The Mighty Hoover Dam!

Today was the day we had an appointment at Monaco of Las Vegas to replace our four slide awnings under warranty. Since it was such a nice day and we were not thrilled about sitting in a waiting room all day waiting for the motorhome to be done, so we decided to head out to the Hoover Dam.

As we traveled to the dam, the first sight we saw was Lake Mead stretching 110 miles in length with 550 miles of shoreline and water capacity of 34.85 billion cubic meters! It was a beautiful blue color as we peaked the hill and headed down towards the dam. But, where was the dam? The two lane road was winding around steep cliffs going up then down and still we could see no dam! About a mile from the dam there was a security check point everyone had to go through. There was a line of cars several miles long at that point. We then realized it was Easter break week and that was the reason so many cars were heading to this way.

We got through the check point and finally went around a curve and descended onto the top of the dam. We actually drove across the dam looking for a place to park and just to say we did it! We turned around on the Arizona side and crossed back over the dam and parked on the Nevada side in a parking garage.This dam is really a marvel of technology considering it was build between 1931 and 1935. The poured concrete had tubes running through it for cold water cooling so the cement would harden faster, thus, speeding up the process. The project was completed two years ahead of schedule and under budget. The Hoover dam generates over four billion kilowatt-hours of power a year, enough to serve 1.3 million people in Nevada, California and Arizona!

We took a tour of the dam which took us 400 feet below the surface of Lake Mead. First we saw a movie on the creation of the dam. Our group then piled into an elevator which took us down under the dam. We saw the eight turbines generating power on the Nevada side and also one of the large diversion pipes underground. Our tour guide was very informative and Peg even participated by pointing out where the diversion tunnels were on a large visual of the dam.

Back to the surface we went to the top of the visitors center and the observation deck where you could look down the entire 726.4 feet of the Hoover Dam. You could also see the Colorado river as it flowed out from the turbines at the base of the dam. I don't like heights, but I did make it to the edge to take a few pictures. We could also see the new highway being constructed across the Colorado River which will take through traffic away from the dam. That is quite a project as well. We then went into the visitors center where they have a room shaped like a large cylinder with plaques and large viewing windows.

Next we went into the multimedia center and saw and heard a presentation on how the dam controls the flow of water for Nevada, Arizona, California and even Mexico. It used a model of the states and the river and it showed where other major dams were located as well.

We wanted to take various pictures from the top of the dam including the spillway towers that are used to divert the water to the turbines for power generation. There is also a monument of two winged angels on the Nevada side of the dam that was very interesting. We spent quite a bit of time at Hoover Dam and enjoyed knowing how many people in the 1930's diligently worked to make this a reality.

Back in Las Vegas, we picked up the motorhome after talking with Scott, the salesman that sold us our motorhome at Buddy Gregg's in Knoxville, Tennessee. He now works for Monaco of Las Vegas. He gave us a tour of their indoor showroom.

We knew that Dave and Marie O. were in town with their motorhome so we all met at the Cannery Casino and had a nice dinner with great conversation. It was really nice to visit with them again.

Peg and I said our goodbyes and headed to downtown Vegas to see the lights on Fremont Street. Talk about a lot of lights! We parked at the Binion's Casino and even did a little gambling there. Well, it was free parking but we lost $15 in the casino so I guess we DID pay for parking.....