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Boating has been
an important part of my life since age 10. Before visiting the
Colorado River, my major boating experiences in Southern
California consisted mostly of saltwater ventures, such as Mission
Bay in San Diego and Coastal Orange County. A few trips to Lake
Mead made me aware of the clear, fresh water we could enjoy, and
it made for great weekend getaways. A Personal Water Craft (PWC)
trip from Needles to the London Bridge in 1993 with several
friends provided me with my first opportunity to see just how
wonderful a playground we have on the Lower Colorado River.
After purchasing
a couple of Sea Doos, I headed out to enjoy this beautiful area.
Knowing there would be several more times that summer we would be
going to the River, it was important to find a place to store my
brand new watercraft. This proved to be somewhat difficult. Out of
four places visited only one had availability, so I jumped on it.
It cost $75 a month for a double PWC trailer. This happened to be
a place where vehicles were stored in a large building with boats
being parked next to each other by the attendant. On the next trip
out, anxious to get to the water, I picked up the Sea Doos and
drove right to Katherine’s Landing. While I was preparing the
vessels for launch I noticed a large dent on my brand new trailer
storage box. It was very upsetting; this unit was less than one
month old and it already had damage. Going back to the storage
facility they asked me what proof was there that the dent wasn’t
already there; I should have fully inspected the boat and trailer
with the attendant before leaving it with them and again when
picking it up. Although furious, a lesson was learned: the big,
open, tight-packed storage places were not for me.
Four years later
I bought a new 24’ boat and brought it out to the river, once
again scouring the area for a storage place. Searching out five of
them, only one had availability- an open carport structure with no
door. The rent was $110 a month, but at least it was my own space.
That worked for one season, but it was a long way to go to launch
on the River (usually at The Avi)
At this point,
the boat & RV self-storage concept was appealing to me. For the
previous three years I had attended development seminars and
conventions for the general self storage business, and befriended
several people who owned them. So, after those years of having
less-than-acceptable storage facilities for my watercraft, it was
time to look for a location to build my own facility and to
provide a little more supply to meet the obvious demand. |
(continued)
My first choice
was Bullhead City, Arizona; but a big parcel of land was not
readily available. In September 2001 a large parcel of vacant
land on Needles Highway became available to me, conveniently located between the 40 freeway
and Laughlin.
The name “Oasis”
came about in searching for a word that described a
destination that people
would want to go to. The next step was to figure out what would be
at this desert “Oasis”.
In designing the
facility, it was important to offer private garages. It was
also important to build a place that would be reasonably priced,
yet would offer amenities most boat & RV storage facilities
didn’t offer. Many times it would have been nice to have a
shower after boating and before my ride home!
It all came
together when I was able to purchase the several parcels that had
Needles Highway frontage and ran all the way to the River. Almost
60 acres where my dream could become a reality. So, I began
building the first phase of the business, with both eyes focused
on being more than just a boat & RV storage facility. It took a
long time to complete Phase I and have it ready for occupancy. It
was almost a year and a half- from October 2001 until March of
2003, for that phase to be ready for occupancy. It was a relief
to be able to bring my own watercraft and RV out, knowing there
would no longer be a need to tow them through the construction
zones on the 15 & 40 Freeways (from Riverside).
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