Hoover Dam

Leaving Joshua Tree National Park I set my sites on Hoover Dam. Driving northeast I was soon back in civilization and after the mind expanding experience of the last park the invasive explosion of humanity was more then obvious. I don't mean this to be in a negative context, just an observation of fact. Driving between wilderness and cities is a real eye opener about how we live. The narrow roads of wide open spaces give way to the 5 to 8 lanes of superhighway and cloverleaf junctions filled with traffic congestion. Everywhere one looks there is signage informing us of our needs to consume everything from A to Z. All of this is of course is a necessary part of the economy and we all need to participate at some level right? It is just that much more noticeable after coming out of a place like Joshua Tree. Wind farms (a good thing) dot the hillsides where they can do the most good.

 It wasn't long before I arrived at Las Vegas, Nevada. I would spend the night there to clean up and have a hot meal. Can't tell you how good it feels to sleep in a real bed after camping so many nights in the car. Soon my wife will arrive and we will travel together for a while. The next day I pick her up and meet some friends... then we get on the road to Hoover Dam. There is a great deal of construction being done on the infrastructure of the roads all over the southwest. Hoover Dam is no exception. The traffic began to back up miles from the dam and it took hours of bumper to bumper driving to reach the dam. As I crested the hill that provided my first gimps of the dam it all felt worth all the trouble.

If you look carefully you will see how the road winds a zig zag now the hill and out over the dam then up the opposite side of the ravine. A grand view overlooking it all. There are many places to pull out and park but you will pay at least 7 dollars for the privilege. Do it... it 's worth it so you can spend some time walking around and taking in the spectacle of this place. It is a beautiful thing to behold. What follows are just a few of the images I captured at Hoover Dam. Enjoy!

If you look carefully you can see all the power lines running from the Dam to the poles on the left this is to distribute the power generated by the dam. I hope you enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed being at Hoover Dam. Notice the bridge bypass that they are now constructing. Soon You won't have to stop at all if you don't want to. This construction was the reason for the long lines of car waiting to cross. Next Park on my list is Zion National Park don't miss that one coming soon.