Phoenix, Arizona: Vegas to Phoenix Via Hoover Dam

We left Vegas this am headed to either Flagstaff, Sedona, or Phoenix. We decided to see how things progressed on the road before deciding our ultimate destination. Knowing we need to pick up the girls on Monday evening at the Phoenix Airport was a deciding factor.

We took our time as we headed south, enjoying the now familiar desert landscape. We, well I, decided MLA had to see Hoover Dam. You know how much she enjoys dams right - not. In fact, she cannot understand what possible fascination they hold for me or anyone else for that matter. I don't know how to explain the way I feel about dams. I think they are marvels of engineering, none more so than Hoover Dam, which was completed in 1935.

Anyhow, despite the numerous "No Trucks or Buses" signs we followed the road to Hoover Dam out of Boulder City. Boulder City is the town the government constructed to house all of the workers who built the dam. This was absolutely necessary when the dam was built because it was in the middle of no where.

About a mile before you get to the dam there is a security check-point where they inspect all trucks, trailers, RV's etc. They looked in every compartment of our RV and one of the agents walked through the RV. Clearly they are looking for any vehicle which might be loaded with explosives.

The road you drive on goes right over the top of the dam. It's easy to imagine the damage that could be achieved by terrorists exploding a vehicle (or two), possibly causing the dam itself to rupture, draining Lake Mead and causing widespread destruction and flooding downstream.

It was good to see the agents taking security so seriously. They are constructing another road and bridge which, in a few years, will take all traffic off of the dam itself.

This should alleviate the prospect of damage by terrorism as well as improve traffic flow. Currently traffic flow could realistically be called a 'dribble'. You can see the new bridge in the background of the two pictures above. Both pictures are taken by MLA from on top of the dam while I drove the RV across the dam.

After driving over the bridge we headed further south. In the afternoon around 3 pm we need to make a decision. Flagstaff was 140 mile further east and Phoenix was 165 miles further south. We decided to go to Phoenix because 1) we would not have to 'break camp' and drive again tomorrow 2) we would be close to the Phoenix airport so as to avoid Phoenix traffic tomorrow evening and 3) we would not have to put the girls in the car for a two hour drive after they had been flying for 6 hours.

You'll notice in the picture above just how low the water is in Lake Mead. If you look closely you can see the 'high water' marks just under the lip on the back of the dam. The drought out here has been serious.

Currently we are about 10 minutes from the Phoenix Airport at a small campground. It does have a pool and spa (I tested both before posting this evening's blog; they work perfectly). I've been looking on-line at 'Things to do in Phoenix" . We'll explore Phoenix on Monday & Tuesday and then take the girls north to Sedona, Flagstaff, Williams, and the south rim of the Grand Canyon starting Wednesday.

One last thought/question. Why is it we show the worst side of ourselves to the people we love the most when we get stressed out? Moving days are always a little stressful for us. We are usually going someplace we've never been before driving an RV that cannot back up while towing the car. If you make a wrong turn and cannot go around the block or make a (very wide) u-turn, you have to disconnect the car in order to turn the RV around. Usually only takes a few minutes and is not a big deal except when you are holding up traffic and they have to wait for you to disconnect the car.

Well, today I ended up getting upset at a truck that kept passing us and then slowing down. Instead of simply backing off and reflecting on the fact that we are not in a hurry, I ended up yelling at MLA to 'fix the GPS' or something equally stupid. Ended up hurting her feelings and we both felt bad for the next few miles. No biggie however she's the the last person in the world I want to hurt. Oh well, live and learn....

See Ya!