Dam

This morning we set out to explore the Hoover Dam. We left about mid-morning only to find we are 7 or 8 miles away. OK - first breakfast.

This is the Dam entrance 

Getting on the Dam elevator 

In the Dam line

In the Dam theater

The Dam underground cave

The Dam water intake tube

The Dam power station 

The Dam turbines

The Dam floor in the turbine rooms are solid marble. Even in the depression the Dam was built to be a national monument.

This is the Dam plaque.

Hoover Dam in all of its glory.

The is the Dam explosive package

The Dam power lines pumping out the power for sale.

We went to the Dam museum 

This is the Dam cable lift. It is original to the building project and is still in service today. The oldest cable lift in service anywhere.

The is the Dam bypass for the road that once traversed the top of the dam. Today Dam traffic is all Dam tourists.

Another Dam sign

The Dam water intake structure

The Dam monuments under refurbishment

The is a story about that Dam dog.

We found Hoover dam to be great, fun, educational, and inspirational. However, we are also seeing why this type of project cannot be trusted to any government in the long run. The power sold from the Dam has long ago paid for all of its cost of construction above salaries, operations, and administration. Yet the money keeps coming - so it must be spent. Below are few photos of the new parking decks - 10 of them, a cafe, new museum and tourist center as well as the previously mentioned by-pass bridge. I expect (if nothing changes) we have not begun to see what level of tourist attraction this will be. I see Dam monorails, Dam Carousels, and Dam roller coasters in our future.

We let the hot afternoon pass and then went for a hike near Lake Mead. It was still very hot but the walk was beautiful.

These girls made us proud. They hung in there in a desert hike on an unknown route. It wasn’t a particularly hard hike (except getting in and out of the canyon) but it was hot and the length was unknown and they came, the sought, and the conquered.

Something unexpected always catches someone’s eye. Emily Grace found this. Not new to her but fun in the Nevada afternoon.