Thursday, Hoover Dam

Out of the city, on to Hoover Dam today.  The drive to Hoover Dam was rather uneventful, no spectacular scenery.  Until we arrived at the dam!

Although the dam is not a natural wonder, it is nevertheless a wonder! What is amazing is the fact that the engineers conceived and brought to completion this structure without the aid of CAD or even advanced calculators.

We took the tour - had a delightful guide - but what stood out to me was the most was the sparkling cleanliness of the place, from the parking deck down to below the dam in the turbine area.  Gleaming, "see your face in the reflection clean."  Guess I was expecting a dark, noisy, greasy, coal-dust (I know, I know - water-turbine!) filled tunnel. Steve was most impressed with "the construction of it" - how's that for a male / female perspective?!

So, for those who are interested in "the construction of it" here is some physical data: (hopefully more interesting than me saying "Wow, it must have taken a ton of concrete to build it!)

The Dam
Type: Arch gravity
Height: 726.4 feet
Crest length: 1224 feet
Crest width: 45 feet
Base width: 660 feet
Volume of concrete: 3.25 million cubic yards

The Powerplant
Commercial generating units: 17
Station service units: 2
Nameplate capacity: 2080 megawatts
Length (each wing): 650 feet
Width (each wing): 55 feet
Height (each wing): 75 feet

Lake Mead
Shoreline: 550 miles
Capacity: 28,254,000 acre-feet
Maximum depth: 498 feet
Length when full: 110 miles

Sorry to interrupt the program, but just ate an authentic Navajo Indian restaurant that served Mexican food.  Very busy, and we were the only white people in the place!  Had Mexican pizza - delicious.  Just thought I'd throw that tidbit in.

Back on the road again - about an hour from Albuquerque, then about half an hour further to our destination for the next 3 days - Santa Fe.  We are so looking forward to Santa Fe -  we love the southwestern culture and architecture.  Thinking about doing our basement in southwestern style - goes great with European Traditional, right?!

Day 6  Mesa Verde National Park

After watching our home church service via the Internet (thanks Drew!)and seeing a few glimpses our our precious Mia, we spent the afternoon in Mesa Verde National Park.  This was simply fascinating!

Around 900 AD, Anasazi Indians came to this area, followed by other tribes around 1200 AD who were later known as Ancestral Puebloans. These Indians built communities into the sides of the canyon walls underneath cliffs by shaping blocks of sandstone which they used to build walls.  The rooms are quite architecturally creative and beautiful to look at.

We were able to see 3 major communities, and Steve actually hiked down to one that is accessible to visitors.  (Another site is accessible only by ladders down the canyon wall!)

The park is huge, with many interesting sites of excavations, a museum, lodge, and restaurants.  We took a driving tour around the top of the mesa, which presented good photo ops!  Haven't seen the pictures yet - hope you are able to get a good idea of how spectacular these communities really are.

Weather today - a beautiful 69 degrees!

Tomorrow, we head into Utah to Zion National Park.  I keep wondering if we will get tired of the National Parks, but so far they have been so diverse, it has been a gift to be able to enjoy God's creation so up close and personal!

And I have a most wonderful traveling companion.  I chuckled to myself the other day, thinking about how compatible we are after 30 years!  We just love being together.  (Good thing!)

Until tomorrow, if the motel has wireless!