Hoover Dam and Rte. 66

We left Boulder City en route to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. There is security involved and the bus was cursorily inspected before we could proceed over the dam. We were not allowed in the parking garage because we carry a 5 gal propane tank under the bus so had to park with the other RVs and walk back across the dam to the visitor's center. No biggie except it is pretty hot out here, another day of over 100  degree temperatures. We're getting used to it but I feel dehydrated most of the time and am not hungry, just want to drink.

The Hoover Dam truly is an engineering marvel. Completed in 1935, it is still amazing to look at and ponder the manpower and materials that went into its construction. The dam itself is 660 feet wide at the base, 45 feet wide at the crest and over 760 feet tall. The quantity of concrete used and the electricity that it generates are incomprehensible. The amount of water impounded in Lake Mead would cover the entire state of Pennsylvania 1 foot deep. The sale of electricity paid for the project many times over and it was completed two years ahead of schedule. I'm sure others helped but this was an American project.

The four columns are the intake structures that feed water to the turbines. The dam curves back toward the impounded water of the Colorado River which is over 200 feet deep on average. This is the view from the observation deck at the visitor's center.

The new bridge is also a pretty amazing engineering feat. This is the somebody and Pat Tilman memorial bridge that will carry Rte. 93, two lanes in each direction, around the Hoover Dam.

After leaving the dam and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, it's back to the desert. This is how things looked for the next several hours as we drove toward Kingman, AZ.

The picture above is what a "landfill" looks like in Arizona. Guess re-vegetation is not too difficult to accomplish since there is not much growing anywhere else. Not much leachate either.

At Kingman, AZ we got onto the, "Mother Road", Route 66, and followed it most of the way to Williams, AZ where we are holed up for the night. Tomorrow we head for the Grand Canyon where we have a campsite reserved.

Check out the following, taken right outside, Kingman. How wild is that?!

The parting shot is Kathy trying to hitch a ride with the taxi driver. Guess she was tired of the bus with no AC. Too bad the driver turned out to be another dummy.