Cruisin With The Cuddies: Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

While in Vegas why not sneak in a trip to Hoover Dam. On the way there Dave asked me where Boulder Dam is, as we were noticing signs for the town of Boulder. Turns out, while the official name of the Dam is Hoover, it is also called Boulder Dam. I find it interesting that it has two names, kind of confusing though. After 80 years you would think the reference to Boulder dam would have stopped.

We spend a couple of hours in the visitor center and walking around the surrounding area. The new visitors center was very interesting and mostly focused on how the dam was build and electricity is generated. It was build to slow down the problem flooding caused by the Colorado River. The addition of the power plant after the dam was completed helped pay for the dam and provide environmentally friendly and inexpensive electricity. Why not use the power of water. It is wonderful that this structure not only tremendously improved the living conditions for the region, but it also provides hydroelectric power. Quite the infrastructure. The west coast wouldn't be what it is today if not for this amazing structure.

We did not go down to the tour inside the power plant, because we were planning on going to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area after our trip to the Dam. But while standing on the dam and looking at Lake Mead, Dave noticed a large paddle boat. This area looked very beautiful, so we decided to see what else there was to do here, and found Lake Mead National Recreation Area on a Google search (thank you google). Maybe we could take that paddle boat for a ride. Dave mockingly expressed shock that I would choose a boat ride over an afternoon hike in a rock canyon. 😎. Thanks to google, we found ourselves driving quickly to catch a 2:00 cruise on that paddleboat on Lake Mead. Turns out, that was a great decision.