Tuesday, January 17, 2012

STL DPB On The Road: Hoover Dam

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2012-01-15 Hoover Dam 1

We drove out to Hoover Dam on our last day in weird, weird Las Vegas. It blocks the Colorado River, the most important source of water in the American Southwest, creating huge Lake Mead upstream. It's an engineering marvel and has been around for 80 years. We took a short tour through one of the hydroelectric turbine halls. The guides were over the top, wisecracking you can take as many dam pictures as you want. Har.

The shadow in both shots is the brand new highway bridge over the Colorado just downstream. The road used to go across the top of the dam. It was slow and the heavy trucks were a risk for structural damage.

The bottom pic is a Las Vegas teaser. It's a view of the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, an architectural absurdity with a King Arthur theme. More Vegas photos tomorrow if I have time to edit. I actually have to work on the plane home.

2012-01-15 Hoover Dam 2

2012-01-15 Las Vegas - Excalibur Hotel

14 comments:

Wayne said...

I watched a doc. on the building of that bridge and found it very interesting.

Olivier said...

3 magnifiques photos, la premiere me donne le vertige, je sais pas si j'aurais pu la prendre et la dernier, une superbe maitrise des photos de nuit

brattcat said...

i like what the bridge shadow adds to the image.

Stefan Jansson said...

It's an impressive place. Your first photo is a winner.

William Kendall said...

The dam looks grand!

Pat said...

That first one makes me dizzy....and I'd still like to visit Las Vegas for its weirdness....

PerthDailyPhoto said...

That first image sent my tum into vertigo shock Bob!! Love the fantasy of the last shot. have a good trip home!

Ed Pitts said...

I can't imagine how you took the first shot. Had to turn my head while scrolling down to avoid falling out of my chair. A prize winner?

Jack said...

The Hoover Dam was a major engineering feat for its day, The new bridge is also a big engineering feat. Your photos are better than the ones I took two years ago.

Even though I am no fan of Vegas, I do like the third, colorful image. Well done.

Pat said...

I love pics of the Pat Tillman bridge. But, I've never seen a picture like yours. Great idea.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

This dam really is a pean to American ingenuity and know how.

Nathalie said...

Three amazing photos each in their own right.

Shandi P said...

I'm told I had a relative work on the dam. I'm interested now in seeing the documentary mentioned above; I heard a lot of people died making the dam. Does it provide a lot of electrical power?

I'll visit one day.

Regina K said...

I took a hard hat tour of Hoover Dam several years ago. It and a visit to Red Rock canyon were the highlight of the Vegas area.