Good Times in Laughlin, Nevada

John R Beyer and Don Laughlin welcomes visitors

In 1964, Don Laughlin flew in a small plane over the Colorado River near the area where the Nevada, Arizona, and California borders met.

He liked what he saw.

“Hey,” Laughlin may have suggested, “let’s skim across the blue waters of the river and scare the heck out of those fishermen in their boats.”

The other passengers in the plane laughed. It was a great idea, and what fun that would be.

“We’ll buzz ‘em really good,” he said. “Maybe somebody can throw an apple at them as we fly by.”

No apples went flying out of the low flying plane that day, but a high-flying idea did get stuck in Laughlin’s mind.

Being a very successful business owner from Las Vegas, Laughlin saw great potential for a new venture along the coastline of the Colorado River.

A gambling mecca.

Laughlin gambling mecca all lit up

But let’s step back in time a bit. South Pointe was a small town located near the most southern tip of the state of Nevada developed in the 1940s. There was not much there. A motel, bar, and a whole lot of brown desert sitting astride the crystal-clear blue waters of the mighty Colorado River.

It was the location where many miners working the nearby gold and silver mines would meet up on Saturday nights for a really good time.

“Whatcha going to do with all that gold you done found?” one miner probably asked another miner. 

“Well, heck,” the miner replied. “I’m a gonna go to South Pointe and spend it all in the bar.”

“Fine idee, I’ll be joining you.”

During the 1940s, hordes of construction workers started building the Davis Dam, just north of present-day Bullhead City, and stayed in a locale called Davis Camp – which is still present and used as a campground for river lovers.

On their time off, which there was not much of, they too wandered into South Pointe for some adult entertainment.

The tiny berg prospered.

But in 1951, the dam was completed, and the construction workers left. Rumor has it that many of the miners who had frequented South Pointe also stopped going to the bar since their spouses decided saving the gold and silver nuggets was wiser than drinking the family profits.

As dedicated as I am as a researcher, I could not locate any solid evidence to back up my assumption why the miners stopped frequenting South Pointe.

The town, like a dried-up Joshua Tree, started to just languish in the desert sun.

And that is when Don Laughlin flew his famous jaunt over Lake Mohave, the reservoir which Davis Dam created, and down along the Colorado River over South Pointe.

He purchased the land, built the Riverside Resort motel and casino, and business was once again booming. Though the resort only had twelve slot machines and two live gaming tables, life was once more breathing in this southern section of Nevada.

The casino and hotel Don Laughlin built

A post office was soon needed due to the number of employees and guest arriving. At first, Laughlin wanted the town to be known as Riverside and Casino.

The postmaster shook his head. “Nope, let’s call it Laughlin. That is a good Irish name.”

And since the postmaster was also Irish, both men agreed to the new name of the town.

“That would be a fine name, me laddie,” Laughlin may have said to the postmaster.

A bit of Irish history here – I did do research on this.

The family name Laughlin was first used in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland in the thirteenth century.

So, South Pointe officially became Laughlin, Nevada in 1964.

And soon, other casinos opened. The Bobcat Club, which is where the current Golden Nugget is currently located, and the Monte Carlo soon followed in 1968.

People who loved to fish, water ski, boat, or just enjoyed sitting beside sandy beaches or hotel pools in the sun found Laughlin the place to be.

“You know,” one guest was overheard saying in 1972, “I love the fact, I can fish in the early morning, water ski in the afternoon, eat at inexpensive buffets, and then gamble into the wee hours of the night.”

Folks enjoying camping on the Arizona side of the river

Laughlin was a mecca, but there was a little problem of turning the mecca into a megapolis.

Bullhead City sat directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin and had grown due to the construction of the Davis Dam, but instead of drying up like South Pointe had, it continued to grow. The town had direct access to the water playground of Lake Mohave, the water activities of the Colorado River, dirt trails leading everywhere, including the very much alive ghost town of Oatman, and so much more. It was also on Highway 95 and near Route 66 which brought more and more visitors on a yearly basis. 

Plenty of water to enjoy all sorts of activities on

At this time there was no direct route from Bullhead City to Laughlin across the river, and Don Laughlin knew there was a lot of business he was missing out from all those residents and tourists visiting Bullhead City.

Don Laughlin was one smart cookie. He purchased a huge parking lot across the river from his Riverside Resort in Bullhead City and started free boat shuttles to his resort.

He stated, “If I offer it, they will come.”

This was ingenious. What person does not like a free boat ride? No one. Trust me, I know a lot of folks that enjoy our boat without a wallet ever being opened.

But I digress.

