Visit Western Arizona on a Tight Budget

When people think of visiting Arizona, they immediately imagine the Grand Canyon and all its splendor. They also think about the Colorado River and its recreational opportunities, but western Arizona offers something different for travelers and can be accomplished on a tight budget.

Visitors are attracted to Lake Havasue City, Ariz., because of its water. It has a large lake and channel in the center of town. It also is the home to the old London Bridge. Lake Havasue has so much potential. It is a shame that negative images turned me against the city. I have not lived in Arizona long. My family has visited much of the state as tourists seeing the state for the first time would. We visited Lake Havasue over Memorial Day Weekend.

In my opinion, Lake Havasue should be more family friendly. I have to compare it to Wildwood, N.J., a beach resort in New Jersey where I spent many of my summers while growing up. Wildwood can be described as trashy, but it still is family-oriented. Wildwood has a boardwalk that sells everything from tacky T-shirts to cheap jewelry. It offers all kinds of food. The boardwalk also sells tickets to rides. During the day and the early part of the evening, the shop owners focus their attention on families with young, impressionable children. The rowdiness and raunchy behavior happens after most children are in bed. Wildwood also has the distinction of being the destination of choice for Senior Week, a week after high school graduation where teen-agers spend their first week away from home by themselves. This week is similar to spring break in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Still, the city gears toward families.

I have found out that Lake Havasue also is a destination choice for spring break for Arizona students. Lake Havasue disappointed me because of what we saw during our walk. Early in the day, my husband and I walked along the channel with our three young children (ages 9, 8 and 6). Despite signs claiming a no tolerance of lewd behavior, we saw women walking around the city without tops. They painted stars on their breasts, but everything was visible. People sat in boats partying. As far as I could see, there was no reason for the extensive partying. I didn't see a boat race, fishing competition or a city-sponsored event. Thus, people were just partying for the sake of partying. In Wildwood, the partying is usually attached to something, such as a fishing tournament, graduation from high school or a city event.

However, Lake Havasue had some good points. We enjoyed the shops, but I think the city should have more along the channel. The beach was nice but small. The city catered to boats more than beach-goers. The London Bridge was memorable. I enjoyed reading about its history, seeing the two flags and walking across it. The prices at restaurants and stores were reasonable, about the same as in any tourist resort. We were able to have a nice meal for the five of us for very little money.

Almost every beach town in New Jersey hires special police officers during the summer. These men and women patrol the cities at night to break up bar fights and control lewd behavior on the beaches or in public areas. Usually these officers are college students studying criminal justice. I don't know if Lake Havasue does that, but if they don't that might help. I could also see having special events in the channel that would bring families to watch the boaters.

Despite its flaws, I would recommend a trip to see Lake Havasue City for the bridge and beach.

Kingman is another city in western Arizona that deserves a look. We were given a reasonable hotel rate for a two-bedroom suite. The city once was part of historic Route 66 and has a sign about it.

The city offers three museums, but we did not get to see them all. Two of the museums were closed for the Memorial Day holiday. As a result, the one that was opened offered a deal. The children could enter the museum at no charge. Parents were charged $2 instead of the normal rate of $4. Children are normally $3.

The museum presented a wonderful history of Arizona's migration from its pioneer days to today. It has an exhibit dedicated to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. It also showed what Route 66 looked like in the 1950s complete with a 1950s car. The staff was helpful and friendly. Workers gave my children an arrowhead to keep. They also talked to us about how things were, and how they are now. The museum also had a movie about Route 66 construction. My children watched for a bit, but they got bored with it. My husband and I found the movie fascinating.

Kingman's flaw is that it does not have many places to eat. The restaurant we found was reasonably priced and offered generous amounts of food for the price. We enjoyed the meals.

Visiting Kingman would present a nice change of pace at a reasonable price without the crowds of the Grand Canyon or other Arizona destinations.