Who wants to hear a funny travel story about the time we were almost blown away by Lake Havasu? If the answer is yes, you're in the right place.

When we say "blown away" we don't just mean metaphorically. Don't get us wrong, Lake Havasu is beautiful with stunning views, but this story has a more literal meaning.

As far as short travel stories go, this one has a lot of action. We were almost physically blown away by a sudden Lake Havasu storm and this doesn't even cover the heat part of the story.

As with all funny vacation stories...there's more to the tale than just a simple gust of wind. So sit back and enjoy a little light reading from the Schaub adventure book.

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Trip to Lake Havasu

In the beginning, there was light...just kidding we're not going that far back, this is a short story after all. Our story begins in 2018 while we were on a travel therapy work assignment in Arizona.

We planned an impromptu Lake Havasu camping trip in the summer. That's right, we're already starting strong by visiting the hottest place in Arizona...at the end of July.

If you don't know a lot about Lake Havasu weather in July just picture H-E-Double Hockey Sticks and add a few more degrees. So it's probably no surprise that we got a great deal on a shoreline tent spot on the beach at Lake Havasu State Park Campground.

We're talking tent is on the sand 10ft from the water. Looking back, the only reason we got a great deal on a primo Lake Havasu camping spot was that we were crazy...or stupid enough to visit in the summer.

Our Lake Havasu vacation was off to a rocky start as our car was on the verge of overheating the entire drive there. But we're dedicated...or stupid travelers and didn't let an overworked, leaky radiator stop us.

So we finally arrive at the Lake Havasu campgrounds and our site is everything we imaged and more. It was an Insta worthy beach spot with only a few steps to the water.

Our first night was, well, hot but still fun. We played in the warm lake, walked around then slept under the stars (it got too hot in our tent).

Lake Havasu Morning

The next day we wake up early as we always do when traveling and sit along the water. We jokingly talk about how crazy we are to even attempt an Arizona summer camping trip but hey we've done crazier things and the first night wasn't bad...famous last words.

As we were planning the day and coming up with things to do in Lake Havasu, while also avoiding heat exhaustion, we noticed some clouds rolling. Of course, we thought nothing of it.

Since we were up around sunrise it was hard to tell what was darkness from the Lake Havasu weather and what was a normal morning sky before the sun was all the way up. Then the same thought came to both our minds...that's definitely a storm.

There were a few seconds of debating if it would stay over the water or if we might get a sprinkle on the beach. Both ideas were wrong.

Not only was the storm coming, or already here, it was about to go from 0-100 real quick. And when you're tent camping in Lake Havasu, this is not the best situation to be in.

Weathering the Lake Havasu Summer Storm

Before we even have a chance to react, our little moment sitting on the beach turned disastrous. We suddenly got hit by huge gusts of wind and quickly ran to get as much in the car as possible.

As the wind picked up even more and the rain began to fall, we had everything in the car except...our tent. We looked over at our poor tent seconds away from being blown away like Dorothy from the Wizard Of Oz.

We hightail it to the tent in the knick of time and Kelsey swiftly jumps in so her bodyweight can keep it from blowing away.

Quick sidebar: This part was 50% our fault because we didn't stake anything down. Since we were tent camping on the beach, we didn't think stakes would have done a lot. Also, the tent still had pillows and blankets as that's where we put everything when we woke up.

Okay so we made it to the tent and Kelsey begins passing a pillow and blanket to Phil who runs to get it into the car.

So now Kelsey is still in the tent and waiting for Phil's return for a second load. Then waits, and waits, and waits.

During this waiting game, it was like she was Jasmine (from Aladdin) stuck in the hourglass. The wind was so strong it was flattening the tent onto her and the sand being blown in was starting to pile up around her.

After what seems like an eternity Phil is back to help the damsel in distress. Turns out the good samaritan was helping an elderly couple at a nearby campsite thinking "Kelsey's safe in the tent". Oh little did he know.

Salvaging the Visit to Lake Havasu

Alas, the Schaubs were finally reunited and Phil saved the day before Kelsey is buried in the sand. With the team back together again we got everything in the car and were more sand-covered than wet.

Since we need something to do we walked around one of the only Lake Havasu stores open at 8 am (Walgreens) until the storm passed. Lucky for us the storm was hard but fast and over in the hour.

We decided to stop by the famous London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, bought a floaty, and then relaxed on the lake. It was then we decided we had enough excitement for the weekend and made a hail mary change of plans.

We went on a quick hike to dry off then said goodbye to Lake Havasu...and hello to a fancy Phoenix hotel. We had already paid for the night so we considered it a donation to Lake Havasu State Park.

And remember that elderly couple...turns out their adult kids arrived during the day to join their parents.
They came over to extend their gratitude and we said, "no problem...hey do you want our campsite we're outta here?"

Since they also had their kids they were more than happy to get more space for their family getaway. Don't you just love it when everything comes together?

A Great Addition to our Funny Travel Stories

So in the end was it a successful trip? Absolutely. We had a great time and the not-so-fun parts make for a crazy travel story.

It was so much fun playing in the lake and we love looking back at our beautiful pictures from the trip. We prefer visiting places in the offseason so we guess it's just part of the experience.

But we will say one thing, that hotel room was the real MVP of that vacation. Just remember that the summer is not the best time of the year to visit Lake Havasu unless you're ready to embark a crazy adventure.