"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime"-MARK TWAIN

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Lake Mead National Recreation Area

 

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We have moved on from the dry Death Valley area to near the beautiful waters of Lake Mead.  After fighting the traffic through Las Vegas and Henderson, it was great to see the sign for a campground just before reaching Hoover dam.  Passed it by, did a u-turn, and got a great $5.00 a night spot overlooking the lake.  Even had a Casita from Idaho as a neighbor.

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The view from the campground.

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We had no plans, so just enjoyed the local area.  we did do a visit of Hoover Dam, but the hassle made the visit somewhat of a downer.  First was the security check to even get near the dam, then $7.00 for parking,  $8.00 to get into the visitor center, and even more if you wanted any kind of a tour.  I’ve never visited another facility that charged a fee for the visitor center.  Needless to say, we gave it a pass.

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The new bridge that now routes traffic from over the dam.

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There’s a walkway that allows pedestrians access to the bridge.

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Hoover dam from the bridge.

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The town of Boulder City is a pretty unique place.  Lots of nice shops and also street corner sculptures.

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For much more information on the town, and area, check out Marks blog.  He and Bobbie were there just a few days before us and he posted a great blog on the area.  His pictures and words are much better than anything I could put together. 

For a final note on Lake Mead.  The two vehicles barely visible in this picture are a full size pickup and a van.  Using the two of them for comparison, you can see how low the lake is, compared to the high water mark of years ago.

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One has to wonder how much longer it will be able to meet the needs of the cities of the Southwest…jc

7 comments:

  1. Great insight...and the scary loss of water! I think that's going to be huge in days to come, even here in the Midwest now. Photography is great!

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  2. Impressive pictures of the dam. Ridiculous charges for visiting it.

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  3. Hope you're not freezing! We have snow down to about 1500 ft right now in East Mesa with the storm that is moving through.

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  4. Better where you are than back at your "Homestead"....looks like some nasty weather coming to parts of East Texas, and Louisiana..I am enjoying your Guys Adventure.....and great shots...BTW what make of grill is that in the photo...Take care Horst

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    1. Coleman roadtrip two burner grill with the folding legs removed tk make it a table top grill. I think they make the same thing but i modified what i had. A great grill stove combinatuon, but somewhat heavy.

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    2. Thanks on the grill infor.....I had looked at the Coleman and felt it was larger than I needed for one person...and opted for the O grill...just got it....thought maybe that was what you had as it looked similar in the photo, and was going to ask some questions on operation....See that you got home just in time for the storm....hope the storm didn't reek havoc on your homecoming....Be safe..Horst

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Thanks for looking, and comments are welcome.