Legion Expansion II

Dolan Springs

This time we will explore the amazing town of Dolan Springs and the highway all the way there! I have two cozy abodes in the Mojave, one in Sandy Valley and one in Dolan Springs. I guess you can say one in NCR territory and one in Legion territory.

On my fancy map, this area is #2.

Dolan Springs is the largest town along Highway 93 between the Hoover Dam and Laughlin. And “largest” I mean about 3000 people. The town is comprised of a long stretch of land along Pierce Ferry Road, east of HWY-93.

Back on Highway 93

Moving past Willow Beach, soon there will be a left hand turn off to Temple Bar Road, or Mohave County Route 143. The county’s name is spelled with an “h” instead of the normal “j” for some reason. From the other direction (northbound), there is a sign that says Hoover Dam/Las Vegas and Temple Bar.

  • northbound 93
  • southbound 93

Arizona Last Stop

The Arizona Last Stop is gas station, general store, and what I can really only describe as a weird place that is along Highway 93 as one journeys to Dolan Springs. It has all these bizarre murals centering around guns and aliens. There is a place you can go to fire guns, and a restaurant. I will just leave a collection of photos instead of trying to explain, my words will not do it justice.

Across Highway 93 (west side of the road) is another restaurant called Rosie’s. And further down on the eastern side airplane hangars and a sign that says Triangle Airpark. As one would expect, there are small airplanes all over the place. The area is locked up, though, so I could not poke around like usual. Some airplanes are in disrepair, others take off and land from the eastern side of the highway.

White Hills Monument

South from Arizona Last Stop is the White Hills monument on the east side of the road, along Mohave County 145. The only thing down 145 is a racetrack for dirt bikes. It has a name but I can’t remember it off hand. You can tell when they are racing because it kicks a huge cloud of dust across the highway.

Dolan Springs

Finally we get to the turn off for Dolan Springs! There is a modern gas station on the corner, and next to it, is the huge propane tank that is quintessentially “Dolan Springs.” I have always adored it because behind it, there is a fenced area with rows and rows of “baby” propane tanks.

Sometimes the road is called county road 25 but out here, we call it Pierce Ferry Road or just Pierce Road. There is a tiny general store opposite of the road, which is bright teal.

  • northbound 93
  • northbound 93

It is a very, very long stretch of road with not much to look at on either side, but of note there are many advertisements on each sides of the road but they are all in Spanish, which is normal around here. Not to brag, but I know enough Spanish now to sort of speak in broken sentences, or to read the signs around town.

  • eastbound on pierce ferry road

I take it back, there are some things to see on this long stretch of road. In the desert, when someone moves out of a home or business, or if there is a fire or something causes a building to be uninhabitable, it is not torn down or replaced. It is just left as-is, and seeing buildings in this state is common. Since there is little to no precipitation, nothing decays, or does so very slowly. It is like the entire world is a quiet, time capsule. Several houses like this line the road on each side.

There is also a huge junk yard that is filled with pretty cool looking classic cars. And a car that has been on the side of the road, selling for $2000 for as long as I have lived here.

  • eastbound pierce ferry looking south

Once the actual town of Dolan Springs begins, it only lasts a few blinks of an eye. It is right before the road curves to the north. That is where all the main businesses are congregated. One of the city signs is here too, on the right hand side of the road.

You can see to the southeast, Mt. Tipton, or as the kids around here call it, Mt. Mitton. It is practically in my backyard, giving me a few extra minutes of shade each day.

There are many hiking trails in the area around the base of the mountain, including some that have rock art. It is kind of cool to see randomly in a clearing while out on a hike. The view from the summit of Mt. Tipton is very cool. Looking northwest, you can see both Malpais Mesa and Lake Mead in the foreground.

  • Mt. Tipton in the background
  • malpais mesa and lake mead
  • dead mountain wilderness to south

One of the more eye catching is the Dolan Springs Baptist church, which is bright pink. The picture on the right is from just recently, as I noticed they had done some painting and added some pink accents. Someone told me at the cafe once that the building is in the movie Mars Attacks. I have yet to confirm this, but what a claim to fame, eh?

The other businesses include the Canyon Cafe (the lady there is mean).

Several little general stores like B&B, Star Country, Wishing Well, Hot Diggity Dog, and the Trading Post. There is no large grocery store though. Once a month I go to Laughlin to stock up on everything, but I support the little businesses as well when I run out of candy bars mid-month.

There are a few municiple buildings of sorts, like an elemetary school right at the curve of Pierce Ferry, a post office, and a can’t-miss-it Chamber of Commerce building that is bright yellow.

It was really pretty out the other night so I took a bunch of pictures from my front porch, driveway, and road. Enjoy the sunset of Dolan Springs!

There are a few other places of interest around Dolan Springs – let me know if any of these interest you and I can get some shots:

Hualapai Valley Observatory
Peach Springs (they have a real fallout shelter)
Helicopter emergency/fuel station
Magma mine
Dolan Springs substation
Buffalo Buck’s campground

Happy trails!