Before getting to the Dam, we stopped at Lake Mead National Recreation area.
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States, measured by water capacity. The reservoir serves water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland. Lake Mead is on the Colorado River, about 24 mi (39 km) from the Las Vegas Strip, southeast of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by the Hoover Dam, Lake Mead is 112 miles (180 km) long when the lake is full and 532 feet (162 m) at its greatest depth, and has 759 miles (1,221 km) of shoreline, a surface elevation of 1,221.4 feet (372.3 m) above sea level,247 square miles (640 km2) of surface, and when filled to available capacity, 26.12 million acre feet (32.22 km3) of water.
The lake has not reached full capacity, however, since 1983 due to a combination of drought and increased water demand. Owing to Lake Mead's current low water level, Lake Sakakawea is the United State' largest reservoir by total area and water in reserve.
Right now, the lake is only at 37% total capacity and is about 146 feet low. It quickly becomes evident just how far below capacity the water level is.
THE WHITE ROCK IS WHERE WATER USED TO BE
It is a little disconcerting to realize how much water is needed to get the lake anywhere near capacity. I do not know if they have a plan but I would hope they are at least thinking about it. It would take 3.5 trillion gallons of water to raise the lake 130 feet.
The lake is still used for recreation and the boat launch and marina have moved well away from their beginnings.
It is still pretty and Penny Lane found it suitable for swimming.
After a bit of time at the lake, we drove on to Hoover Dam.
Hoover Dam is a sight to behold. If you take a minute to consider what the builders did in the era in which they did it, it is really amazing.
Hoover Dam, originally known as Boulder Dam from 1933 to 1947, when it was officially renamed Hoover Dam by a joint resolution of Congress, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was named after President Herbert Hoover.
Since about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had been investigated for their potential to support a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power. In 1928, Congress authorized the project. The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium called Six Companies, Inc., which began construction on the dam in early 1931. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over the dam to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule.
TWO YEARS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE! CAN YOU IMAGINE ANY GOVERNMENT CONTRACT GETTING FINISHED TWO YEARS EARLY IN THIS DAY AND AGE?
Anyway, the current environment in this area is foreboding. I cannot imagine what it was like in the 1930's.
THE VIEW FROM THE HIGH SIDE OF HOOVER DAM
The tall cylinders are water intake towers. If the current drought continues, the dam could lose its ability to generate hydroelectric power.
We drove across and then back across the dam. Dogs are not allowed to walk across the dam. We dad stop at a couple of overlooks.
A newer but equally impressive engineering feat is the Memorial Bridge.
The Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is an arch bridge in the United States that spans the Colorado River between the states of Arizona and Nevada. The bridge is located within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area approximately 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, and carries U.S. Route 93 over the Colorado River. Opened in 2010, it was the key component of the Hoover Dam Bypass project, which rerouted US 93 from its previous routing along the top of Hoover Dam and removed several hairpin turns and blind curves from the route. It is jointly named for Mike O'Callaghan, Governor of Nevada from 1971–1979, and Pat Tillman, an American football player who left his career with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the United States Army and was later killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.
As early as the 1960s, officials identified the US 93 route over Hoover Dam to be dangerous and inadequate for projected traffic volumes. From 1998–2001, officials from Arizona, Nevada, and several federal government agencies collaborated to determine the best routing for an alternative river crossing. In March 2001, the Federal Highway Administration selected the route, which crosses the Colorado River approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) downstream of Hoover Dam. Construction of the bridge approaches began in 2003, and construction of the bridge itself began in February 2005. The bridge was completed in 2010 and the entire bypass route opened to vehicle traffic on October 19, 2010. The Hoover Dam Bypass project was completed within budget at a cost of $240 million; the bridge portion cost $114 million.
The bridge was the first concrete-steel composite arch bridge built in the United States, and incorporates the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. At 900 feet (270 m) above the Colorado River, it is the second highest bridge in the United States after the Royal Gorge Bridge, and is the world's highest concrete arch bridge.
I remember visiting Hoover Dam around 2008 and seeing the partially completed bridge. Once again, I was totally amazed by the accomplishments of men, women and machines.
CAN YOU IMAGINE? AMAZING.
(photo by David Jones)
VIEW OF HOOVER DAM FROM THE MEMORIAL BRIDGE. THERE IS PEDESTRIAN ACCESS. IT RISES WELL ABOVE THE DAM.
Both Hoover Dam and Memorial Bridge are, in my opinion, amazing. The imagination, ingenuity and effort that must have gone into both of these structures is beyond impressive. The area is worth the visit and if it is your first visit, take a Dam tour.
We finished our visit and made our way back to Lewis. We had made a day of it so we spent the rest of our evening with dinner and a nice sit outside.
Sunday morning had us up early for a run down the Las Vegas Strip. We needed to go early to beat the heat and the crowds. Sunday morning runs along the Vegas Strip are interesting to say the least. There is plenty to look at and listen to.
After our run, we had a bit of breakfast and spent the rest of the day hanging around the house. It was pretty warm out so it was an inside day for the girls.
When the sun dropped below the mountains, it was cool enough to take the girls for a nice evening walk.
A FEW PICTURES OF THE RESORT
We have enjoyed our stay. The resort is lovely and very well run. We will definitely return.
Another great day in this thing we call life
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