Driving Across Hoover Dam
February 7th, 2008 by Mike
I’ve written a lot about Las Vegas in my last few posts and it’s now time to write about the other places I visited on my Christmas vacation. That’s right, Las Vegas wasn’t the only place I went to. In fact I spent very little time in Vegas(only 16 waking hours) however Vegas gave me a lot to write about.
Before I go any further I should probably remind you that I drove from Calgary, Canada all the way down to Phoenix, Arizona for my Christmas vacation. The drive down to Arizona was approximately 3000 km(1900 miles) and took about 3 days and 2 nights. The drive was long but I got to visit so many places and take so many beautiful pictures. I hope you’ll continue to read my blog over the next bit as I think you’ll enjoy some of the pictures and stories I am going to share.
It took about 2 full days to get down to Las Vegas and while that was a lot of fun there were still many other interesting things to see. One of them being Hoover Dam, which just so happens to be within a half hour’s drive of Vegas.
Completed in 1935, it was the world’s largest hydroelectric dam and to this day remains in the world’s top 40. For more information about the dam you can check out the dam’s official website here.
It may be difficult to really get a feel for the size of the dam from my pictures but trust me, it’s absolutely huge. It blows me away to know that they built it back in the thirties. I would think that even with today’s knowledge and expertise it would still be a difficult job to accomplish, yet somehow they managed it, and completed it 2 years ahead of schedule! If you ever get a chance to visit Las Vegas you should make the effort to get out there. There are plenty of tours offered and simply walking on the dam is a neat experience.
Behind the dam is Lake Mead. This lake formed when the dam was constructed and now serves as a recreational area. It’s pretty amazing to think that before the dam was there, this area was simply desert. People now water-ski, fish, boat and simply enjoy this lake in the middle of desert.
This wasn’t the first time I’ve visited Hoover Dam and I noticed that they are building a new bridge. Take a look to near the center of the picture towards the top and you’ll see some large concrete columns. I believe that they are doing this to help minimize the chances of a terrorist blowing the dam up. It used to be that you could simply drive your vehicle across the dam unchecked, but ever since 9/11 they have installed checkpoints to prevent any large trucks or buses from getting on to the highway on the dam. This caused a huge back-up in traffic and when returning home it took nearly an hour to drive across the dam. Oh well, I guess that’s just the world we live in now…
Possibly related:
-Gone to Arizona
-The Long Drive on Interstate 15 - Part 3
-McKinlay Ramblings 12/6/2007
-The Long Drive on Interstate 15 - Part 1
-Importing Used Cars From Japan to Canada
Posted: February 7th, 2008 under Mike's Travels.
Comments: 13
I have always been fascinated by Dam construction and the “Three gorges dam” in China is
truly something to behold. This takes nothing away from the Hoover Dam and considering what
you said Mike about it being built way back in the 1930’s, it is amazing!
I once went on an excusion to Australia’s Warragamba Dam and had the opportunity to go inside
and walked along the corridors which were around 300 meters in length. Obviously they were
curved and you could not see the full 300 meters but, the sense of awe to think that the cement
was holding back all that water, was something that has always stayed with me. Man is capable
of doing truly amazing things!!
Keith
Have you ever been to Kurobe Dam in Toyama? It’s pretty big as well. Although I don’t know if they offer tours of the inside…
Dam that’s big!
Keep working on it Nick!!! Something like “I couldn’t give a dam” or ” Dam water” might work
better!!
Keith
That was a Dam good story Mike!!!
Dam straight!
Well, I’ll be dammed!
I guess you could say I worked pretty dam hard on it!
No never been there son!!!
There was a boy standing on a corner selling fish. He was saying, “Dam fish for sale, dam fish for sale.”
A preacher walked up and asked why he was calling them dam fish. The kid said, “I caught them at the dam, so they’re dam fish.” The preacher bought some, took them home and asked his wife to cook the dam fish.
His wife looked at him in bewilderment and said, “Preachers aren’t supposed to talk like that.” The preacher explained why they were dam fish, and she agreed to cook them.
When dinner was ready and everyone was sitting down, the preacher asked his son to pass him the dam fish.
His son replied, “That’s the spirit dad. Pass the f**king potatoes!!!!”
Good joke Nick!!
Uhhh yeah that’s a real knee slapper there!
Wow, that’s an incredibly long drive from Canada to make, Mike! Did you happen to make it over to the Grand Canyon during your visit to the States?
Cheers!
Not this time but I have been to the Grand Canyon before, although I’d like to go again.