LAS VEGAS and MORE

ON THE STRIP!!

What will a weekend look like when this is a Wednesday morning.

It's all here!!

A room at the top!

Paris Anyone!

ROCK ON

One run down the strip was enough for us.

Close to our RV park, we took a walking tour of an old railroad  route to the Hoover Dam.
The trail ended at Hoover Dam but we decided to walk the most scenic section of the route.
Our return walk covered approximately three miles.

The old rail line was used for mining and delivering building site materials to and from the Hoover Dam .

The view towards Lake Mead was beautiful.

Many areas controlled the run off or wash during the heavy rain periods.

The tracks ran through the rugged landscape.

It was an easy walk with great views.

Three tunnels increased the enjoyment of the walk.

Rest views over looked Lake Mead.

The power lines are the main feed from the dam.

Late evening views of the mountains.

Chris on the trail and the placement of plugs from the generator room.

These concrete lids, plugs, covered the openings for the generator mounts at Hoover Dam. As the generators were installed, the plugs were discarded in this area of the rail road track. The last generator was installed in the 1960's.

The end of the trail.

We returned to the RV park and enjoyed the clouds over the lake.

MIKE O'CALLAGHAN-PAT TILLMAN MEMORIAL BRIDGE

The bridge was completed in 2010 and took five years to construct.
With concerns for security after 911 and the increasing traffic over the  dam, the bridge by passes the dam  dam road.

It is almost 2000 ft long, 88 ft wide and 880 ft above the river.

The view of  Hoover Dam has to be the best over view of the dam.

The engineering of the bridge is explained at various displays on the walking route
to the bridge  observation deck. 

The observation walk way is the length of the bridge.
It does not have an exit on the other side of the bridge and the return trip
was a little "scary"  for some.

The Lake Mead "bath tub ring" shows the highest level of the lake.

The complete Hoover Dam.

NEVADA ARRIVAL

Lake Mead RV Park was our home base in Nevada.

It was located between Las Vegas and the Hoover Dam.

This is a view of the Lake mead Marina.

Note: this was a copy of the Stars and Stripes article on the ten best places in the world to view wild flowers. Way to GO Bruce!

Lake Mead was created to maintain a reliable water source for Hoover Dam.

The shore line around the lake has some interesting rock formations.

A tour of Hoover Dam is a must see.

The visitor parking facility itself is an engineering marvel.

View of the generator room.

The visitors have the best view in the house.

Observation areas surround the dam.

Dam Big!!

View of the water discharge and a recently built bridge  for traffic  to by pass the  dam.

The Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.
I will post pics from this bridge on an upcoming post.

800 ft drop to the river!!

The great Colorado River

A wonderful tribute to the workers who built the dam.

Intake control towers

Parking lot view of the top of the dam.

OVER NIGHT IN THE DESERT

After enjoying Yosemite, we relaxed before our trip to Nevada.

On the route we passed many fruit crops in blossom.

Over night at a great RV park in Bakersfield CA.

We decided to take "the road less travelled" to Las Vegas.

Turning off the interstate, we headed towards Death Valley.

Instantly the landscape changes to a desert setting.

As darkness set, we hoped to find a pull over area.

The desert beckoned us for an over night stop.

Maggie enjoyed the wide open area we picked.

Quiet and moon light, it was a great chance to experience the great outdoors.

Maggie was ready for some rest time.

Good Night

Good Morning

Breakfast was most enjoyable in this setting.

Maggie enjoyed a morning run on the nearby sand dunes.

The soft sand was a concern exiting our desert campsite.

We managed to make it out and asphalt never looked better!

Death Valley was a journey to remembered.

This old gas bar was now a tourist information building in Death Valley.

It is interesting to note that the car was a 1939 Chev, my first car, and back then gas cost 25 cents a gallon while in this village I paid 5 dollars a gallon.