Business in Laughlin skyrocketed. Instead of having to drive a long distance, tourists could plop themselves on a free pontoon ride across a short distance of river and in a flash, be at the Riverside Resort.

During the 1980s, the town was so popular that other investors came a-calling, resulting in the building of the Colorado Hotel – now the Pioneer, Harrah’s Del Rio, the Tropicana Resort. And more came in later, the Aquarius Casino Resort, the Edgewater Casino Resort, and the list goes on and on.

One of the most iconic establishments was the Colorado Belle, a hotel and casino built to look like an old-fashioned Mississippi river boat. 

Colorado Belle

In all transparency, Laureen and I used to spend some time in Laughlin with our girls. Sun, fun and the water was all it took to make a weekend memorable. We stayed here and there but one place that we truly loved was the Colorado Belle. 

Wandering the decks of this make-believe paddle wheeler was just fun. We would walk here and there looking at this and that and imagine being here or there along a long river trip.

My family has vivid imaginations when it comes to traveling – real or not.

I remember us visiting Pompeii once and . . . but I digress.

Sadly, as of 2020 the Colorado Belle may be closed permanently. COVID and other financial issues are said to be the culprits, but who knows. A river boat knows the sculpture of the rivers it maneuvers and perhaps there will be a moment when some investor looks at this building and knows there is a whole lot more life to this ship than what appears now.

Of course, that could also be my hopeful imagination in the works.

In 1987, Laughlin decided a bridge should be built just slightly north of his resort crossing the Colorado River from Bullhead City.

This entrepreneur knew the traffic from Arizona to Nevada would pass his resort first, so, he put up three and half million dollars of his own money to build the Laughlin Bridge.

Both the state of Arizona and Nevada jumped at the idea.

“Use your money to build a bridge that we should build?” a Nevada official may have remarked. 

“What a marvelous idea. Can it be a toll road for whichever state the traveler is driving into.”

“No,” Laughlin may have replied.

It was built, and today nearly thirty thousand cars cross it each day.

The bridge that Don Laughlin paid for

The city of Laughlin receives over two million tourists every year. That is a lot of people looking for fun ways to spend their hard-earned money. And the town does not disappoint.

Laughlin is not just a just a bunch of gambling destinations – no, it is a family destination.

Not long ago, Laureen and I attended a Rod Stewart concert at the Laughlin Event Center. 

It rocked.

There are venues all about Laughlin, with acts for all ages – music, comedy, theatre, and the like.

This city has something for everyone – and that is not just rhetoric.

Exclusive hotels, upscale dining, RV parks, simple camping, boating, hiking, gambling, international restaurants, guided desert tours, native American sites, museums, and so much more that is awaiting any visitor.

Pedestrian bridge from Laughlin to state park with hiking trails

Laughlin’s dream of building a gambling mecca was realized, but what he actually built was a place family and friends could come and enjoy just being family and friends.

And perhaps, that is what he wanted after all.

Summer is Coming

The days are getting longer and the weather is warming toward that coming summer right around the corner. Soon it will be time for jumping into the water to cool off and have some fun.

Laureen practicing for summer fun on John's jet ski - what? She has her own!

In the Southwest, where John and Laureen reside, one of wettest and coolest places to spend time away from their primary residence is the Colorado River.

The Colorado River - Laughlin on the left and Bullhead City on the right

The location of miles and miles of beaches, romantic coves, startling natural beauty, and the sort of outdoor activity which makes one forget that they had just put in 40 hours at the office the previous week.

"Hey, get a cove."

The majestic 1,450 mile long Colorado River winds its way from the central Rocky Mountains southward all the way to the Gulf of California between the states of Sonora and Baja California in Mexico.

The Colorado River meeting the Gulf of California 

Over 40 million people depend on this clear liquid elixir to sustain their life: be that for drinking, washing, traveling, agriculture, power, or simply playing.

At J and L, we truly enjoy the aspect of playing on the Colorado River and the man-made reservoirs created from the ever flowing waters.

One such reservoir, located in the Black Canyon area between Nevada and Arizona is Lake Mead, created by the building of the Hoover Dam. Originally known as Boulder Dam, the name was changed by the U.S. Congress in 1947 to honor President Herbert Hoover. This dam is approximately 37 miles southeast from Las Vegas, making it an easy day's venture for some water festivities.

Hoover Dam holds back the waters of the Colorado River creating the largest reservoir in the United States. This body of water is named for the commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Elwood Mead. Mead ran the department during the time the dam was under construction from 1931 until 1935. Construction at the time was a thing to marvel at as the dam is completely made of concrete, making it one of the largest projects of its time.

