Life on the Road with June and Dave: Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada

We were welcomed to Lake Mead area by a Bighorn Sheep running across the highway in front of us. Fortunately only one of the 5 that were there ran in front. Don’t like to slam the brakes pulling the camper. We all were fine, just not something I expected.

Lake Mead was formed by Hoover Dam. This is the start of the sunset color change the day we arrived in the campground.

There were these really white trees in the campground. I don’t know what kind they were, but they were eye catchers.

Our main activity while we were there was riding our bikes along the old railroad trail to the Hoover Dam. It was a nice ride out and a super windy ride back. We even walked our bikes a couple times as we felt the wind was going to blow us over.

So here are interesting facts and pics about the railroad trail. The railroad was built specifically to take supplies to build the Hoover Dam. It was a total of 30 miles, though the section we rode was 4. Trains ran 24 hours a day carrying gravel, supplies and machinery to the dam construction site.

Along the path there were these “plugs” that were used at the dam temporarily until the turbines were installed.

Five tunnels needed to be created for the train to get to the dam. Men worked round the clock in shifts and completed the 5 tunnels in 5 months. Temperatures could be over 100. They were extra high to accommodate the parts and machinery that would need to go through the tunnels. The dimensions of the tunnels were 18 feet wide and 27 feet high.

The dam was built during the depression, but men and families came and lived in harsh conditions just to have the work. Ragtown was where many of these families lived while they were there. Cabins, tents and cardboard dwellings were their housing. There were outhouses, no running water and no electricity.

Hoover Dam stats:

Height of dam - 726 feet

Length of crest - 1244 feet

Thickness at top - 45 feet

Thickness at base - 660 feet

I am including this picture for Tom or others who may want to know about the other more technical parts of the dam and its production.

The other thing I found as interesting or possibly more interesting at the dam area was the bridge that was built. The arch so high over the water seems like a crazy feat. The bridge is 1,905 feet long and is perched 880 feet over the Colorado River. Here is a link to the explanation about the bridge instead of me trying to tell you, https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/hoover-dam-bridge-top-10-facts They are both architectural wonders.

This statue is a tribute to the Scalers of Hoover dam. Their job was to climb the rock cliffs, drill holes with a jackhammer for the dynamite. Once it was detonated, they would go back up and pry off the loose rock.