HOOVER DAM (Day 13 - part 5)
It's hard to believe that at one point, this area was MUCH more populated than Las Vegas. People started flowing into Eldorado Canyon in 1861. By 1900, 144 miners resided here. There were less than 30 people in Vegas (which didn't officially become a town until 1905)... and the main reason they were making a living was by growing crops and raising cows to feed the miners out here!
Part of the old gold mine
Note the barrel used to build part of the wall!
A wide variety of vehicles...
This old Model T from around 1927 used to be a water truck.
A couple of locals. Mourning doves (also known as turtle doves) are one of the most abundant and widespread birds of North America. Males and females are similar in appearance, with both parents helping to raise the young.
The numerous Teddy Bear Cholla cactus showed no mercy should you bump up against one!
Apparently we could follow the road for another 5 miles to the banks of the Colorado River. We decided to give it a quick peak.
Just beyond the mine was the wreck of an airplane, a Grumman OV-1 Mohawk. Apparently it was part of a scene from the 2001 movie "Three Thousand Miles to Graceland."
Entering Mead National Recreation Area
As most desert wash areas are prone to be
Our destination below
Unfortunately the parking lot was still quite a long walk on gravelly sand to the river, so we made do with just the glimpses we could get.
Before Hoover Dam, this area of the Colorado River was much wider and deeper. Giant riverboats would arrive every two weeks carrying 200 tons of supplies. When a new railroad opened in the region in 1905, it ended the need for steamboats.
Apparently this continues to be a problem, even with the dam.
The algae can cause allergic reactions and illness in people as well as pets... eye and skin irritation, rashes, abdominal pain, cramps, etc. Algae is normal and even beneficial to aquatic life. It usually dies off in winter. Unfortunately, many different conditions have allowed it to flourish including: mild winter conditions (causing less die-off); low levels of the lake and river (allowing for higher water temperatures and greater concentrations of the nutrients algae feeds on); and increased amounts of phosphorous (from runoff from over-fertilizing lawns and treated wastewater).
We then made our way back up the canyon and over to Las Vegas where we planned to trade in the car at McCarran Airport.
Cholla fields
A mirage of a different color... this time its not reflecting the sky but the landscape in the distance
Perhaps the religious ads were attempting to balance out those promoting the vices of Vegas, in a sort of a battle of the billboards.
Approaching the big city
Under the searing heat
Eh, it's just your basic road.
We changed out the car without any problems and amazingly even got the exact same model just in a different color. The new car gave us a continual 'low wiper fluid' warning but we could live with that; it was far better than a 'low tire' warning!
The changing of the vehicles. We'd traveled 2,792.1 miles so far.
return • continue