A massive undertaking for the 1930's - shoot, at any time for that matter

The finished project - gorgeous and patriotic

The man behind the mission - Dr. Elwood Mead

Lake Mead is 112 miles long and covers more than 247 square miles of surface area. That is one big lake and just south of the dam are the cities of Bullhead City, Arizona and Laughlin, Nevada. Both are magnets for visitors in their own unique ways.

Lake Mead as seen from space - good size patch of water

Each year, Bullhead City has tens of thousands of people coming to play on the waters of the Colorado River and Lake Mead. Locals and visitors alike enjoy boats, jet skis, rafts, or simply lounging in the coolness of the waters while soaking up sunshine.

That's a lot of floaters - uh, people floating on the river near Laughlin

Laughlin is a gambling mecca for those willing to take risks off the water for possible dreams of untold fortunes. For those not wishing to part with money on the draw of the cards can attend the many concert venues around the city, eat at the many restaurants, lay by resort pools, or simply stroll the river walk in front of the many hotels and casinos along the river bank.

Laughlin river walk heading south

Now, a down side with the progress of storing water and creating hydro-electric power by building Hoover Dam was the tragedy of losing some small towns along the shoreline. Communities like St. Thomas, Callville, and Rioville eventually slipped beneath the rising waters of Lake Mead forever.
Well, not forever, because every once in a while during drought years, boaters can actually see the remains of the towns just below the surface of the waters. Eerily spooky but COOL in a sick sort of way.

Speaking of ‘spooky’ – there’s also a Boeing B-29 Superfortress which crashed in the lake in 1948 during a test of a prototype missile guidance system known as the “suntracker” and sank to the bottom. And that bottom could be a long way down beneath the surface since Lake Mead goes from sandal depth to over 500 feet deep.

Actual photo of cockpit from the B-29 on bottom of Lake Mead

That is some serious depth for a reservoir in the middle of the Mohave Desert.

Being water lovers, John and Laureen enjoy both the Colorado River and Lake Mead but generally spend more time at the lake during the ‘boating’ season. With over 759 miles of shoreline, countless coves to explore, islands to picnic on, and the vast variety of both animal life and plant life the lake holds anything an adventurer could want.

Coves to explore by watercraft or beach and do it by foot

Cactus growing out of a rock - life will find a way

Being honest to goodness Jimmy Buffet fans – both Laureen and John enjoyed his single Somethin’‘Bout a Boat from the 2013 album, Songs From St. Somewhere.

Somethin' 'bout a boat
Sittin' on the sea
Out there in the wind
Floatin' on the free
Take you 'round the world

Of course, there should be a sequel, if that’s possible with music, maybe something like Somethin’‘Bout the Water.

Without water, a boat would simply be a large coaster in which to place drinks on in the sand.

Somethin' Bout the Water - any water would help these boats

Most of the time while staying in Bullhead City, Laureen and John use jet skis. Easy to transport and quick on the water.

A little donut action is always fun on the water

A wave of  'yeah, that was fun!'

Laureen revving up to speed for the boating season on her own jet ski

Our good friend, Kaye Randall, refers to jet skis and ‘motorcycles for the water.’ We can’t disagree with her since once the throttle is squeezed and the hull levels, there is no better feeling as the freedom one gets from skipping across the surface of the waves.

Kaye's first time on a jet ski - like a natural

Kaye coming in for a landing

It doesn’t matter if it’s ocean, sea, lake, or river – as long as there is water to dance across who could have a bad time? But a word of caution, never take the waters for granted.

Well, perhaps these boaters did have a bad time, but it is rare

For further information:

Jimmy Buffet - 'Somethin''Bout a Boat' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9g8LiL0ubo
Lake Mead - https://www.nps.gov/lake/planyourvisit/index.htm
Bullhead City - https://www.bullheadcity.com/
Laughlin - https://www.visitlaughlin.com/

Hardyville, AZ

On a recent trip to Bullhead City, Arizona J and L (along with two of their four footed family members) happened onto an old cemetery perched high above the city. It sat just east of the Safeway shopping center and had a spectacular view of the mountains to the west, the Colorado River and the gambling meccas in Laughlin, Nevada.

Overlooking a Safeway and beautiful sunset

A tranquil respite from a tough life in the Mohave Desert

A peaceful and serene patch of land, but aren’t most places where the deceased rest? There was a visitor information sign that read: Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery and the plaque was erected by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution on November 6, 1999.

Another bronze plaque bolted into a large stone and cement base had a few of the people buried there in the Pioneer Cemetery: Bill Boone – 1866, William Brown – 1866, Thomas Gillan – 1872, and a few others not to be forgotten. It is always a little discomforting thinking about one’s own mortality, especially when in front of a grave yard. These people were alive with dreams and desires just like anyone currently viewing their names except they lived over one hundred and fifty years in the past.

