Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

Wow! What an awesome site. . . Hoover Dam. It is so massive it is actually hard to see--your eyes play tricks on you. I have been across the dam before but that is all I remember. . . crossing it. There is a visitor center and a parking garage so we parked and walked the rest of the way. We went to the visitor center to look at the exhibits and learn about how this dam was constructed. It was truly amazing to think of how they built this structure with the technology of the time. There were men, called high scalers, who sat on wooden swings and were lowered down the cliffs on both sides of the river so they could chip away at the rock. They were paid 70 cents per hour. Hah!

Some of you know they are building a bridge across the Colorado River to take the traffic off the dam. Since 9-11, they have restricted the traffic on the dam and all vehicles are subject to search. There is no longer any commercial truck traffic. Once they get the bridge done, traffic will flow smoothly across the river from Arizona to Nevada. We could see quite a lot of the new highway they are building and the road is going to be much straighter than the road going to the dam. It will surely be a timesaver for people who use the bridge a lot and perhaps commute from state to state. You will be able to see the dam from the bridge but the dam itself will still be open for foot traffic. The bridge is very high. While we were visiting yesterday the workers were using the cable trams to set in sections of the stantions for the roadbed. I had seen earlier pictures of the bridge before the arch was complete, but the arch is connected now, so they are working on the supports now for the roadway. I cannot even fathom the technology it takes to begin a project of such magnitude. I have a lot of respect for the engineers and workers willing to do this type of work. I believe the pictures speak for themselves.

On the way back, we stopped at an overlook for Lake Mead. I remember many moons ago sailing my uncle's boat on this lake. I wish we had the boat here. We would enjoy time on the water.

We drove through more of Las Vegas and I snapped a couple pix down the strip. The pyramid with the Sphinx is the Luxor, then the other is New York New York. We plan on going by tonight to get some night time shots.

Tomorrow we are leaving here and headed to the "Q." Quartzsite, Arizona, a boondocking mecca for RVers. We will be the guests of some friends, so we will have hookups. We are anxious to experience the endless night sky we remember.

Till next time. . .

Dale