30. Wednesday Sept. 10-Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

On the road pretty early (9:00) but the temperature was still 82. Headed for the Hoover Dam.

Big. Very Big. Even bigger than that!

We got to the dam about 10:40 and went to purchase tickets for the tour of the interior of the dam itself. The line was horrendous and we figured 'no way today'... Luck was on our side.

We got tickets for the 11:30 tour. Somehow, it worked out. As soon as we got the tickets, we were instructed to sit down on benches and wait 5 minutes to enter the theater to view the explanatory movie.

The tour was fantastic! Got into the tunnels, the power plant, the art deco elevators.

One of two generation plant, 17 generators in all

Tight tunnels

"Stairway to Heaven"

After the dam tour, we drove a short distance to Lake Mead and took a 1 hour tour around the lake and approaching the dam.

Sternwheeler tour boat

White rocks marking the past height of the lake

Lake Mead was created by the damning of the Colorado River. It serves 7 states, each sharing the water based on an agreement signed in 1928. Hoover Dam was named for Herbert Hoover who was US Commerce Secretary instrumental in creating the agreement.

The lake level is way down due to the severe drought in the mid-west regions. As California has stopped agricultural irrigation last week, the level is slowly rising.

Back to the hotel for a second night and some serious research into how to get from Las Vegas to the Zion Canyon in southern Utah. Gonna be dicey as I-15 is washed out on our route and there is conflicting information on whether or not we can get through on smaller roads. Could be interesting.

More will be revealed.... :))