Day 27 Arizona to Nevada

I drove up north to one of my “Must See’s,” the Grand Canyon. I entered the Grand Canyon National Park from the South Rim Entrance and stopped at the Visitor Center. I then took the dogs on a two-mile hike on the Rim Trail, stopping for a few pictures along the way. This included a stop at Mather Point, which may be the most visited scenic view point in the park. On an earlier blog, I wrote that Canyonlands would be tough to beat, but the Grand Canyon easily surpassed it due to the depth, width, and stunning views. Well worth the stop. I posted three pictures from the canyon, with the third photo being Mather Point taken from another cliff.

I then drove west along northern Arizona and entered the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona. I checked in at the Visitor Center, which is just over the border into Nevada. I asked for directions to the Historic Old Railroad Trail, but the clerk suggested I visit that early the next morning, as it was 100 degrees at the time. Instead, I drove over to the Hoover Dam and took a few pictures. Hoover Dam was recognized as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1984. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985, cited for its engineering innovations. When it was completed in 1936 it was the largest hydroelectricity facility in the world, and is still the seventh largest in the U.S. It has been a part of many films, most notably Superman, Transformers, and San Andreas.

I had to drive across the dam to the Arizona side for the parking areas that can accommodate RVs and trailers. From there, I took photos from the back of the dam, including one looking back at Lake Mead. In the photo of the dam from the back you can see the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge that connects Arizona and Nevada and is part of the Hoover Dam bypass highway. It adds to my list of “firsts and mosts” as it was the first concrete-steel composite deck arch bridge built in the United States and incorporates the widest concrete arch in the Western Hemisphere. It is the second highest bridge in the United States after the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City, Colorado. I was able to walk up to the bridge for the overlook photo of the front of the dam.

I then drove to my campsite at the Boulder Beach Campground in the national park.