You can find Part One here.
Hoover Dam
Sunday morning, May 12, 2024 we were up and out the door by 8:15am heading to nearby Hoover Dam for a 9am tour.
We arrived at the entrance to find that, before we could proceed to parking, we would have to have Voyager searched. We were directed over to the side (much like a border crossing check) where a friendly young man asked me to open up the back of the truck so he could look inside. As I did he engaged me in the usual social engineering small talk that is typical of these kinds of stops. Where are you from? Where are you going? What are you doing? How long have you been you been traveling around the country?
I had to move a couple of storage tubs in the back and as I did I mentioned that Cindy had worked for Disney for 35 years before she retired. Boy, he immediately lit up! He was a HUGE fan of Disney and as I moved the tubs he said, “OK, we’re good!” Then he walked back to the cab and started talking to Cindy, lol! They had quite a long conversation about The Mouse and I started to wonder if we would ever get to leave and go park.
Here’s the thing I didn’t realize until later; if I had moved one more tub he would have seen our generator and its 20lb tank of propane sitting in the back of Voyager. I never even thought about it being back there when we drove to the dam. We obviously had NO nefarious reasons for it being there (and it would not have been large enough to cause very much damage), but I don’t imagine they would have liked having something explosive near the dam and we may have been directed to remove it before entering the parking garage. That would have meant returning to the campground and missing our assigned entry time.
So, Cindy being a former Cast Member, once again worked to our advantage.
We parked and walked to the entrance where a long line had already formed on the stairway leading to the front doors. We were glad we were early because by the time the doors opened there were hundreds of more people lined up behind us. I thought Sunday might be a “lighter” attendance day but obviously it wasn’t.
When you enter you also have to go through a personal security screening, much like the airport. I didn’t expect that either and I had forgotten that my Swiss Army Knife was in my pocket.
Not allowed!
I could either walk it back to the truck and go through security all over again (making us lose our appointment time) or I could give it up. They don’t allow you to come back and retrieve it when you leave, so it was gone 🙁 But it was my own fault for not expecting there to be tight security at such an important national facility.
Now I need a new pocket knife, lol!
Our tour was led by the awesome Xander. He led us through tunnels and passageways deep in the bowels of Hoover Dam and gave us SO much information. There were about 25 of us in his group and he answered all our dumb questions. He even tried his best to keep me from hurting myself, but I’m just too damn good at it!
You Gotta DUCK!
As we were walking through one of the tunnels he announced that next we were going to tour one of the inspection tubes that opens onto the Colorado River side of the dam. These tubes were and are used by engineering inspectors to check on conditions within the dam’s walls. At the end of the tube you can look out through the air duct slats and see the river and part of the dam exterior walls. Two VERY important things to note, he said; one is that the tubes are indeed rounded so watch your step and two is that the tubes are only 6 feet in diameter so if you’re taller than 6 feet be sure to duck your head down.
Got it.
Except, that I was approaching the entrance of the tube I was so focused on taking a photo that I was looking at my phone’s camera screen and walked my 6 foot 2 inch self right into the 6 foot high tube top. BANG! The next thing I knew I was trying to stand up but the damn floor was rounded and I couldn’t get my footing, lol! I didn’t knock myself out but I did knock myself silly. Cindy told me later that a guy behind us helped me to my feet, but I have no recollection of it. Sorry that I didn’t thank you then, guy. I got up and continued down the tube and still managed to get some good photos. In the photo album you’ll see one that Cindy took of me as we were walking out of the tube. You can see I learned my lesson and kept my head down on the way out, lol.
Hoover Dam is an engineering marvel. It is just amazing that they figured out how to divert the Colorado River so that they had dry land to work on as they dug down into bedrock for the foundation. How they developed ways to speed up the curing of the concrete. The massive amounts of materials and men that they brought in to build the dam. The ways they built some of the parts they needed right there in the desert because they would have been too huge to transport over land. They worked night and day for years to build something that experts say, barring a massive earthquake stronger than 8.0 or a direct nuclear strike, would last 10,000 years.
Today it provides electricity for millions, water for 25 million (all the way to Los Angeles) to drink and use for farming that grows a large percentage of food we consume, and flood control of the surrounding area. And, though not absolutely necessary for survival, the formation of Lake Mead provides a wide variety of recreational possibilities for the nearby population and visitors such as ourselves.
After the tour inside the dam we went outside and took photos from the top and sides of the dam. you are guaranteed to feel your smallness when you see the size of the dam up close. Then we grabbed a quick lunch and looked around some more before heading back to the campsite.
Seeing Hoover Dam is something I have wanted to do ever since I was a kid and first learned about it. I was really glad we planned this part of our trip this year to include touring and seeing Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. It’s something I think I’ll always remember.
Please join us in Part Three as we tour Las Vegas and thanks for following The Wandering Wetheringtons.
