Buses By the Bridge 2015

Having attended our first Buses By the Bridge last year we knew we had to make every effort to ensure this becomes a yearly event. My amazing wife managed to get some time off work so off we went to the biggest VW camping event of the year.

It took many hours of preparation getting the camper ready and packed but eventually the morning arrived to start our new adventure.

The prior year we found a group that met up at Amboy Crater for a free camping night beforehand that breaks up the long drive. Although some of the surrounding roads were closed due to flash floods, there were a few that still managed to make it out.

We even had time for a quick hike to the crater.

Up before dawn to ensure a good spot in Lake Havasu.

Our BBB convoy.

I had to take this picture as it passed by. Those are tires on the back of a tractor trailer that are bigger than the VW bus beside it.

Arriving at Lake Havasu on Thursday before 10am Arizona time we were "bus" number 57 behind this waiting to get in the gates.

 

This still ensured we had a great spot on the grass.

We heard that there were over 300 registered buses after the first day (Thursday) and were that much more thankful for leaving early to get our spot. After a great night's sleep, here are some examples of what we woke up to every morning in conjunction with the BalloonFest close by.

And a quick time-lapse video.

It was humbling to wake up to such amazing sights but there was soo much more to see and do.

Including a quick trip on the ferry to the casino across the lake.

Here is the London Bridge on our way back.

Brooke's Tonka truck was a big hit

A parting shot before we left in front of the lake - the final tally was over 450 buses (and Vanagons) which was a new record!

One more very important part of this trip was trying to figure out the power consumption of all my electronics. It was upsetting to discover that simply turning on my 400Watt inverter consumed 2 watts of power and using the USB outlet on the inverter to power our iPhones ate up 6 watts (.5amps). On the other hand, our 12V IKEA LED 4xpuck lighting took only 2 watts to power at 25% and just over 6 watts when at 100% power. Another upsetting fact was charging my laptop through the AC inverter took almost 50 watts (4 amps) which was almost as much as the cooler/fridge used when on maximum to keep our drinks cold. I also was able to test out my 300 LED flexible light strip which I was happy to find it consumed a paltry ½ watt at the lowest brightness setting. After learning this I will attempt to have everything run through DC voltage instead of using my inverter.

The entire 5 day weekend consumed over 75 amps which ended up working out fine and is a testament to the power absorbed by our solar panel (in combination with the new battery setup) over the time camped without starting the engine. It not only powered our phones and laptop computer but kept our beverages in our Dometic fridge/cooler nice and cold.

Here are some more shots from this incredible event.

 

 

 

Brooke of course took all this trip in stride but had to get her rest as well.



 After an incredible weekend of VW fun and friends, it was time to head home.

 The road less travelled!

We ended up spending our final night at Joshua Tree National Park which was absolutely amazing.

Oh wait, this was my awesome co-pilot during most of the trip. On to Joshua Tree!!!
We managed to get a great spot at Jumbo Rocks campsite.

We woke up early in the morning to enjoy more of this beautiful park.
Here's my amazing wife climbing Skull Rock.

Of course we didn't miss out on other breathtaking sites.

Although we could have spent the entire week enjoying this beautiful park, it was time for us to head back home. It's difficult to express how amazing this world we live in can be and this trip will be etched in our memories for a lifetime.