Lake Mead and Hoover Dam

Tuesday, 12 February 

We lingered this morning in the hopes the big horn sheep might make a visit to the campground again.  We enjoyed the majestic view out the windows as the sun came up, but the big horn sheep did not show up.  The big wildlife observation was two crows getting into the trash bags across the street.

We left the campground without much of a plan other than to move in the direction of warmer weather.  Not only is the weather colder than usual this year, but the 10-day forecast is for near or below-freezing low temperatures and chilly high temperatures everywhere we considered.  So we decided to head south.

Upon exiting Valley of Fire State Peak to the east, you immediately enter the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.  Which is huge.

We turned south which somewhat followed the western shore of Lake Mead.  Along the way, we stopped off at Echo Bay to check out the lake.  Lake Mead is 165’ below being at its fullest.  Lake Mead was built for two primary purposes - for flood control and to provide water for development, primarily agriculture.  So,it is supposed to have fluctuating lake levels.  To help pay for Hoover Dam, they included power generation capability, and the electricity produced was used to pay back the construction costs.

As we drove down to the boat ramp at Echo Bay, we saw that the boat ramp was made of concrete places that can be moved as the water levels change.  We learned later that the lake has only been completely full twice in its 80+ year history, the last time in 1983.  You can see the current water level and previous water level marks in the background of this photo from Echo Bay:

Along the way, we saw a lot of beautiful scenery. 

Once we got to the south end of Lake Mead, we made a stop at the Visitor Center for the National Recreation Area.  We then went to Hoover Dam.  To enter the Hoover Dam area all vehicles go through a security check.  RVs have to be opened up for inspection, kind of like a security check of carry on luggage at airports.  Once through the security check, we drove down to and across the dam.  The road across the dam used to be like a regular highway, but that stopped with 9-11, and a bridge was built.  Today, the only traffic on the dam is workers and tourists.  Lots of tourists.  As we crossed the dam, we saw how long the line was for the Powerhouse Tour and initially decided not to do the tour.

We opted to park Sprinty in one of the free parking lots - the closer parking lots cost $10.  It just meant a slightly longer walk back to the dam.

Photo of dam with the new bridge in the background - taken from where we parked Sprinty:

Photo of Black Canyon and Lake Mead looking upstream from the dam:

As we walked back to the dam, we decided to do the Powerhouse Tour ($12/person senior rate) which included the Visitor Center ($10/person).  

• “Always buy the ticket, Always take the chance, Always make the memories” - found on bathroom wall in Alaska by Mandy Lea:  about 4:13 in her Alaska to Mexico #6 YouTube video, https://youtu.be/CZs_LV34H5s

The wait was not as dreadful as we initially perceived - about a 30 minute wait.  The tour was also pretty short.  After walking through a tunnel about 500 feet through the base of the dam, it consisted mostly of standing on a mezzanine overlooking the Nevada generators (there is one just like it on the Arizona side) while our guide explained what we were seeing.  

Perhaps unusual, but one of the generator rotors was underling repairs, so it was in full view just below the mezzanine.

After the tour, we visited the Visitor Center, the Observation Deck, and the Exhibit Building.

Photo from observation deck:

The exhibit and presentation in the original exhibit building was very interesting.  The 10-minute presentation presented the Colorado River dam system using a large topographical model of the entire Colorado River basin.  After the presentation, it was fun to look at the map and all the places Sprinty had visited on this trip - from Valley of Fire State Park and Lake Mead to Imperial Dam and the All American Canal in Yuma to Saltan Sea to Death Valley. 

Finishing at Hoover Dam about 2:30, we set out for Bullhead City, AZ/Laughlin, NV.  Tonight Sprinty is enjoying a water-electric site at Davis Camp Campground, a Mohave County Park in Bullhead City, AZ.