Monday, November 05, 2007
Hoover Damn and The Grand Canyon
October 27th, 2007
Scott and I decided to spend our anniversary at some extraordinary places.
We drove to the Hoover Dam (only about 25 minutes from Vegas). From all the movies we've watched there was this huge white line that went over the middle of the damn separating Nevada and Arizona...there's no such line!
We were in awe of the dam anyway. We took the tour and got to see something many people don't get to see. They were doing maintenance on one of the turbines so we got to see it and take pictures of it. The pictures do not do it justice at all. It was massive and weighs 600 tons! They had to use both cranes inside, because each crane will hold 300 tons.
The turbine has not been seen by anyone in 23 years...
The cranes in ceiling (where the American flag is attached) move back and forth. There is one you can see in the picture and one in the back of it. The turbine is located inside the machines below.
On one side the dam is holding all this water back. We were told it was low and has been dropping each year for the last 7 years.
On the other side is where the magic happens...
In the picture above on the top of both sides you can see a bridge...or the start of one. They are building a bypass. As of now large trucks are not allowed to cross over the dam for security reasons so they have to go a long way around. After this bridge is finished they'll be able to save a lot of time on their drive. It's massive and pretty unreal.
Here's another view...
Last but not least...US!
After we finished expanding our knowledge of the Hoover Dam we took a drive to the west end of the Grand Canyon. It was about 2 hours away. The scenery was lovely. If you've ever been there you know the last few miles isn't a walk in the park. Once you turn on to the road leading you in it's 14 miles of dirt, dust and rough road. Then you get a few more miles of pavement. Once all of your insides have been giggled around for 14 miles at about 25 miles per hour (30 minutes)...you need to use the facilities. After you take care of business there is a bus that will drive you to the 3 spots they have there. They are all very close together, but enough space not to walk.
Our first spot was the Indian area. We had fun watching the cowboy show, learning some tricks, took a wagon ride from an Indian as he told us stories and ate lunch there.
Scott lassoing a fake cow and throwing axes...
Cowboy show...nice view of the canyon behind them.
Our Indian and Wagon Ride...
After that we went to a spot where they have built the SKY WALK. We didn't pay to go out on the walk as it was $25 a person and you couldn't take your camera or anything out there with you. The view from the side was spectacular anyway so there was no real want or need to walk out.
Sky Walk...
In the last 2 weeks the man that works there was telling us the rock has been breaking way. There was now a large 2 foot gap breaking away from the scenery area. The piece breaking way was about 15 yards worth of rock/cliff.
Here you can see the "laying dog" on top...
And to the left of us you can see the eagle with his wings spread out and right behind the rock we are standing on is the cracking of the cliff...
A nice gift from above...rainbow!
At the last stop we were able to go right to the edge of the cliff. It was breath taking!
The Colorado River below...
Scott on top!
Some of the canyon...
October 27th, 2007
Scott and I decided to spend our anniversary at some extraordinary places.
We drove to the Hoover Dam (only about 25 minutes from Vegas). From all the movies we've watched there was this huge white line that went over the middle of the damn separating Nevada and Arizona...there's no such line!
We were in awe of the dam anyway. We took the tour and got to see something many people don't get to see. They were doing maintenance on one of the turbines so we got to see it and take pictures of it. The pictures do not do it justice at all. It was massive and weighs 600 tons! They had to use both cranes inside, because each crane will hold 300 tons.
The turbine has not been seen by anyone in 23 years...
The cranes in ceiling (where the American flag is attached) move back and forth. There is one you can see in the picture and one in the back of it. The turbine is located inside the machines below.
On one side the dam is holding all this water back. We were told it was low and has been dropping each year for the last 7 years.
On the other side is where the magic happens...
In the picture above on the top of both sides you can see a bridge...or the start of one. They are building a bypass. As of now large trucks are not allowed to cross over the dam for security reasons so they have to go a long way around. After this bridge is finished they'll be able to save a lot of time on their drive. It's massive and pretty unreal.
Here's another view...
Last but not least...US!
After we finished expanding our knowledge of the Hoover Dam we took a drive to the west end of the Grand Canyon. It was about 2 hours away. The scenery was lovely. If you've ever been there you know the last few miles isn't a walk in the park. Once you turn on to the road leading you in it's 14 miles of dirt, dust and rough road. Then you get a few more miles of pavement. Once all of your insides have been giggled around for 14 miles at about 25 miles per hour (30 minutes)...you need to use the facilities. After you take care of business there is a bus that will drive you to the 3 spots they have there. They are all very close together, but enough space not to walk.
Our first spot was the Indian area. We had fun watching the cowboy show, learning some tricks, took a wagon ride from an Indian as he told us stories and ate lunch there.
Scott lassoing a fake cow and throwing axes...
Cowboy show...nice view of the canyon behind them.
Our Indian and Wagon Ride...
After that we went to a spot where they have built the SKY WALK. We didn't pay to go out on the walk as it was $25 a person and you couldn't take your camera or anything out there with you. The view from the side was spectacular anyway so there was no real want or need to walk out.
Sky Walk...
In the last 2 weeks the man that works there was telling us the rock has been breaking way. There was now a large 2 foot gap breaking away from the scenery area. The piece breaking way was about 15 yards worth of rock/cliff.
Here you can see the "laying dog" on top...
And to the left of us you can see the eagle with his wings spread out and right behind the rock we are standing on is the cracking of the cliff...
A nice gift from above...rainbow!
At the last stop we were able to go right to the edge of the cliff. It was breath taking!
The Colorado River below...
Scott on top!
Some of the canyon...
# posted by lizgal @ 3:41 PM 
