BUS TOUR - HOOVER DAM in NEVADA

Last Sunday morning as the sun began to rise we were on a Tour Bus headed for Boulder City NV. Gary and I and another couple from Mesa Regal Resort were the last pick up before getting on to the free-way heading north. Since we were on the east side of the bus we got to follow the sun rise as it continued to get light. Such Beauty! The desert and our progression on into the mountains made for lovely scenery also!

After two stops and lunch at McDonald's, we arrived at

Hacienda Hotel/Casino near Boulder City where we relaxed the rest of the day. It was a five and a half hour trip, surprise!

At 9 am on Monday our bus rolled up to take us to Hoover Dam for a tour.

We crossed over the new bridge before going down into the parking for Hoover Dam. We had heard that people did not want to go over this new bridge because of the height, but we found it to be a piece of cake. It is all level highway bridging the Colorado River, and four lane at that! In a car you would not be able to see much of the dam below, but since we were in a tour bus it was an impressive sight!

Here we are entering the power plant under the dam. This 35 ft diameter pipe is one of the intake pipes for water from Lake Mead for the power plant. Our location is where the vertical yellow line is on the top of the diagram picture.

We were then taken on in to the power plant where the huge turbines are located which power the generators that create the electrify that powers three neighboring states. Before going in to the power building we had to go through security much like at the airports. During World War II Army sharpshooters were on guard in a bunker built high up in the stone canyon wall. It was and still is protected because of it's economic value to the United States.

Here we are standing on a deck above the turbines that create the power from the water flow.

This turbine was removed for repair and it required both cranes (in the pictures above) to lift it out. It will take a lot of time to do the maintenance on it. There are electric power lines all over above the dam and canyon. There is a gift shop, restrooms and a cafe' in this building beside the dam.

When looking down from the observation area above the dam you can see part of the power plant. to give you a concept of the height, notice the truck beside the building. Little, eh?

Here you can see the dam and the old road over the dam that was used to cross the canyon. It is no longer used for public travel because of age and some deterioration.

A view of Lake Mead behind the dam. and then Lake Mead as you see it from the Hotel parking lot. It is known to be the largest man-made lake in the world.

As you can see, it was a very interesting tour and we enjoyed it. But now it is time to get back to the Hotel so that we could get lunch before leaving for Downtown Las Vegas on our afternoon tour. I will cover that tour in a separate Blog.

Stay tuned and we hope that you are staying warm! It is jacket weather for us!! But it is sunny!!