Hoover Dam

We started our day with a tour of Hoover Dam. They don't pre-sell tickets on line so you must get there and get in line early. We stayed the night at Boulder City to make getting there easier on us. The fact that we were in Nevada and on Pacific Time made getting up even easier (2 hour time difference). So, we were parking at the dam around 8:15 and walked straight to the visitors center to get our tickets. They don't open their doors until 9am with the first tour at 9:30. There were already people lined up when we got there; 32, Scott counted. At least we were standing in the shade since it was already 85F. When the doors opened at 9am the line was twice as long as when we arrived. We quickly went in and through security (like at the airport) and got in line. We got the first available tickets for 4 for the dam tour - 11am. Wow! I am glad we got there as early as we did.

We spent the time watching the movie and wandering around the visitor's center. We even went back outside to walk across the dam and take pictures outside before meeting up for our tour. The first part of the tour is the power plant. We rode a large elevator with 40 people down to the intake pipes within the sides of the Dam. Our tour guide did a good job of giving information and impressing on us how amazing this structure is. We then continued on to the turbine room on the Nevada side. The place is so clean and neat looking and hums continuously. After some information about the power plant, we split from the power plant tour and joined our guide for the dam tour.

We walked through some tunnels and talked about the first tours of the dam back in the 40s. In order to make the tour spectacular, they dressed the parts open to the public in Art Deco splendor. The floors are terrazo marble with inlaid native american motifs. The lights and doors were aluminum which was very fashionable at the time. The first tunnel was lined in subway tiles (light colors to make it feel more open). It was definitely beautiful and I can imagine all of the fancy tourists being amazed at the richness of the interior of the dam.

Our tour continued into some not-so-pretty tunnels where we got to look out from a ventilation shaft in the side of the dam. We also looked up and down the stairs that lead from the very bottom to the very top of the dam. Looking at the stairs made me appreciate the cramped elevator even more. The tour ended by coming back out the original entrance elevators. Again, this area was very richly designed in Art Deco motifs with marble tiles and solid brass doors. Gorgeous!

The tour itself really made me appreciate the engineering marvel that they accomplished. The dam was completely early by nearly 2 years and under budget. It was a joint effort by six major companies working together and it brought six states together in agreement over the water rights to the Colorado River. It would never be done if it were proposed today. It makes me proud of our history and our country.

After lunch in the Dam Cafe where we all had Dam Burgers, and a stop at the Dam Shop for a dam t-shirt for Jeff, we started on our way to Zion National Park. It was a three hour road trip through ever changing rock. It is so desolate and arid and inhospitable and yet so wonderful. The stretch through Arizona called the Virgin River Canyon was especially spectacular. You can see the power that water has had on the land.Read more