I basically followed the Colorado River and ended up in Lake Mead. The Lake Mead Recreational Area goes all the way to Lake Mohave, the next dam after Hoover. I think I need a tree fix, since New Mexico most of my travels have been in the desert areas with the winds. I got to say one thing, the dry heat is actually amazing, I can sit outside in the shade at 85/90 degrees and I am comfortable, couldn’t do that back in Tennessee. Anyway, we all know of the severe drought out west and the low water levels of lake Mead and everything else connected to the Colorado river. Its kinda amazing to see this in person, what the water levels were 20 years ago compared to today. I found a sign that showed where the water level was in 2008 by a boat landing, I did take a pic. I did splurge and stayed in a campground 6 miles from Hoover dam, mainly because it was close, had electric hookups and Showers.
I got to the dam early about 8am, visitor center doesn’t open up until 9am, so able to secure a good parking spot. Also, the web site said come early the dam tour tickets sell out early. All I got to say is that the Hoover Dam is an Engineering Marvel like they say, so impressive. I was able to take the guided tour, and you know how much I like guided tours, so informative. They do a great job of telling the story of how Hoover Dam came to be, of course I have seen the documentaries, but in person it just puts all the pieces together. Had a nice story and memorial of a dog that was be-friended by the workers during the build, unfortunately he got run over, but they created a memorial and he is buried close to the visitors center. There was another display about the whole water management of the southwest, all the dams and how they manage the water. It was just like the TVA in Kentucky and Tennessee but at a much larger scale, so interesting. Great day, but looking forward to getting into California and some trees.
