Arizona - Hoover Dam

Since we were within an hour and a bit of the Hoover Dam we decided to drive over and maybe go for a tour.  We however forgot to calculate into our plans another week of spring break!  Needless to say there were hoards of people.

road to Hoover Dam

not the big overpass

We thought we would check out the tours and see when one was available.  Unfortunately, to get into the tourist center costs $7 per person and we don't have wifi capabilities on our cell phone so needless to say it would have been expensive to check out tour times and availability.  We opted not to as we have been on a tour before.  Clark would have liked to check out the power plants but  we will leave that for another year when times are better.

a make work project after World War I

a local inhabitant

 

Hoover Dam has become very commercialized.  You pay to park, you pay to go into the tourist center, you pay for the tours (this I can see) and you probably pay a lot to have a meal.  You can't get in to see the exhibits without a tour pass but you can use the bathrooms for free.  We did this tour before when we were in Las Vegas and paid for a package.  It was worth it.

We drove over the new causeway to get to the entrance to Hoover Dam, which is the old highway.  We thought we would leave by the old way but it is now a cul de sac and you have to go back through the people to exit. 

pictures just don't do the size justice

we parked on an upper (free) level an opted to walk down to the dam

notice how low the water is

(the white lines on the cliffs are how far down the water has dropped)

overflow bypasses the turbines

overflow entrance to the Colorado River

 

this part wouldn't normally be visable but the water is so low

the intake towers

the dam wall holding back Lake Mead

Colorado River below the dam

the new causeway over the Colorado River

notice the screens on the tower -

they are to prevent debris from entering the turbines

Lake Mead formed from the construction of the dam

 

We were going to drive into Boulder City for lunch but just outside Hoover Dam is a casino with a full lunch buffet that we couldn't pass up.  $6.95 each including your coffee - what a deal and it was good.

Clark just told me that water in Lake Mead is 100 feet below capacity.  The all time low was in 2011 but has risen a bit since then.

Arizona - Sedona

From Jerome we traveled to Sedona. 

we started seeing some of the red rocks along the drive

There are reputed to be several areas that have vortexes but we didn't get uplifted!  We did however take in a drive to a very scenic area of Sedona.

unfortunately there was a lot of haze in the distance

lots of red rocks and different formations

everywhere you turned there were spectacular views

looks like a fortress

the Chapel of the Holy Cross

 

At the top of the winding path that led to the entrance to the Chapel of the Holy Cross I couldn't resist taking a picture of these pretty faces.

 

 

We left Sedona and headed north towards Flagstaff and a faster way back to our RV.  It was another winding road to Flagstaff but not like the trip to Jerome.

 

 

lots of pines

 

Along the road were quite a few resorts, motels and campgrounds.  The campgrounds weren't open as yet.  We saw evidence of snow in the trees and at 6000 feet the nights would get below freezing I am sure.

 

As we neared Flagstaff, Clark snapped a picture of these mountain peaks with snow on them.  I believe that peak is Humphrey's Peak the highest mountain in the San Francisco Mountain Range.