in the 70s.
Chloride has interesting new age murals and ancient petroglyphs higher in the mountains, but there was no way we could make it up there with the van. I did make that trip with Denver Daughter (AKA the one that got away) in a rental car turned 4X4 a few years back. I will dig those pictures up for another post stop. It’s an interesting site.
But time to move on. Next stop Hoover Dam.
Stay well and join us next time!
Weather always tries to throw off your plans. The alien space station looked interesting. Did you get a space burger?????
The little town would have been fun to walk through. And you have collected different stones. Very nice.
We didn’t get the space burger. Instead, we picked up take out from a random Indian Restaurant in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty good!
What a fascinating artifact you encountered on your drive. The UFO museum is worth that drive and cold overnight water alone. It’s fascinating to read about UFO culture and the interest around it – which seems to have been revived recently too! I’ll have to try the space burger one day!
Too bad it was closed when we were there, but maybe we’ll get a chance to go another time.
My wife and I have driven out of Vegas to pars unknown, and as your trip reveals, there are so many fascinating unique and strange things to see! Thanks for sharing the adventure!
There really are a lot of strange, quirky, and unique places strenn all over the continent! Thanks for coming along!
Pretty intense yet beautiful clouds on that trip. Loved the alien globe. Too bad it was closed. So any other interesting things as well. Things frozen in time.
I am always amazed at the number of odd places that we can find when we make a slight change of plans!
I am always glad when you share them.
Too bad the UFO Museum was not open. It is nice to see the oddities that towns employ to make themselves interesting enough to attract tourists. A real desolate landscape to be sure. Good hunting on the turquoise bits. Thanks for sharing. Allan
Thanks for coming along, Allan! The turquoise was a highlight for me. I was like a kid in a candy store 🙂
I would love to see aliens in a diner eating hamburgers! Great photos, I’ve never been in that area. ❤️
Thanks, and yes, that would a been a sight ????
I love how you guys seem to find the most interesting things amid your roaming! Mike and I would love to make a little turquoise haul ourselves. Be safe.
It is there for the picking! Not very big pieces, but still fun. Love finding places like these.
The weather certainly didn’t hinder your fun. And those alien stories in Arizona and neighbouring states is super interesting. Too bad the museum was closed. Looking forward to the Hoover Dam.
It did not hinder our fun and it did make us turn around and find new places. It’s all good!
Okay, so I’m happy that the weather cleared up, but were there really space invaders? And if they were intelligent beings why did they they choose to land in deserts? I love deserts, but not if I wanted to study an alien species.
Yeah. Although I think that they don’t necessarily choose deserts, they are just very noticeable there. In the cities they simply blend in with the rest of the green people.
And thank you for your lovely comment on the poetry website! I just saw it today.
You are very welcome. I really did enjoy it.
Go figure that it would rain in the desert while you were there. Glad to hear that you were able to go for a hike before it started to rain though. One of the reasons I love taking road trips is being able to stop at random spots along the way when you find something interesting. It sounds like it doesn’t take much to pique your interest (which is a great thing!). Love the turquoise bits.
You are so clever! Indeed the root of our adventure is how easily my interest can be peaked by a variety of random things. I guess it’s a good thing, but it can also be exhausting 🙂
That’s the beauty of traveling without any set plans or reservations. Finding these fun spots to explore is part of the excitement for sure. I marked these locations on our map for when we get back out to the west coast. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
Exactly how we like to travel and I am so glad that you found these places interesting. Thank you for coming along!
What a nice find of turquoise! It is such a beautiful mineral!
I was so happy when I found them!
It’s amazing what we find on our travels isn’t it! Our friends are over there at the moment. Wonder if they’ll come across the Alien Space Centre.
It sure is amazing. I am not sure whether the museum is open yet, but it’s worth a try, or at least a walk around the museum and trying the space hamburger 🙂
I love seeing the old, antique, and vintage items, even gas pumps. The prices back then for a gallon were out of this world!
Frozen in time…