Welcome to Nevada (again). We crossed the northern part of the state enroute from Salt Lake City to Reno a few weeks ago, so this is a return trip to the state for the southern part as we head back east. The south has the prettier welcome sign.
Here's the view from our campsite at Lake Mead RV Village. The red on top of the mountain looks like lava. Hoover Dam is around the corner of the left end of the darker hills just right of center in the picture. We were looking forward to seeing this very historic landmark and engineering marvel.
Our first stop was to walk across the Mike O'Callaghan and Pat Tillman Highway 93 bridge which has a pedestrian "lane" for viewing the dam from the bridge. So, welcome to the Hoover Dam from us, standing midway across the bridge which is also the state line between Nevada and Arizona.
Arizona welcomed us also.
So, here she is, quite a sight to see.
The upstream side below is the Lake Mead side. Note the low water (the white section should be under water), down 179 feet, lowest level since it was filled, reflecting overuse by Las Vegas, Nevada, Arizona, and especially southern California, plus droughts. It will require a decade of good snowfall to get it back to previous normal levels and officials are seriously considering placing usage limits as necessary.
Upstream view of the dam (which you can also drive across) with the 4 intakes, also the Highway 93 bridge in the distance.
Arizona (Mountain Time) and Nevada (Pacific Time) have their respective local times displayed on their respective intake sides of the dam (and apparently it takes about 4 minutes to walk from one side to the other).
Now be honest - did you notice that they are both reflecting the 11 o'clock hour even though they are in different time zones? It's because Arizona does not recognize Daylight Saving Time (sometimes erroneously referred to as Daylight Saving{s} Time). It makes my brain hurt every time I try to figure DST. And then undoing it in the case of Arizona is really confusing!!! Is it just me? Now be honest again - did it confuse you figuring the 4 minute difference because I posted the later time first?
A view of the dam from the side and then looking straight down.
Feeling a little dizzy from that last one? You know you are.
There are all kinds of statistics on this thing but here's one worth pondering. The dam is 45 feet thick at the top, 660 feet at the base and has an equivalent amount of concrete to pour a 3-inch deep, 4-foot wide sidewalk around the earth at the equator! I can help you wrap your brain around that - it's a lot of concrete. Below, looking up from the dam to the bridge.
The dam was constructed from 1931 to 1936 and was dedicated in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was originally named "Boulder Dam" and renamed after Herbert Hoover in 1947. Here's a tribute to all the workers on the dam, especially the 96 individuals that lost their lives during construction.
At the flagpole on site are two winged figures that are supposed to represent the building genius of America, community efforts around a common idea or need, intellectual resolution, the enormous power of trained human strength, triumph of scientific resolution, etc., etc.. Well, that's all well and good but then it gets a little weird - something about where they are pointing celestially from that exact location, aliens from space can look down at that spot and know exactly when the dam was built???? And in case we have become extinct at that point in time, hopefully they will look upon this endeavor and know and realize a lot about our civilization and the ideals noted above. Wow, that is a stretch and a little heavy for us - we just wanted to walk around and see the dam.
But probably the best summary of the project is one we found in the gift shop on a postcard.
The "Valley Of Fire" State Park was our next stop, the #1 motorcycle ride in Nevada. The road through the state park is only about 26 miles but "www.motorcycleroads.com" (my source for rating the top rides in each state) added some other roads on each side of the park to make it about 140 miles long. Rhonda and I rode it together in the truck, and then I rode it a different day by myself on the bike. I have ridden 2,777 miles on my bike during this trip and these 140 miles are without a doubt some of the prettiest. Gonna keep this section simple, mostly pictures with just a few comments. Watch for the road as it curves and meanders through the countryside. Enjoy the ride! (The colors are even more vivid and hard to believe than what you see here.)
Rainstorm along the way.
Note the white mountains in the distance.
They had almost a "heavenly" appearance closer up with the rain, clouds, and other colors.
A little more serious thunderstorm in the distance.
The actual "Valley Of Fire" is a reference to the reddish terrain.
This one below is referred to as "The Beehives."
And more of the mixed terrain.
That's just one road below - pretty good curve in that dip.
And a beautiful sunset to end the day.
And we'll close this post with a trip to Vegas. We passed on a picture at the iconic welcome sign. As you can see, the line was long.
Instead, we substituted Harley Davidson's sign across the street with no waiting line.
The Vegas "Strip" is about 5 miles long, impossible to cover it all in a short period of time, so we parked close to MGM and focused on the 1.3 mile section from "New York-New York" down to "The Flamingo." As with Valley Of Fire, this will mostly be pictures since you have probably seen all of this at one time or another.
Need a chocolate hit? This is the place. Four stories of everything chocolate at M&M.
Hershey's also, including a chocolate Lady Liberty..
Hershey's take on the Vegas welcome sign.
And you cross the Brooklyn Bridge leaving New York-New York.
The chandelier inside The Cosmopolitan Casino and Hotel.
Next stop, Bellagio and the pool and fountains.
Before the fountain show.
During the show below. This was an awesome presentation, synced with The Star Spangled Banner and other music. Definitely the most impressive part of Vegas for us.
We were really looking forward to the interior flowers at Bellagio, but they were between their summer and fall displays, as in no flowers. But they did have a few around in the entrance area.
We thought the entrance ceiling was a bit gaudy, but they did not ask our opinion before it was designed.
Caesars Palace.
Caesar.
Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill inside. Instead of fine cuisine at Bobby's, I opted for a chocolate shake at Smashburger.
And for Rhonda's Dad, Giada across the street next door to The Flamingo. (It's not so much about the food for him, he just thinks she is good-looking.) Based on the photo, I would tend to agree! I bet she is a good cook, I mean chef, also.
Looks like it's in the gene pool. His great grandson (our grandson, Shaun) has an eye for the ladies also - checking out Giada at about 7 months old.
And just to confirm it, there are live flamingos at The Flamingo.
It was very funny to us - at the newer hotels and casinos, there was lots of glitter and hype, upbeat and LOUD music (you know, the oompah oompah stuff that just tires you out rather instantly), lots of flashing lights, lots of cigarette and marijuana smoke, and the patrons were mostly the YOUNGER generation. So, you have the crowds and noise, not to mention the gambling, smoking, about 20 different languages going at the same time, and think about all the dirt and grime and germs circulating through these places, yuck. It all gave Rhonda a headache with the crowds and noise, and the smoking and germ thing gave her the creeps. Don't be offended if you enjoy all of that, but she said it was like a Chuck E Cheese on steroids for adults!
So, we got to the older and long-time established Flamingo so that she could see the flamingos. It was very quiet with 60s music playing quietly in the background. And here's the "crowd" - a bunch of older people going quietly about their gambling interests. Neither of us have ever had an interest in gambling, but Rhonda pictured this as us playing dominos at a retirement facility in years to come. Stark difference between the old and the new.
And on our way back to parking, we passed through the Paris area with the Eiffel Tower, Paris Balloon, and Arc De Triomphe.
So, we enjoyed our visit to Las Vegas, glad we got to see it in person. It's quite spectacular in size, design, and presentation, but probably not on our bucket list to return. Definitely not on Rhonda's.
Next stop, The Grand Canyon. (Actually, we have already completed the Grand Canyon, just behind on the blog but we'll catch up. Currently in Blanding, Utah for about 5 to 7 days to sightsee southern Utah). Should be home in 3 to 4 weeks.
