We stopped at the Hoover Dam. The plans for this Dam were developed in 1922
and an agreement was completed between the states served by the river (mainly
California, Arizona and Nevada) for the water rights. In 1928 Congress passed
the Boulder Canyon Project Act authorizing the construction of the Dam, which
was completed in 1935. Lake Mead was
created which is America’s largest man-made reservoir. We had a very informative tour. What
interested me is that the lake level is very low. We were told that the legal
agreements are that the dam has to supply so much water to the states involved
and some to Mexico. So, in spite of the 12 year drought (low levels of snowmelt
feeding the Colorado river) the water must be released. The other interesting
fact is that the operation and maintenance of the facility is fully funded by
revenues from power sales. The dam generates over 2000 megawatts of power –
enough to serve about 1.5 Million people.
Las Vegas is a short distance from the Hoover Dam and we
booked into Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall RV site. I wanted Penny to see the Las Vegas Boulevard
(also known as the Strip). We had coffee and a waffle at Caesar’s Palace and
went to a show “Broadway Celebration” at New York, New York Las Vegas Hotel and
Casino. The show, in a fairly small theatre, was impressive – slick and good
fun. We then walked down the “Strip” in
the dark to get the free shuttle back to our RV Park. The crowds, the extraordinary numbers of
Casinos, the glitz is something one may want to view once in ones life. I went
to a conference here about 20 years ago but Penny had not seen it before.
We will head onwards north to-morrow into California again
and through part of Death Valley.
Shaun, Penny and Lucy.
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