We awoke to a sunny morning, 73 degrees for the day, breezy and just what we needed today to go to Hoover Dam. It was a pretty hour's drive down to the visitor center on Lake Mead, so we checked out the Historic Railroad Trail from there. It was designated as a national recreation trail by U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell and National Park Service Director, Jonathan B. Jarvis on June of 2015. The trail is the only remaining section of the Hoover Dam Railroad system, that is preserved as a bike/hike trail to Hoover Dam. It is 3.7 miles one way, so we put on about 8 miles today. It was the right decision. We had our bikes along, but opted to hike it, and we're glad we did. The trail goes through several tunnels and offers panoramic views of Lake Mead. The railroad was used when they built the dam to transport gravel, equipment, supplies and machinery. When we arrived at the dam site, we were on the top floor of the parking garage, so we took the elevator to 'another world'! We went from a few people to hundreds! We had last seen Hoover Dam about 30 years ago, and everything changes. It is very commercialized now, and they even charge admission into the Visitor Center! It cost $10.00 to enter, and we didn't think we had enough time to do justice to it, so we decided to just walk around, look and head back. We did all of that when we went 30 years ago, and I don't think much has changed. (Not saying we remember it all, but it is accessible on the internet!) We did see the new highway over the Colorado River near the dam. We met some fun people on our hike and chatted with them on our way. It looks like rain tomorrow, but Sunday is our day of departure and we should be able to plan on that. We've had a great stay here, and have done everything, and had plenty of time to do everything, so we're ready to move.
We saw a small herd of wild mustangs on our way to Hoover Dam today.
One of many views of the massive Lake Mead, the mountains and the marina.
Hoover Dam - built from 1931 to 1935.
This is a view north of the dam where it backs up Lake Mead. Notice the light stone at water level and above. We were told that is the water line and how high it was at one time. It is about 130 feet low.
We got a great view of the Colorado River below the dam and the new bridge.
This is the south side of Hoover Dam.
We had a snack and rested our feet at the outdoors cafe, overlooking the dam area.
We're exiting one tunnel and can see the next one on our hiking trail. They have 5 tunnels in all.
Great photos! Lets talk soon.
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