Lake Meade National Recreation Area, May 2-3

I passed through Boulder City last fall when traveling with Joel on our way back from Tucson, so I was familar with the Boulder Campground and looking forward to crashing for a day or so before heading north to Reno.  The Wind Gods heard my plea from the other day  and the winds were much calmer and the drive easy.

I wanted to check out the visitor center and tour Hoover Dam and walk the new bridge bypass while here as well as explore some of the viewpoints of Lake Meade.  Hoover Dam is an engineering wonder and I still marvel at all of the man hours it took to built and the  resulting big lake..Lake Meade.  Of course with the forming of Lake Meade came a thirsty population in the form of Las Vegas


There are several tours offered at the dam and Sandi and I opted for the shorter one which takes you down inside .  The picture below is the concrete part of the dam holding Lake Meade back.  I was standing at the the base of it.

 Some of the turbines:

 The new Mike O Callagman-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.  It has been dedicated to Pat Tillman, pro football player who joined the marines and was killed in action.

 Looking towards the Arizona side

 It took six years to fill the lake to the high water mark.  Today the lake is 46 feet below average and 146 feet lower than the high water mark.  The low water level is due partly to thirteen years of drought and the increase in demand for water. Water is divided between California, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado.

 Over view of the dam for the new bridge.

 Yep, I walked the whole length of the bridge

 The medallion indicating the Arizona and Nevada lines.

 Lake Meade has a huge Marina. The Boulder Campground is in the distance. Next time I'll bring the Kayak and schedule much more time.

We. drove Lake Meade Drive all the way up to The Valley of Fire State Park and through part of the state park.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't take any pictures although the drive was very scenic.  The state park is beautiful but a little pricey ($25 per night) for dry camping and most spots would barely work for my little RV. We turned round and drove back to the Boulder Campground which was filling up with weekenders from Las Vegas.

Tomorrow I head back to Reno to drop Sandi off.  I won't make it in one day but should be there by Sunday.  Sandi's husband is anxious to have her back.