Arizona

What was I thinking? The question might occur to you while driving through the chug holes on Cienega Springs Road in Arizona’s Buckskin Mountains north of Parker.
And where did all these SUV’s and pickups come from?
Most come from towns along Arizona’s so-called West Coast—the state’s western boundary on the Colorado River. The draw is a bar at the end of the five-mile trek. The attraction might be the audacity of hope evidenced in an entertainment venue built on the site of an old mining camp.


The Desert Bar is rustic, and more than a single structure. On Saturday and Sunday afternoons in winter, musicians are on stage in the shaded pavilion. Their backdrop is a rock-strewn slope. Tables and chairs are easy to scoot around on the concrete floor should you want to dance. There’s no cover charge, but lunch is for sale, advertised in the aroma of burgers on the grill.


Open onto the pavilion, the Nellie B. Saloon replaces the original, three-sided bar the owner built here in 1983. You can belly up to the brass-topped bar for a tall cool one, or a soda. If you’re musically inclined, you can play rinky-tink on the upright piano. Think old western movies set in Arizona.


Also on the site are a teensy church constructed of steel. The only religious ceremonies held inside are those uniting couples in marriage—BYOP (bring your own preacher). Wooden towers on the property are the cooling system for the owner’s home; air is drawn down through wet pads inside the structures. Arizona sunshine powers the place.
Arizona ignores daylight savings time, so you can stay until closing at five and get back to Highway 95 before dark. Turn left to go to Parker, turn right if you’re staying at Lake Havasu City.

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