Some of those buried in Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery 

No one is immortal in the physical realm.

So, what was life like so long ago by the shores of the Colorado River in Arizona before this modern era? What was a Hardyville and why this cemetery overlooking the grandeur of the Mohave Desert?

There was research to be completed.

The history of this area roughly 90 miles south of Las Vegas and directly opposite of Laughlin is in Mohave County nestled on the southern border of Lake Mohave. It is now a boater’s paradise with the lake and river close by but what drew people here before speed boats and jet skies were the norm?

In 1540 Spanish explorer Melchor Diaz traveled through the Mohave Desert and met the locals who inhabited the area. The Pipa Aha Macav which meant ‘people by the river’ were friendly to the traveler and it didn’t take much to understand why these people chose this area. Fresh water from the Colorado alive with fish and perfect for agricultural purposes. Eventually with more adventurers coming through the area after reading of Diaz’s exploits the name ‘Aha Macav’ simply shortened to Mojave (also spelled Mohave). It should be noted that the county uses the modern English spelling of ‘Mohave’ but the tribe still spells their name as ‘Mojave’.

William Harrison Hardy

In 1774 Father Francisco Garces crossed the river from what would be Nevada into what would later become Bullhead City. It may have been the first crossing of the wide river by a foreigner in this part of the country.

Years went by and more and more visitors to the region came and went but one gentleman by the name of William Harrison Hardy decided to plant roots in the desert by the river. He began a steamboat enterprise bringing goods to trade up and down the river to small mining camps and larger towns along the river. Hardy ventured into other businesses as well: toll roads, delivering of mail, and other occupations that made him the second richest man in Arizona by 1864 and also the same year as Hardy’s settlement officially adopted the name Hardyville. 

The richest man at this time in Arizona was Edmund William Wells who was a businessman, politician and eventually would serve on the Arizona territorial Supreme Court.

Boats plowed the Colorado River making Hardyville a busy port

Hardy was also an inventor and is credited with creating the first riveted mail sack to be used by the United States Postal Service. A pretty good conception since he was also the first Postmaster General of the town of Hardyville.

As with all good things, Hardyville saw a sharp drop in business in the following twenty years with the coming of the railroads to Yuma, Arizona, the movement of the county seat to Cerbat (an up and coming mining district), and competition with other barge companies on the Colorado River. Soon the railroad got all the way to Needles, California knocking another huge money making opportunity for Hardy and fellow businessmen. Silver prices plummeted and many of the mining operations ceased to exist since it was no longer profitable to mine the ore.

Of course, like most old west towns, fire struck a few times turning much of the small town into cinders. Rebuilt but without the same enthusiasm as there once was left and the town getting smaller and smaller in population left the future a bit uncertain for Hardyville. There wasn't enough work to support a single man let alone a family so most people moved onto where the grass was supposedly greener.

At the turn of the twentieth century Hardyville was a ghost town sitting idle along the beautiful flowing waters of the Colorado River.

William Harrison Hardy left, moving to Yuma to oversee the construction of the territorial prison there and died of cancer in 1906 at his sister's house in Whittier at the age of either 82 or 83 (a bit of a discrepancy on his birth year). He is buried at the Broadway Cemetery in Whittier, California - seems somewhat unfair that he wasn't returned to the town he had founded but fairness isn't always a part of life or death.

With Davis Dam came the modern day tourists

Decades later, an engineering feat called the Bullhead Dam project, named after the 'Bulls Head Rock' formation along the Colorado River in the 1940's changed the area for good. Later renamed the Davis Dam creating the huge Mohave Lake to the north of what was once Hardyville.

With the huge construction project came numerous businesses to support the crews needed to build the dam which was finally completed in 1951. More businesses came into the area in the following years making the area more profitable and the name of Bullhead City came into being in 1953.

The rest is modern history.

Of course, with the development of the gambling mecca of Laughlin, Nevada along the blue waters of the Colorado River employment was no longer an issue. The population on both sides of the river continued to grow to their present sizes.

Laughlin, Nevada - right across from what once was Hardyville

William Harrison Hardy probably would never have dreamed that one day his little venture along a river in a pretty hostile climate would eventually become so well known. No, like those other folks buried int he Hardyville Pioneer Cemetery he didn't live long enough to see his dreams cone to fruition.

Just a fact - life's funny like that sometimes.

So, again - go out and travel and see what you can learn by accident. The explorer may be surprised what is in their own backyard.

For further information on the cemetery:

http://www.apcrp.org/BLOCK_KATHY/HARDYVILLE_II/Hardyville_II_082111.htm