It was a beautiful sunny day today, if a bit chilly. And I was moving from one campground to another campground that was only about an hour-and-a-half drive away, so as I drove past Hoover Dam, I saw the signs directing you to the visitor area, so I made a quick decision and decided to stop for a while. I had been here several years ago, but I figured it was worthwhile to see it again.
Last time I was here, this new bridge had just been completed. Before 2010, you had no choice to drive over the dam to get to the Arizona side of the river. This took a long time, obviously, and was a serious security risk, so the new bridge is very handy. The only negative is that the bridge tends to have high winds over it, so high vehicles like mine are told to move into the left/center lane so we don't get blown off!
There are lots of signs warning you as you drive towards the dam listing
the things you are not allowed to bring with you. Also, you have to
stop at a security checkpoint to have your car or RV inspected.
Luckily, today was a Friday, and there were no crowds of tourists, so I
had no wait, and the inspection took only about five minutes, although I
did have to let one of the inspectors inside. He just stepped up onto
my entrance rug, looked around, and said everything looked OK, so I
drove on.
This next photo shows the approach to the dam from the Nevada side. There is a new parking structure to the left here, just before the big rock wall, but there is also parking for big vehicles and more cars on the other side of the dam. So you can still drive across it if you want to.
I wonder how many tourists let the bridge people know that this electrical tower is about to fall?
Approaching the drive over the dam. Walkers are constantly walking across the roadway, so you do have to drive very slowly and stop for pedestrians.
One problem with parking on the Arizona side of the dam is that nearly all of the parking is along a road that zigs and zags up the mountain. My problem was that I cannot walk that long of a distance, so as I came back after turning around at the top, I drove back down and found the $10 lot shown low in the distance. Lots of room for my big vehicle and while walk was still long, it was doable.
At least I got a good view of the overflow channels on my walk.
Glad it was a cool day for walking.
Nice view of Lake Mead. Note the white "bathtub ring" that shows how deep the lake used to be. There is also a tiny white sailboat in this photo, which shows you how wide the river is here.
I crossed the roadway to take some photos of the opposite side of the dam.
This is the old exhibit building. Unfortunately, not only is this old exhibit building closed right now, but so is the newer one that they are still working on!
The brown building is now the tour headquarters, but it will also be an exhibit hall later this spring.
Went back to my rig, and am now driving back across the bridge.
And on to my next campground where I will stay for 13 days. Hoping to see the bighorn sheep that hang around that area.
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