Just north of Parker, Arizona on Highway  95 you will see  Cienega Springs Road.  There is only one way you can turn and it leads into the desert. The road immediately goes to gravel and sand and a sign announces Unimproved – as if it is hard to figure out.  This is the play land of 4 wheelers, jeeps and dirt bikes, but my rental SUV makes it just fine.  A friend told us about The Desert Bar, gave us good directions.  Those are important, because it isn’t advertised, no big signs announce “turn here” and the only marker which lets you know that you are on the right path is a small hand lettered sign with an arrow about 1½ miles into the trek. I wasn’t ready for what I found, and once I found it I wanted to spend the entire day there!  Five miles from the mail road, perched on the side of the mountain are the sweeping structures of awnings that shield the patios from the desert sun.  Music from a band was playing Rock n Roll from the 70’s and 80’s.  The parking lot was filled with off road vehicles, and a few cars, and families and couples filled the tables.  Started as a watering hole for people playing in the desert it still caters to that crowd and is open only Saturday and Sunday from Labor Day through Memorial Day.  From Noon till last call one hour before official sunset. The site was the location of a gold and copper mine that was big news on the reservation in the early 1900s.  Vintage mining vehicles are still to be seen, and metal from some of the equipment has been made into a unique chapel at a high point on the spot.  Bet there are a number of dirt bike weddings that happen on the spot!  While we combined the jaunt with a visit to Lake Havasu City and the London Bridge, we will fondly remember the Desert Bar, as one of those unexpected treasurers you store in your memory!

 

Denise