Wendy's trip log: Las Vegas Trip 2021: Hoover Dam/Lake Mead & an old Mining town.

Nevada/ and a toe nail in Arizona

May 12, 2021

After waking up early. We seem to have this "bad" habit, and searching effortlessly for a free cup of coffee from the hostess in the gaming room, we got our rental car from valet and headed off to the desert. South of Las Vegas about a 45 minute drive is where the Hoover Dam is located.

As we rounded a corner, we caught our first glimpse of Lake Mead. It was beautiful. After miles of desert, blue waters shine! Lake Mead is one of the largest man made lakes in the world. It's creation provides water to 3 states; Arizona, California, Nevada, as well as parts of Mexico. The lake, or as it was created, reservoir is over 112 miles long with a shoreline that spans through parts of Nevada and Arizona at 759 miles and reaching 1.5 million acers including Lake Mohave and Las Vegas Bay. Where water now stands today, there were once homes of native Americans, and even a town called St. Thomas, abandoned in 1938 shortly after the Hoover Dam was built forcing waters to submerge the area. (More interesting Facts about Lake Mead later)

A few pictures at the Overlook and soon we were heading to Hoover Dam. Below we entered into a security check at the Dam. Apparently after 9/11 this became a high security area and check points are enforced. We actually saw several patrol while we visited the area.

Our first stop after security check was the turn off to walk over the Milk O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. The bridge was erected in 2010 as part of the Hoover Dam by-pass and named after the Mike O'Callaghan former Governor of Nevada and football player, Pat Tillman. Tillman was in the United State Army when he was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. The bridge is the 2nd tallest bridge in the United States and spans over the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.

The bridge also happens to be a great viewing area for the Hoover Dam. We decided to take the small hike up the paved hill to the bridge and walk across.

The by-pass was needed and identified as a project as early as the 1970's. However, it was deemed to dangerous to find a placement for such a structure. Perhaps not as exciting for most people, but I was thrilled to walk from the state of Nevada into Arizona while walking over the bridge.

Soon...you get your first view of the Hoover Dam. Stunning actually.

A few fun facts and a myth. Hoover Dam was built between 1931-1936. Apparently there were 96 accidental deaths and 42 deaths caused by illness. These illness's are speculated to be caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Despite rumor and myth, according to the internet, there are no bodies buried in the 4.5 million yards of concrete.

Boulder City Nevada was built solely for the housing of the 5,000 workers of the damn project. From 1930-1960, rules banning both the use of alcohol and gambling were enforced in the small city. Even today, Boulder City has just two casinos within the city limits. (One we actually visited later in the day).

Las Vegas had placed a bid to be the projects head quarters, but to many brothels, speakeasies and "parties" prevented this from happening. It sure would have changed the "sin" city of today had this gone forward.

The dam is 726 feet tall and 1,244 feet long. That is a whole lot of concrete. One source used the reference as "enough concrete to span a highway from San Francisco to NY City. " The base alone is 660 feet thick.

I had always just assumed that the dam was built to divert water to the dry desert areas of Nevada, but it actually had multiple purposes and it did not have anything to do with Las Vegas or the surrounding Nevada towns. It had everything to do with California. Are you surprised? I was. Creation of the dam would prevent flooding of the Colorado River as it ran into California, as well as supply California with 4.4 million acres of electrical power. My thinking was actually backwards. Las Vegas became a city as a result of the building of the Hoover Dam. (and the mafia) Although Las Vegas had been a town prior to the build. It was a small stop over town between Los Angeles and Salt Lake City. The Hoover Dam project (once called the Bolder Project.) created an influx of young males to the area. This was Las Vegas's opportunity to create "entertainment", mostly influenced by the mafia. Boom a city was born.

As I mentioned above, Hoover Dam was not always named such. At one time it was Boulder Dam, So what happened? Well, I will tell you. Originally the dam's built was to be at Boulder Canyon, thus the name Boulder Dam. However the site for the built was moved to Black Canyon. The previous name; Boulder, stuck as the project was to begin. However at a ceremony to mark construction of a railway line to the dam, the department of the interior announced that the dam would be named after the then president. Herbert Hoover. This sparked heated arguments and debates, as many people blamed President Hoover for the depression. Hoover and Boulder Dam were used interchangably for years when referencing the dam. It was not until 1947 that President Harry Truman resolved the name issue and deemed it the Hoover Dam.

