The Hoover Dam Experience

On our last day in Vegas, we decided to take a trip out to the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.

 The Dam

Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935. Its construction was the result of a massive effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives. The dam was controversially named in honor of President Herbert Hoover.  

Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction project. The dam's generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California! That's a lot of power!

Here's the pics for Hoover Dam.

The walkway over the dam

I have no idea how they keep those up! (could also be a nice pic for a Viagra ad. LOL)

The Dam Wall

Grand Canyon (sort of...)

What we didn't realise at the time, is that the Canyon which is Grand, was about 4 hours away from here... so unfortunately we did not make it all the way out there. We did, however, take a little drive through the outskirts of Arizona and the Canyon.

I love this. Apparently, not everything is for sale...

Back on the road...

 Once again, the road was surrounded by desert and diners, billboards and the like dedicated to Alien sightings (cos that's totally normal...)

We also drove past lake Mead:

On the way back to Vegas, we drove through Freymont Street.

Freymont Street... going to the chapel and we're..

Fremont Street  is the second most famous street in the Las Vegas after the  Strip. It's located in the heart of the downtown casino corridor, Fremont Street is (or was) the address for many famous casinos such as Eldorado Club, Golden Gate Hotel and the Golden Nugget. It's basically a tackier version of the Las Vegas strip - yes, apparently it is possible.

This area is also home to the (in)famous Las Vegas Chapels.

The Little White Chapel

Which has seen a lot of celeb weddings:

• Britney and Jason
• Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward
• Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow
• Bruce Willis and Demi Moore
• Judy Garland and Mark Heron
• Mickey Rooney - and two of his eight wives

I suppose what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas... sometimes you have to take it home and deal with it. At least Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward had a happy ending :-)

The Tunnel of Love at the Wedding Drive-Thru. Classy!

Miami photos up next!

xxx