Hoover Dam

I first visited Hoover Dam at Lake Mead near Las Vegas, Nevada on a trip back to California from visiting my parents in Dallas, Texas. I don't remember the exact date but it was probably in 1990. I apparently didn't take any pictures.

On November 6, 1998, I went with my teenage neighbor Rocky Scholl on a weekend trip to visit the Dam again. Below are some pictures from that trip.

In 2009 I learned about a new bridge being built across the Colorado River just down stream from the Dam. This bridge is to relieve the congestion on the road that crosses on top of the Dam and to make it easier to protect the Dam from terrorist attack. I've compiled information about the bridge here.

In 1998, on Friday night, November 6, we drove part way from my home at Sunny Slopes south of Mammoth Lakes, California and camped out in the desert next to the road at a pond and corral. On Saturday, November 7, we drove to Hoover Dam and took the tour inside the dam. We then drove to the Temple Bar Campground, Lake Mead National Recreation Area for the night. Sunday, November 8, we drove back to Hoover Dam and saw some Bighorn Sheep. On the way home we stopped at the ghost town of Rhyolite near Death Valley National Park.

There are lots of pictures about the dam at the Hoover Dam Picture Gallery web site. A highlight of the trip was the fantastic multimedia show in the revolving theatre. We watched it while waiting for our tour to start. A lot of information is available on the Hoover Dam Home Page. Unfortunately a lot of information was removed from the website after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

Check this Rhyolite page for information about the ghost town and see some pictures here and here.

We drove south on U.S. 95, picked up a forgotten can opener in Beatty, NV and then stopped up the road to fix a late breakfast. We continued through Las Vegas on to U.S. 93 and arrived at Hoover Dam in the early afternoon.

We went to the Visitor Center and purchased tickets for the Powerplant Tour. They also have a Dam Tour that is longer and more expensive. See the Hoover Dam web site for tour details and reservations. While waiting for our tour to start we took in the fabulous multimedia theatre show. It is three theatres in one. You enter and sit on one of three sets of seats. When the show is ready to start you are looking at the first of three multimedia shows. After a while, the seats rotate to the second show in a second theatre, and then to the third theatre and finally back to the first theatre when finished. Each show uses different display techniques ... it's really neat.

Sunday morning we headed back to Hoover Dam. Along the road we saw a flock of Pelicans hovering over the area.

We stopped to take a last look at Hoover Dam and saw a paddlewheel tour boat on the lake.

We then headed back across the dam and soon saw some Bighorn Sheep on the hillside above the road.

Rocky jumped out of the car with the camera almost before I could stop.

He was able to close in on the sheep and get some pictures.

After photographing the Bighorn Sheep we headed for home.

On the way we stopped at the ghost town of Rhyolite between Beatty, Nevada and Death Valley National Park.

There are still many buildings standing including the Bottle House, the Railroad Station and parts of other masonry buildings.