One last fact, Hoover Dam was a target for German Bombs during World War II. This closed the dam to visitors for nearly 4 years. From 1941 (after Pearl Harbor) until 1945. Many ideas were considered to protect the dam such as smoke screens and the construction of a decoy dam. These ideas were never used, and thankfully the area was never bombed.

All very interesting information about the area and the dam. After we had crossed the bridge we were able to actually drive over the damn itself.

Here we go.

We drove all the way into Arizona and considered parking in the areas to walk down over the bridge, but decided not to. Just a little FYI. The lot adjacent to the visitors center. (Which was not open at the time we visited) cost's $10, but if you do not mind walking it is free to park on the far side. I think we would have sprung for the fee, had the visitor center been open as it was already getting HOT! This NYer left home at 37 degree's it was over 100 while we were visiting the Nevada desert.

I took a few pics as we returned over the dam and headed back towards Boulder City.

Once in Boulder City we stopped at one of the Casino's located in the city limits, Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino. Below is a picture of the view from the hotel trail.

No, we did not hike through that beautiful canyon, but had it not been so hot, we might have. Lake Mead in the distance.

The casino itself is best described as ODD. Within the walls there are actually several smaller casino's.

Below is one of them. Catch the pole dancer. Each room has a different theme. We choose not to place any bets and there are no table games only slots.

What was neat about the hotel/casino was the vast amount of Hoover Dam information displayed through out. Here are some picture

Pretty cool.

After cooling down at the Casino we were off to the Lake Mead National recreation Area visitor center.

We visited the visitor center, where I purchased a sticker, obtained the National passport stamp and got some information about Lake Mead and the surrounding area. After learning that the Lakeshore scenic drive would cost $25- to enter, and we did not have bathing suits to enjoy the water area, the park Ranger informed us of this rebuilt mining town just a few miles away. (Well a few is not really a good description.)

In the garden of the visitor center I got my first glimpse of an animal I had never seen before (Unfortunately they move rather quickly and I missed a pic.) So I never really got the name of them and even with a google search I was stumped. It could have been a squirrel or a chipmunk or maybe something totally different. What ever they were they were all over the visitor center and they moved FAST. I was able to catch this little bird delicately seated amongst the prickles of this cactus plant.

Below is a view from the visitor center, it does look inviting.

BUT....back on the road and heading to a real life (once) mining town.

Okay...if you have never driven in the desert, then you will not know the feeling of actually being in the middle of NOWHERE! (We had a few of these moments during this trip.) I personally have never experienced such a feeling as this. Driving through this part of Nevada is completely surreal to me. We drove for what seemed like forever never seeing another car, or building or anything but the road and the desert drylands. Then up ahead we saw the town of Nelson Nevada. (If you could even call it a town). What we saw of Nelson was a bank of rundown trailer parks, old rusted cars, small weathered old building and lots and lots of more desert. We continued on the GPS route to the desired location of Eldorado Canyon, and the scene did not get any more inviting. (this sign didn't help either)

But we were here and Eldorado certainly had more of an appeal then the previous mentioned. It had a lot more old buildings and rusted autos scattered about. We may have skipped the whole thing had it not been such a long ride and we saw actual people walking about the property. A small parking lot with newer cars parked at it was also reassuring. Hubby joked about being killed up here in these there desert hills and actually, history would report this was not to far off . Because of the canyon's remoteness Eldorado became a haven for vigilanties. Gunfights were a daily occurrence, and dispute over ownership of the mines (Named Tachatticup) heated the dispute. In these early days, (1870's) of prospecting, people were killed daily, and the closest law was some 200 miles North. 200 miles took the sheriff a week to get there, so murder was not even worth the time of the trip. Additionally the canyon was home to two of Nevada's renegade Native Americans; Ahvote and Queho. Between these two men it is said they killed at least 25.

What had prompted the growth of this isolated town despite the killings, of course was the successful mining.

Apparently there are tours you can take, but we unfortunately missed the booking of tours and they were full for today. So we actually did not get to see the mines, but for $1- we could walk around the property avoiding those areas marked as private property and or do not enter. After reading the signs I was not about to disobey.

While being told the rules, the daughter of the current owners; Tony and Bobby Werly, who took ownership of the property and later turned it into a tourist destination in 1994. Asked us to please come and get her if we ran into a rattlesnake.....a WHAT??? A duh, this is the desert and rattlesnakes do reside here. There would be no need to come get her, she would hear my screams and come running, no doubt. Although we never saw any rattlers (THANK GOODNESS) we did get to see about a dozen frozen headless one's just hanging out in the freezer above the cold drinks. (Also $1 buck). Why headless, well apparently these buggers can still bite you up to 3 days after they have been killed. LOVELY!!!

