The route from Kingman AZ to Hoover Dam was gorgeous as we approached the Dam. After a feast of yellow dessert flowers, one fuchsia rose-like flower, and lots of big white flowers in the fields along the way, the land changed dramatically. The rocky mountain surfaces rose abruptly from the surface and surrounded us with peaks and valleys of rust, black, brown, beige, and white - all within yards of each other. The drama of seeing what was around each bend entertained us every mile of the approach to the Dam. And then the Dam police checkpoint (aka security) brought us back to reality! Since 9-11, Dam security has been quite different.
The road went round and round and down and down until we got our first glimpses of the Dam. Those first glimpses of so many of our itinerary sites always are so spectacular. As the rest of the Dam came into our sight, we were excited at its enormity, at its engineering feat, and at the government's success in pulling together the political processes in the late 1920's that made it possible. We parked in the new parking lot and walked into the visitor's center. We scheduled a tour and watched the video and then saw the process flowchart and the power plant. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and demonstrated absolute commitment to telling the story and insuring that we appreciated it. The story is amazing and I hope that all of you have the opportunity to visit the Dam sometime in your lives. And of course the structure itself and the new visitor center and the parking garage and gift shop all are art deco in design. It is a tribute to our history that these great public structures are so finely wrought and have stood the tests of time.
The latest engineering feat underway at the Dam is a new highway suspended over the Dam and intended to route non-Dam traffic around the Dam. The route on which the Dam sits is a major US highway and is heavily traveled. In the future the new road suspended above the Dam will carry the through traffic and the road over the Dam will carry Dam traffic only.
We drove on to Las Vegas, found our timeshare located behind the famous Flamingo Hotel on the Strip, and checked in. We got lunch at the deli and then relaxed before going to visit one of my childhood friends - Teri Blenkhorn - and her husband Charlie. We spent a lovely evening with them in their home west of Las Vegas - reminiscing and enjoying fine food and beverages.
Of course it was Mother's Day so we also enjoyed telephone conversations with three of our children and appreciated their attention on this special day.
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Jean, I'm enjoying your trip, almost like being there with the two of you. Thank you so much for the wonderful commentary.
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