The Whole Nine (million) Yards

We have probably seen every scrap of photos and old movie footage of the marvel that is Hoover Dam on The History Channel, and probably three times over. And somehow, half the other shows on THC seem to tie in to Hoover Dam, too. It’s a standard joke around our house. So now it is time to see it in person.

We are forewarned on the internet that only certain vehicles can drive across the dam, that there is road construction, that traffic can back up a long way, and that there is an inspection checkpoint you have to pass through before proceeding to the dam. The website further points out specifically that there is parking for RVs on the Arizona side. The checkpoint, several miles southeast of the Dam is our first hurdle. We expect the worst. A Homeland Security officer explains to Diane in the driver’s seat that he and his partner are going to inspect our vehicle and we should meet them at the door. So one officer goes inside with Diane and looks around briefly while I go outside and open three of our basement compartments that the other officer selects. He doesn’t find anything suspicious and says we may go.
A little further on, we see the construction. They are building a soaring freeway and high bridge over the canyon just below the dam as a bypass for non-tourist traffic between Nevada and Arizona. The construction sign says “Expect Delays 2003-2008."

As we approach the dam from Arizona, we descend down a switchbacked two-lane road and there are several small parking areas off to the side as we go.

While we could have pulled off in one of these, they didn’t look so good for big rigs and we had the impression there was someplace specific for us where we wouldn’t block 14 cars or vice-versa. Looking for any sign that said RVs or trailers, we crept down the long, winding hill. But we shortly found ourselves driving across the dam without ever finding the lot we thought we would find. Well, as advertised, there was nothing on the Nevada side except a car parking garage (don’t turn in there!) and we had to climb out of the canyon and go a couple of miles to a casino where we parked with the buses and such.

We jumped in Essie and joined the substantial traffic jam to approach the dam from the other direction. Don’t you know, by the time we got down to the damn parking garage, it was full! So we drove across the dam and parked in one of the aforementioned unmarked lots up the first switchback on the Arizona side.

But it was all worth it. The sights of the lake and the downstream canyon are spectacular and dramatic when balanced against all the human toil we had seen on THC. We went through security, stood in line, saw the show, and took the tour elevator to the bottom of the gorge, where we saw the giant generating turbines in action. Man’s ingenuity is well-demonstrated when you stop to think, how did they get all this stuff in place?

During one period at North American Airlines, I frequently flew the Los Angeles run from New York. Those were great flights for a little sightseeing, and I frequently treated the passengers to a good view of the Grand Canyon or Hoover Dam when weather and Air Traffic Control allowed. One day I gave a short dissertation on the Dam (how high, how long it took to build, etc.) as I banked the plane so passengers on both sides could see (it is readily visible from quite a height). And then some wise guy comes over the radio and says, “Just how many yards of concrete did they use?” …I had broadcast my entire speech over the air traffic frequency, instead of the passenger address system. Dam! (There are two kinds of Captains—those who have, and those who will.)

Back in DD, we stop at the Visitor Center for Lake Mead National Recreation Area and then make a wrong turn and wander around in Boulder City for a few minutes before we get back on track and find the first campground in the Recreation Area. We have been dry camping (no water, electric, or sewer hookups) for three nights, so we opt for a commercial RV park right next door, where we can empty our waste tanks and replenish fresh water right at our site. Just before we go to sleep, we catch The Colbert Report on Comedy Central (cable TV in this park, too). His special guest star comes on to sing our theme song. It’s Willie Nelson…”On the road again, Just a hoppin’ like a toad again.” Well, he might sing slightly different words….