We walked around the main house, which by the way is an adventure in itself. This place was full of some of the oddest things I have ever seen. Stuffed bobcats, snakes, goats, and other desert animals, artifacts from the mining days, old pictures and rusted mining picks to Aliens in jars. We were told not to miss the Alien bedroom.

The host informed us that people have accused them of having aliens reside there, as well as her own experience with area 51, where she had a lazer pointed at her heart.

As we left the main house to use the facilities, I was still rattled about those SNAKES and refused to close the outhouse door while using it in fear one would sneak its way into the darken space. From there, we simply EXPLORED.

and there was a lot to see.

Since we were not on the tour, and I do not even know what the tour includes, we were left to our own interruption of what was here. It wasn't until I googled this area that I even knew what was mined.

So what I found was the area was once home to the native Puebloans tribes up until the 1700's when the Spanish settled at the mouth of the Colorado River. It wasn't until another 75 years later that prospectors would locate gold. Still a well hidden secret until the 1850's and steamboats began arriving at the River's mouth and the word of gold began the rush to this area and ones like it all over the area. The Mine remained active until the 1940's.

Since the 40's the area has been settings for several Hollywood movies. Today, the Werly's offer the mining tours, host weddings and allow explores like myself wander the property with wide eyed curiosity and an acute awareness that there could be a rattlesnake just under that dry brush.

I suppose a wedding would be pretty here.

We made a full trudge through the property and headed back towards Las Vegas and the long long trip (Although it is only located about and hour away) through the desert.

These long lonely roads sure make for a pretty view however.

Looking for a place to have some lunch we stopped at the Oldest Nevada Casino (per the Casino's report) Railroad Pass Casino.

Mark and I signed up for the casino rewards card which entitled us to $5- in casino game playing and a free Hamburger basket. We both lost what it may have cost for the Free lunch, but it sure was good and it was GIGANTIC. Stomachs full we made our way back to Vegas were we cleaned up before taking in an evening along the strip.

Back in our hotel room, we relaxed for the rest of the afternoon then set out with plans to visit the Bellagio fountain and have dinner at Cheesecake Factory. (We did not pay for a single meal, until the last 2 days we were in the Nevada area thanks to gift cards, casino freebee's and the airlines.) Cheesecake Factory was on a giftcard we had received a few Christmas's ago.

First stop, Caesars! There is no denying this place is incredible. Never a disappointment in the decor.

This is just the shopping grand entrance.

I had to get a few pictures of the many sculptures throughout. This fountain is called Neptune's Fountain, but my father reported that it is actually the sculpture of Laocoon and his sons.

The actual marble structure is located in the Vatican and from the Hellenistic period. The mythological story is based upon Laoccon; a priest from Troy who along with his two sons was attacked by sea serpents sent by a God. Why would the Gods send such an attack? Readings identify that it is either because he was being punished for attempting to expose the Trojan Horse or he had married when he was to be celibate.

The Statue of the God's located in the center of Caeser's, I have less information on unfortunately. But it's still pretty cool.

Unfortunately the Atlantis show was not going due to COVID.

Cheese Cake Factory is located right behind the Atlantis Show. We had a very nice dinner.

After our filling meal we continued to walk through the several statues and made our way back to the strip before heading to Bellagio.

This guy needs no introduction. David is universally known.

Below is an interesting image or not, of the painting The Birth of Venus. Her face covered by an apple, perhaps Eve's apple? I am not sure what this painting inturputation is, but the original painting now house in Florence, Italy is that of The Goddess Venus arriving at the shore's edge after her birth.

The statue below represents Three Sisters. Zeus's three daughters who were said to represent youth/beauty, mirth and elegance.

Outside Caeser's is the famous Hell's Kitchen restaurant.

Up next is the beautiful Bellagio. We didn't do as much exploration in this building and I know we missed alot, but we were pretty tired from a FULL day.

Outside we found a nice place to view the fountain show. The music was Bruno Mars.

The water dance is so beautiful. I did take a video, but you can really only hear the people talking in the background and barely any music. I would have liked to have watched it just a little bit later, but Mark and I are EARLY people. 5am NY time is actually 2am Vegas time. We never did get that time change thing into our systems.