Dam!
Hey, look! ginabina is actually on this trip!Hoover Dam was amazing! We left for the dam at about 9am. It was a short trip from Vegas, with a Starbucks detour, of course. (I now have two Starbucks City Mugs...San Francisco and Las Vegas.)
We parked in the lot that was easiest for RVs and then walked back towards the dam in gorgeous weather. Hubby and I watched the four kids walking ahead of us and chuckled. Like he said, they are such troopers. We said, "Walk that direction" and off they walked without question or complaint. "Time to see the dam. Walk that way." They are really great kids!
We really enjoyed the dam. The tour guides were informed and friendly. They all seemed to be retired Air Force CE-type guys (Civil Engineers). The tour was incredible and we learned a lot.
The most amazing thing I learned? It only took FIVE years to build the Hoover Dam, and two of those were just to divert the Colorado River (which used to be the most dangerous river in the world, we learned) so that they could build the dam. So...THREE years! It came in under-budget and was finished early!
That would never, ever, ever, ever happen today. Sigh.
This one is a do not miss 6 stars!
posted by ginabina at 10:30 PM
2 Comments:
Of course when you realize that the Hoover dam was built during the Great Depression it takes on a new light. People AND the government wanted to work and get things done. Also today an environmental impact statement would hold up the works for many years. (Not that environmental impact statements are bad, just that it puts another level in there to deal with.)
Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:46:00 AM
Environmental impact would certainly slow them down...I was thinking more along the lines of Union demands slowing them down, Bev!
See you soon!
Friday, January 27, 2006 12:13:00 AM
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