After Oatman we proceeded the rest of the backcountry Route 66 towards a town called Topock - where we then caught the Interstate 40 East for around 30 miles in order to join the Arizona route 95 South towards Lake Havasu City.

The further South we progressed, the warmer it became. By the time we got to Lake Havasu City it was very warm and pleasant. The small city was built in the 1960s (can you believe that?) on this lake - which, once again, is a body of water formed by the Colorado river. There is a small island just off the shore of the centre of the town - and the famous original London Bridge joins the shore to the island.

It was quite unreal to see a piece of London here! Apparently in the 1960s it was sinking into the Thames and the UK government couldn't afford to maintain it. The bridge was bought in an auction by the man who created Lake Havasu City and was shipped piece by piece over here. Only an American would do this!

A City of London post next to London Bridge - exactly the same as the ones you see on Moorgate - and at every other entrance to the City of London "square mile".

London Bridge. When you look close-up you can still see the numbers written on the individual blocks and bricks - used to identify which piece goes where when it was rebuilt here in Lake Havasu City.

Another view of the bridge from street level.

And again. The bridge is a fully functional roadway - linking the shore to the island.

The view from this London Bridge, however, looks over towards a popular beach! Unreal.

After spending some time at Lake Havasu City - we continued on our journey to our next stop at Palm Springs California. This was a particularly long day of driving - and along the way we passed endless amounts of beautiful scenery. Our route took us further South of Lake Havasu - and we joined the California Route 62 West as we crossed the Colorado river at Parker Dam.

The Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge at Parker Dam.

The California Route 62 West is one hell of a road. It seems that we were the only car on the road - and it has the most amazing stomach-churning dips in it! As it proceeds deeper into California - this road took us into the heart of the desert - and we were still driving as darkness fell. In the dark it became very eerie. No lights in the middle of the desert - just the distant glow of headlights a few miles behind us in the rear-view mirror. We wouldn't want to be stranded out here alone! At the junction with the California Route 177 we turned further South as we headed towards the Interstate 10 West towards the Coachella Valley area of California - which is where Palm Springs is.

Suddenly and dramatically, the shimmering lights of the Valley cities reassured as of civilisation as we descended through a pass between the Eagle Mountains and the Orcopia and Cottonwood Mountain ranges.

We arrived at our hotel in Palm Springs - a lavish oasis in the middle of the desert - at around 9pm.

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