These are some more photos of the Willow Beach Campground, the marina, and the fish hatchery. First some desert bunnies and Gambels quail. There must be a couple of hundred bunnies running around the campground, mostly because all the plants are drip irrigated and thus provide lots of hiding places and food. Doesn't this guy look like he should be chocolate?
This one is typical in size--about 8" tall, including the ears, so they are pretty small, but they looked pretty healthy.
I love these little quail, but most of my pictures are slightly blurred because they do not hold still. The rabbits are much more cooperative. The ones with the smaller topknots and more muted color are females. The one in the background in this photo is a male.
Looking up the hill at the ranger's homes.
My second campsite. I had to move around because they had double-booked my original site.
There are lots of big clumps of grasses and other shrubbery. These provide food for the rabbits and quail and also good hiding places.
Next, I headed down the hill to the marina and visitor center. The campground road goes over this wash which provides a place for rain to be guided out of the way of the campground.
You will notice that the campground is fairly new, as are all of the buildings in this recreation area. About 30 years ago, there was a federal and a private campground in the area east of the current campground. There was a huge flood that not only destroyed both campgrounds, but also the visitor center, and all of the ranger's facilities. It is hard to imagine enough rain in this very dry desert area to cause floods, but this wash carries water from several square miles of land as far up as the freeway, which is four miles away.
The road to and from the campground actually runs right down the edge of the wash. It would be interesting in another flood, as there is no other road to get out of here.
This photo is taken from the roadway, about halfway down the wash to the marina and the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. It is 12 miles south of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. Actually, they considered building Hoover Dam in this area, but luckily changed their mind. It is strange land, but beautiful. You can take a boat or kayak all the way down to Lake Mohave from here.
The land on the other side of the river is a wilderness area and very hard to access.
This photo is taken from the edge of the large marina parking lot and looks up the road to the campground. It has a stone wall that is supposed to protect the parking lot and marina from flooding. Weird to have to worry about flooding in such a dry area, isn't it?
View looking north up the Colorado River. You may bring your own power boat or rent one at the marina, but no motors are allowed on Sundays and Mondays.
A closer view of the fishery.
And pictures of some of the fish they raise.
All of these buildings and the areas around and between them are covered with netting to prevent feathered thieves from stealing fish. It is also fenced to prevent four-footed, furry thieves.
And these coolers contain tiny baby fish that have just hatched. They stay here until they are big enough to go in the larger pens.
These are all rental boats in the marina.
You can tell by the steepness of the walkway how low the water level is.
And back up the campground roadway that goes through the wash.
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