Hoover Dam & Cirque du Soleil

Monday, May 6, 2024

This morning, we enjoyed a hearty breakfast featuring seafood boil leftovers, then departed to visit Hoover Dam, about 30 miles south, mostly traveling along I-11. Shortly before arriving, we pulled into an overlook with a nice veiw of Lake Mead.

Lake Mead from I-11 Overlook

We continued driving, pulled into a lot where we parked, then climbed a series of stairs and ramps to a walkway across Tillman Memorial Bridge that spans the Colorado River just below Hoover Dam. Along the walkway, beside I-11, we admired fine overhead views of Hoover Dam and beautiful blue Lake Mead with its bleached stone rim.  

After descending from the bridge, we drove to the Hoover Dam entrance where we were required to roll down all the car windows and open the trunk so that Bureau of Reclamation officials could perform a brief security check. Once through the checkpoint, we dove to, and parked on Level 3 of the dam parking deck. 

The Visitor Center was closed for modernization, but after passing through security in the building currently open to visitors, we purchased dam tour tickets. Our tour included an informative film about the history of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead that we saw almost immediately after purchasing our tickets.

We learned that, after much planning and water-rights politicing, Hoover Dam was completed in three years although it took much longer to complete the power generators located on both the AZ and NV sides of the Colorado River. During the massive dam construction project, the river was redirected through diversion tunnels on both sides of the river.

The dam stands 726 feet tall and is 1,244 feet long across its crest, but a mere 45 feet long crossing the riverbed at its base. However, the short concrete base is 660 feet wide along the river’s path. The dam construction used about 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete The concrete had to be cooled after pouring to promote adequate curing. This was done by first running cool river water, then ice-cold water from an onsite refrigeration plant through steel pipes. These pipes were later filled with grout. The dam’s 17 generating units have a 2,080-megawatt capacity.

Damming of the Colorado River created the 110-mile long Lake Mead, the largerst man-made lake in the U.S. Lake Mead covers 156,800 acres with a maximum depth of 498 feet and a volume capacity of over 28 million acre-feet. We learned that water in the lake could cover the entire state of Pennsylvania to a depth of one foot. 

After the movie whet our appetites to tour the dam, we had to wait about an hour for our scheduled tour to begin. While waiting, we were able to get a limited view of the dam and then spent time seated in a waiting area scanning news on our phones.

——————— Waiting for the Dam Tour ———————

Our guide, Preston, lead us into the bowels of the dam. Preston was very informative, kept his group in line, and was proficient with the dam double entendres, “Take as many dam’ pictures as you like”, etc. Inside the dam, we stopped at a backlit map of the project where Preston reviewed its layout and how water was diverted during construction. From there we descended via elevator to the  power unit on the Nevada side where Preston described how the generator unts worked. Next, we walked through an arched tunnel and got a peek out of one of the four ventilation holes to see the Colorado River below, and the Tillman Memorial Bridge above, us. Finally, after elevating, we emerged from the dark dam interior into brilliant Nevada sunlight.

——————— Inside Hoover Dam ———————

After surfacing, we walked around a paved area that allowed us to have great views of the upriver side of the dam. Then, we ducked inside the Original Exhibit Building and took in a show that involved a diorama with a recorded presentation that sounded like it was from the 1960s. It was very retro but we learned about how the Hoover Dam and other projects aided in controlling flooding and benefited the water needs of communities in the large Colorado River drainage system.

We then walked across the Hoover Dam from Nevada to Arizona and back. We had more great views, this time of the downriver side of the dam and the impressive I-11 Tillman Memorial Bridge. On the dam wall, we spotted the outlet of the ventilation shaft that we had walked through earlier.

After our dam walk, we checked out the gift store, retrieved our car from the parking deck, drove across the dam  and ascended a hill that provided another view of the dam with a different perspective and lighting. Satisfied that we had observed this man-made wonder from all angles, we drove back to our Las Vegas campground.

In the motorhome, we refreshed ourselves, then Ubered to Treasure Island (TI) in the Las Vegas Strip. Treasure Island is a huge casino complex with a hotel, bars, restaurants, a wedding chapel, and a theatre where we had booked tickets for a show. Entering the dark smoky air-conditioned complex with its maze of flashy gambling machines and tables seemed so artificial compared to the previous attractions of this trip.

We arrived in time for dinner and ate a nice meal at a Vietnamese restaurant, Pho. 

After dinner, we waited in line for awhile, then entered the TI theatre and took our upper area centerish seats. The Cirque du Soleil show we saw, Mystere, is their  original and was very engaging, full of high-enegy acrobatics and inspiring imagery. Unfortunately, photography wasn’t allowed so we can’t share any picutres of this unique experience except a post-show photo of the stage.

After the show, we hit the strip walking south. The outdoor air felt good but the sidewalks were croweded with pedestrians. I had a hard time keeping up with Jane who’s an expert at worming her way through people. I was also playing the bumpkin role, gazing up at and photographing the brightly lit signs and buildings. As we were passing The Mirage, a volcano eruption was simulated in a large fountain along the sidewalk. 

——————— Las Vegas Boulevard Walk ———————

We eventually arrived at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino and took our place along a railing to wait for the famed fountain show. Our wait was short and we enjoyed watching the fountains rhythmically shoot water high into the air with the brightly lit hotel complex as a backdrop.

After the Fountains of Bellagio show, we called an Uber ride. But, our pick-up location involved entering the Bellagio  Hotel and walking through a maze and crowds of people to the main entrance in the center, then going downstairs, exiting and finding a covered outdoor passage to the designated ride-share pickup area. We hustled but arrived in time and after awhile, we were gratefully back in our peaceful motorhome where we promptly fell asleep after another fulfilling day.