HOOVER DAM

On our way to Las Vegas we were given advice to not try to stop at Hoover Dam on the way. It's only 35 miles or so from Las Vegas and with the new tourist arrangement it wouldn't be worth trying to park the Airstream.

We believed them and are very glad we did. The last time I was there the highway went along the top of the dam. They built a new bridge - which is almost as impressive as the dam - and have an entrance from the Nevada side for visiting the dam.

We walked to the top and out onto the bridge for some great views of the dam.

I know the strength of a completed arch. But I stopped and read every single plaque and still don't understand how they kept that thing up until the two sides reached one another.

The tour of the dam takes about an hour. We went inside and down the the generator facility. 

 From the very first day of planning, this was meant to be a showcase of American ingenuity and expertise.  And a major tourist attraction. This was the Art Deco period and the spared no expense in decorative touches.

This is a mosaic in the floor of the generator room.

The hallways that were originally intended for public view and lined with subway tile and have terrazzo floors.

More Indian inspired mosaics.

Aluminum was a big thing in Art Deco period. The hallways had solid aluminum doors.

The original entrance through which the tours started. It is aluminum.

The interior of the original elevator is copper.

Today the tour includes sections that were not originally intended to be for public view. The passageways are smaller and without the fancy touches.


As the dam was being built, the tunnels were created within it with wooden forms. The grain in the wood is visible.

There are four ventilation shafts that run from the maintenance tunnel complex to the outer surface of the dam. Part of the tour is to walk to the end.

There are louvers but the openings are big enough to take a picture that is not possible from any other location.

 One of two spillways that divert water around the dam in case of flood conditions. It is 50' in diameter. The spillways have been used twice, once in 1941 to test them. And again in the flood of 1983. EACH has the capacity of Niagara Falls.

More of the Art Deco work outside the dam.

The dam is 726.4' high and 660' thick at its base. 

It is too massive to comprehend from a picture, but here's our best try.

Carol and I are both endowed (cursed?) with a great curiosity and this tour was even more fun than we had expected.