Imagine ending a day of boating, water skiing or enjoying Lake Havasu on a jet ski with a cold beverage in hand as the sun seems to explode in vivid Technicolor splendor on the western horizon. Such is life at Crazy Horse Campgrounds on picturesque Havasu Cove in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.

This is one of those special places where the cares and worries of the world seem to melt away as the sun sinks in the west. This a desert oasis where you can just relax and give thought to adventure, to day trips, and to the beautiful lake. And you might also give thought to what is hidden just beneath the surface besides beer cans and bottles, and a lost ring, phone, or outboard motor or two. .

Lake Havasu is a relatively recent chapter in a long and acient history. The lake was created with completion of Parker Dam in 1938. The reservoir with nearly 450 miles of shoreline was filled to capacity in the early 1940s.

Before there was a dam or lake, the river was a vital artery of commerce in the desert southwest much as is I40 today. Before that the river banks were the home of the Chemehuevi people. Traces and vestiges of villages now rest below the lakes water. There is even the site of a ghost town, Liverpool Landing, a steamboat landing and supply point in the mid 19th century.

On January 2, 1960 a WWII era North American AT-6C single engine fighter plane crashed in the lake killing the two people aboard. Both bodies were recovered. In 2014 the Lake Havasu City Convention & Visitors Bureau offered $1,000 to anyone who could find the wreckage of that plane or another wreck from 1943. Scuba divers have explored the lake for decades and the wreckage of the planes have proved elusive.

In the 1970s near Skier’s Cove a party boat named Millers Folley sank. The circumstances of the sinking are shrouded in myth and urban legend. As it rests in 25-feet of water, the site is well documented, it is a popular site for divers of all skill levels. There are at least two dozen boats of varying sizes at the bottom of the lake, including two sailboats that went down in well documented accidents near Site 5.

Members of Lake Havasu Divers Association tell stories of discoveries that range from cell phones and cameras to diamond necklaces and rings, Rolex watches, and designer sunglasses. And seldom is there a weekend at the local dive shops that there isn’t an inquiry about the availability of a diver to search for something lost in the lake.

And now you have another reason to stay at Crazy Horse Campground on the island. We are conveniently located near a diverse array of restaurants, microbreweries, a golf course, dive shop and jet ski or boat rental.

And we have lake access as well as beach front RV and camp sites. For those who want to rough it with the comforts of home, we also rent cabins.

Written by Jim Hinckley of Jim Hinckley’s America