Thanksgiving River Trip: Nov. 25-27th, 2011

Thursday night, my family and I loaded up all our gear into our newer Jeep and headed out to meet family and friends at one of our favorite areas along the Colorado River. While I usually primitive camp in this area, we decided to stay at the Imperial Valley Hunting & Fishing Club on Ferguson Lake. The road into the lake, named Ferguson Lake Road (EC800), heads away from the Colorado River just inside the Califonia state line. The All American Canal passes under near the beginning of the road, near the start of its long journey west to irrigate the enormous market gardens of Imperial Valley.

Many of the large backwater lakes, such as the one we were camped at, were created when the Imperial Dam was constructed in 1938, to harness the flow and energy of the river. Settlements such as old Picacho, once the river port for the nearby Picacho Mines upriver, were inundated by rising waters. At the same time, larger areas of water provided greater recreational opportunities. The northern end of Ferguson Lake Road terminates just south of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, which was created in 1941 to safeguard the area's plant and animal life.

The dirt road into the lake is normally smooth and well graded, although conditions can rapidly change after rainstorms. Many of the spur trails off the north side of the road require 4wheel drive. A viewpoint 5 miles past an RV campground provides a panoramic view of Ferguson Lake, the Castle Dome Mountains in Arizona, and the Chocolate Mountains in California. There are several excellent areas to camp along the lake that also provide a place to launch a boat.

Unfortunately, I started getting sick the day we left so I didn't do as much as I wanted to. It was still a good time hanging around camp with family and friends.

Autumn and Audrey waiting for breakfast. This was also my daughter's first river trip.

There was no shortage of food on this trip!

Looking out over the boat dock and lake.

My parents, sister and brother-in-law coming in with their jet boats.

Distant view of the Castle Dome Mountains in Arizona. One of the areas I'll be exploring in my upcoming SoCal & AZ Overland Adventure.

Hangin' out on the back porch.

Sunrise on Ferguson Lake.

Heading down river to one of the sand bars.

There was football, horse shoes, skiing, and fishing here.  

She just loved the sand!

Rollin' on the river...

Monkey Island.

Entrance to one of the many backwaters along the river.

On they way home I drove along the All American Canal, checking out potential fishing spots. I only saw a few, as much of the bank was very steep. I'll have to do more scouting when I'm out there again.