We left Las Vegas after 6 days - yes we loved it THAT much... LOL... to Lake Mead and Hoover Dam and towards Sedona in Arizona, that was our next big goal.
As closer we came to the Dam, there were signs to see like the one in the photo above and believe it or not, a man in uniform came really inside of our camper and looked around five seconds - and left! That was the whole inspection! :)
Hoover Dam,
originally known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric-power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure. It was surpassed in both these respects by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1945. It is currently the world's 35th-largest hydroelectric generating station.
This dam, located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as the Secretary of Commerce and then later as the President of the United States. Construction began in 1931 and was completed in 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. The dam and the power plant are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981, Hoover Dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
Lake Mead is the reservoir created behind the dam, named after Elwood Mead, who oversaw the construction of the dam. The lakes water level is way below the usual line.
The Hoover Dam Bypass Project(which includes the New Colorado Bridge) is a complex project made up of four miles of roadway (two lanes in each direction), eight bridges, wildlife crossings, a 2,000 foot-long bridge over the Colorado River and various pedestrian and visitor improvements. Because of the magnitude of this project, it will be constructed in four distinct phases: the Arizona Approach, the Nevada Approach, the Colorado River Bridge, and final roadway surfacing. Construction of the Arizona approach has begun followed by the Nevada Approach in mid-2003 and Colorado River Bridge in late 2003. The entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected to be complete in 2007 at a cost of $234 million.
Construction is well underway on the Hoover Dam Bypass Project: both the Arizona and the Nevada Approaches are finished and construction on the Colorado River Bridge is steadily progressing!
Colorado River water irrigates more than a million acres of land in the U.S., and nearly half a million acres in Mexico. The water helps meet the municipal and industrial needs of over 14 million people. As it passes through Hoover's turbines, the water generates low-cost hydroelectric power for use in Nevada, Arizona and California. About 4 billion kilowatt-hours of energy, enough for 500,000 homes.
This is the Road 95 going from Boulder City to Los Angeles
Then we drove trough these steep and hilly roads in Arizona trough wonderful landscapes (The State of Arizona begins after the Hoover Dam again)
Pretty landscapes like this....
...or this here! It was breathtaking - once more!
Just beautiful!
This was made with my 300mm lens... it's one side arm of Lake Mead within the mountains
We arrived in Seligman, AZ - the birthplace of historic "Route 66". We took a closer look into this little almost forgotten town, and we did not regret our decision! I always wanted to see a piece of the legendary Route 66
In the early
Route 66 years,
Seligman accommodated many travelers with motor courts galore. Seligman is the beginning of the remaining 158 mile stretch of Old Route 66 to Topock and is rich in scenic and historic value.
Today a visit to this small town is a step back in time and tourism is still an important part of the economy.
There are stores like this "Return to the 50's"
Also James Dean is back to life on Route 66
The best
gift shop in Seligman - you can get everything "Route 66"!!!
The original Barber shop, still in his originality, only the barber is no more there
Hundreds of business cards are hanging everywhere or just stiched to the walls. But not only business cards, also notes, photos, even real money from visitors of foreign countries are hanging on the walls. A very special place, indeed! I love it!
Souvenirs, souvenirs - with Route 66 design, of course!
And then a feast for the eyes were also these old cars: an old Dodge...
... or this old Chevy...
... or this old rusty car that has seen the golden ages of Route 66, I'm sure!
And then this old gasoline pump station here - just beautiful! Nostalgia, nostalgia...all the dreams come back to life, right? :))
I got my kicks, on Route 66!
Hi my friends,
I hope you've enjoyed my post here today!
Of course, we will visit more pieces of this legendary "Route 66", it's to great!
We drove from Seligman to Flagstaff Arizona and the next morning we went to Sedona. I'll show you some photos from that beautiful place tomorrow or so... :))
Stay tuned with me!
Susanne and David
This photo belongs actually to the post before, when we left Sedona. It is such a pretty last view back towards the red rocks of Sedona! I just wanted to share it with you too. :)
This was the fantastic view, when we were driving from Flagstaff over all the hills towards Phoenix
Pretty color contrast of yellow fields and the "Black Canyon" mountains
The first fields of Saguaro Cacti came up, those are so typical for Arizona
Another pretty view close by Black Canyon City
