Hoover Dam

 

On our first full day of the trip, we booked a tour down to the Hoover Dam.  What fun!  We had a guide that I suspect was a frustrated standup comedian.  As you can see, our bus was labeled the “Dam Bus”, which created a running joke that lasted all day! 

Our first stop was to the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign, which was preserved and moved from its original location so that tourists could take photos in front of it. 

Then after a brief stop in Boulder City, we got a chance to go out on the bridge that was built 10 years ago to reroute the traffic that had been driving over the dam itself.  Quite a feat of construction.

The dam from that bridge.

On to the dam.  What a pleasant surprise!  All of the structures including the dam itself were created in the Art Deco style.  Artistic symmetry was everywhere.

Before one walks over to the top of the dam, there is an extensive monument that is full of esoteric symbology.  On the floor of the monument is a depiction of the position of the planets, stars and the Milky Way for the date of the official opening of the dam by President Herbert Hoover.

More photos of the dam and associated structures.

Back towards the bridge.

Lake Mead.

On our way back to Las Vegas, we stopped at a park in Boulder City where the Desert bighorn sheep like to hang out.  Lake Mead in the background.