The
two RV Gypsies drove past Lake Mead
on their way to Hoover Dam
in Boulder City (Clark County) NV 89005
and in
Mohave County, Arizona
October 1, 2022 |
The two RV
Gypsies drove past Lake Mead on their way to Hoover Dam. |
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 Then
it was on to Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black
Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states
of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during
the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its construction was the result of a massive
effort involving thousands of workers, and cost over one hundred lives.
It was referred to as Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover in
bills passed by Congress during its construction; it was named Boulder
Dam by the Roosevelt administration. The Hoover Dam name was restored
by Congress in 1947.
Since about 1900, the Black Canyon and nearby Boulder Canyon had
been investigated for their potential to support a dam that would
control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric
power. In 1928, Congress authorized the project. The winning bid to
build the dam was submitted by a consortium named Six Companies, Inc.,
which began construction of the dam in early 1931. Such a large concrete
structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques
were unproven. The torrid summer weather and lack of facilities near
the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies
turned the dam over to the federal government on March 1, 1936, more
than two years ahead of schedule.
Hoover Dam impounds Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the United
States by volume when full.[6] The dam is located near Boulder City,
Nevada, a municipality originally constructed for workers on the construction
project, about 30 mi (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada. The dam's
generators provide power for public and private utilities in Nevada,
Arizona, and California. Hoover Dam is a major tourist attraction,
with 7 million tourists a year.[7] The heavily traveled U.S. Route
93 (US 93) ran along the dam's crest until October 2010, when the
Hoover Dam Bypass opened.
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The Hoover Dam is an awesome
engineering feat. It took five years to complete and was built using
three and one-quarter million cubic yards of concrete. That's enough
concrete to pave a 16 foot wide road from New York to San Francisco,
CA. Since the bypass bridge was finished in October 2010, the Hoover
Dam has become even more amazing.
The graceful, concrete arch is designed to support the bridge. Its
curved shape spans the gap of Black Canyon. The bridge connects Arizona
and Nevada, and creates a faster route across the river. It's open to
traffic, and has a sidewalk as part of the pedestrian and visitor amenities,
which include a parking lot, trail, and interpretive plaza. When under
construction, the bridge was referred to as the Hoover Dam Bypass Project.
It is now named the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. |
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Below: A statue of a worker
on the side of the bridge |
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Below: On the Nevada side
of the dam are two 30-foot-tall bronze statues depicting the “Winged
Figures of the Republic”. The luck is found in their toes that people
can rub. (But the two RV Gypsies did not get to go near the statues).
The figures are sentries at the entrance to Hoover Dam, part angel,
part symbol of the strength of man. They are the work of a sculptor
named Oskar J.W. Hansen, a Norwegian immigrant who came to the United
States after some time in the merchant marines. Both winged figures
sit on massive blocks of solid black diorite on either side of a 142-foot-tall
flag pole. (only a small part of the flag pole is shown in the below
picture) |
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Below: Driving over Hoover
Dam and leaving Nevada and entering Arizona |
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It took over five years to
build the Hoover Dam and it requires constant maintenance. It is the
largest reservoir in the United States of America. Holding a staggering
28.9 million acre-feet of water, the capacity of the Hoover Dam is almost
incomprehensible. |
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Below: It was a very windy
day when the two RV Gypsies were here, which is why Karen Duquette took
off her hat, and therefore her hair blew wildly in the wind. |
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Below: Looking left and then
looking right |
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Below: Crossing back over Hoover
Dam from Arizona back into Nevada |
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Below: FLASHBACK at Hoover Dam on October 24, 1993 - Karen, Lee, Phyllis,
Frank, Sue & Don (other photos have been lost) |
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