Peg and I took a return trip to Hoover Dam and this time we drove to the parking garage rather than walk the railroad tunnel trail. Made for a much nicer visit. Of course, I never thought about security which caused some concern when we pulled up with my toolbox container in the bed of the truck. Yep, this led to one of those “Pull over to that lane and see the officer” moments. After unlocking and opening the container for a thorough inspection there was relief all around and we passed thru.

The excitement of the day was the Clinton Campaign bus. We have no idea if anyone was aboard (Hillary was on the East Coast), but it was fun to see. This was just after the Las Vegas debate so it was probably a thank you treat to some of the volunteers. Most of the visitors were from overseas so I don’t think many gave the bus any thought at all. At least, there were no “Trumpsters” throwing eggs and stuff.

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed a leisurely walk across the dam. The infrastructure around the site is amazing. The generator houses at the bottom, the power lines climbing the cliffs, the cable crane system still in place since construction, roads to the helipad in the river canyon, and all the tourist attractions. The water level was about 150 feet below capacity so the bathtub ring was clearly evident. The dams spillway was so far above he water that it was hard to recognize it for what it was.

We had a good time and this brings us full circle on our 100th National Park tour providing the perfect bookend. We are now in Salome, Arizona (not a place to bother visiting) about 50 miles southeast of Quartzite. Monday we make the short trip to Apache Junction where we will meet up with our friends from last year and make new acquaintances.

Thank you for following Peg and I this summer and looking at our pictures. All the comments we have received on Facebook have been super. Don’t forget you can see over 16000 pictures I have taken over the last 15 years on Flickr.com. The sjh1010.net blog will continue on so stay tuned.

Thanks,

Sjh

Hoover Dam in October 2016