June 2, 2010 – Trip to Hoover Dam
We are still at the Oasis campground. It is 9:24 PM and I am catching up on my blogs. We do not have Internet here, so I will have several things to post when I have Internet again. While I am working on this, Harry is planning our trip for tomorrow. He said a few minutes ago that he thinks it will take us two days to drive to Yellowstone National Park. Planning from one place to another is a big part of a trip like this. The Lord has truly been with us as we plan and as we travel. We are truly thankful a safe trip thus far.
We drove to Hoover Dam today. President Hoover, for whom the dam was named, was head of the Hoover Dam project in the 1930’s. It is another overwhelming sight in a very different way since it is man made instead of a natural wonder like the ones we have seen in the national forests. We learned how the workers who started building the dam only had to access it from the Colorado River as there were no roads or railways. Many people lost their lives while working on it. To them an impressive memorial was constructed as thanks to those who gave their lives.
This project provided jobs for many workers with various skills. Roads had to be built to get to it. Camps had to be set up for the workers to live in. A massive amount of concrete was slowly poured in blocks to build the actual wall. The work was non-stop 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The constructing of the wall took from 1931 to 1935. We never realized the vastness of the project or the real purposes of it, nor did I realize this is still a main road, US Route 93. It really slows down traffic, but passengers in those passing vehicles were seeing the dam and getting pictures as they slowly passed. .
It provides water for parts of California and Nevada. It also serves to help with irrigation so that crops can be grown. The water level has dropped drastically.
They are now constructing a US Route 93 bypass below the dam with a huge arch bridge made of concrete. This bridge looks a lot like the West Virginia New River Gorge bridge, except not as long. It is scheduled to be finished in September, 2010 and fully in operation by November, 2010. This will really help with traffic control on the dam.
We took a tour of the Power Plant, which was informative. I enjoyed the tour, but I’m sure Harry enjoyed it even more. We did a lot of walking and it was very hot. I was glad I took my water bottle with me.
We had seen the dam from air when we flew to California in 2005. It looked very small from the air. What a difference perspective we got standing beside it. The depth and vastness of it were overwhelming.
I will post some pictures. Hopefully they will show more than I can describe.
As we were coming back home, we drove up to an overlook of Meade Lake. This was a view of the gorgeous lake and its surroundings.
We are still at the Oasis campground. It is 9:24 PM and I am catching up on my blogs. We do not have Internet here, so I will have several things to post when I have Internet again. While I am working on this, Harry is planning our trip for tomorrow. He said a few minutes ago that he thinks it will take us two days to drive to Yellowstone National Park. Planning from one place to another is a big part of a trip like this. The Lord has truly been with us as we plan and as we travel. We are truly thankful a safe trip thus far.
We drove to Hoover Dam today. President Hoover, for whom the dam was named, was head of the Hoover Dam project in the 1930’s. It is another overwhelming sight in a very different way since it is man made instead of a natural wonder like the ones we have seen in the national forests. We learned how the workers who started building the dam only had to access it from the Colorado River as there were no roads or railways. Many people lost their lives while working on it. To them an impressive memorial was constructed as thanks to those who gave their lives.
This project provided jobs for many workers with various skills. Roads had to be built to get to it. Camps had to be set up for the workers to live in. A massive amount of concrete was slowly poured in blocks to build the actual wall. The work was non-stop 24 hours per day, seven days per week. The constructing of the wall took from 1931 to 1935. We never realized the vastness of the project or the real purposes of it, nor did I realize this is still a main road, US Route 93. It really slows down traffic, but passengers in those passing vehicles were seeing the dam and getting pictures as they slowly passed. .
It provides water for parts of California and Nevada. It also serves to help with irrigation so that crops can be grown. The water level has dropped drastically.
They are now constructing a US Route 93 bypass below the dam with a huge arch bridge made of concrete. This bridge looks a lot like the West Virginia New River Gorge bridge, except not as long. It is scheduled to be finished in September, 2010 and fully in operation by November, 2010. This will really help with traffic control on the dam.
We took a tour of the Power Plant, which was informative. I enjoyed the tour, but I’m sure Harry enjoyed it even more. We did a lot of walking and it was very hot. I was glad I took my water bottle with me.
We had seen the dam from air when we flew to California in 2005. It looked very small from the air. What a difference perspective we got standing beside it. The depth and vastness of it were overwhelming.
I will post some pictures. Hopefully they will show more than I can describe.
As we were coming back home, we drove up to an overlook of Meade Lake. This was a view of the gorgeous lake and its surroundings.
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