Hoover Dam

The scene from my last post was the vast Lake Mead, which feeds into the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River. We had the privilege of visiting last weekend during a trip to Las Vegas. The Hoover Dam is a short 40 minute drive from Vegas, and a detailed visit only takes a half day. Visit in the morning - it's less crowded and cooler.



A bonus - the new O'Callaghan-Tillman bridge, which spans the sides of gorge just downstream of the Dam, is now open to pedestrian traffic. The above picture is actually a stitched panoramic of six photos I took while on the bridge.

And a view of the bridge from the Dam, with the original tour elevators in the foreground:


We took a tour down to the Power plant portion of the Dam, giving us a glimpse of the turbines generating electricity from the water pass through the Dam.


It's an awesome sight to visit, so if you are ever in Vegas, take a half day from the lights and slot machines.