Hoover Dam

Who knew a Dam could be so interesting!

Once known as Boulder Dam… this enormous arch-gravity dam that holds the mighty Colorado River, borders the states of Nevada and Arizona. The construction started in 1931, during the Great Depression era and was named after Herbert Hoover, who played an active role in its construction.  The dam was completed in 1936, which at the time was the world’s largest hydroelectric power and the largest concrete structure in the world. Estimated at about 8 to 10 million visitors each year, including visitors to Hoover Dam, the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which is the fifth busiest national park recreation area. 

With our rental car and GPS, we head out to see Hoover Dam. The GPS calculated that it would take about 38 minutes drive from our hotel in Vegas. About halfway, Lake Mead was in our sight. Once we got even closer, the road starting to go up, wind around the mountainous area. After about ten minutes, we finally arrived at the entrance to find a checkpoint. Apparently after the September 11th attacks, the government put a measure in protecting the dam. I could see why there would be an interest on this place. It provides power to millions of people in three states: Arizona, Nevada and California.    

I have read and seen many documentaries about the history of the dam and what an enormous project it was to tackle. Also considering the time frame of when it was built, when new technology was not available. I can see why it was such a great feat. A popular story holds that the first person to die in the construction of Hoover Dam was J. G. Tierney, a surveyor who drowned while looking for an ideal spot for the dam. Coincidentally, his son, Patrick W. Tierney, was the last man to die working on the dam, 13 years to the day later.  

these two spectacular photos are from Wikipedia... check 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoover_Dam for more fascinating info...

aerial view of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

driving towards a 1,060-foot concrete bridge that will provide for traffic relief accessible by foot since the Hoover Dam was built. The bridge called Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge is 890 feet above the Colorado River and is considered to be the largest concrete arch in North America. It connects Nevada to Arizona. 

On our way back to the hotel in Vegas, we stopped by at Lake Las Vegas. Ten years ago, we had stayed here at the newly built Hyatt Lake Las Vegas Resort. It was surprising that a decade later; we could hardly recognize the area. So many new stores and houses along the road that leads to the lake. Another surprise is that the Hyatt Resort is now Loews Resort. Before we got inside the hotel, it looked close. We were hesitant to even go in. Once we’re finally inside, we had this eerie feeling. Nobody was in the lobby. Bill whispered and said, does this remind you of the “Shining”? I almost wanted to scream! It really feels strange, but somehow, out of curiosity we kept on wandering around and see if we find somebody. We looked for an elevator and met a couple. Bill and I looked at each other and wonder if these two were real. I cannot explain enough that we really felt like we ended-up in a twilight zone. After entering into another level however, we found more people. What a relief! By the time we got to the pool are, the place seemed to come alive! Some people and children are laughing and jumping in the pool. All this time Alayna was very quite, I guess she was crept out as well. Such a difference from the scene in the Vegas strip to this place that is only about a 30 minute-drive from there. We didn’t stay very long. Our plan to have dinner over there was called off. The place was just so quiet, so different from a decade ago when we were there. On our Way out of the whole resort neighborhood, we also noticed that a lot of condominium parking lots were empty. Shops were empty. This place must be where it got hit hard by the recession. To think that we almost moved here, ten years ago…     

                

  

Ritz-Carlton Resort Lake Las Vegas

 

 

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort