Monday, March 14, 2022 (Travel to Hoover Dam Lodge, Boulder City, NV)

It was an absolutely beautiful morning as we finished our pack up and pulled out of Constellation Park and headed to the only public Sani-dump in all of Wickenburg...at the 'Fast Mart' Chevron Station. Earl and Allison were ahead of us and managed to get done quickly, while we waited in line behind 2 rigs. We had a newbie RV'er in front of us that had a lot to learn, as we all did in the beginning :)) He had two 10' connected sections of sewer hose snaking all over the place, then proceeded to dumped both his grey tanks first and the black tank last! The dad who wasn't an RV'er suggested to his son that he should have used only a 10' section of sewer hose. Steve asked if he could make a friendly suggestion about dumping the black tank first then rinsing with the grey tanks. The wife blurted out that's what I told him! The dad then said it only took him 40 years before listening to his wife...LOL! After a very frustrating hour or so, we finally hit the road catching up to Earl and Allison who had pulled over to the side of N. Vulture Mine Road to wait for us.

With Earl and Allison in the lead we connected with highway 93 and headed north. 
Joshua Trees...
It wasn't long before we came across a lot of emergency vehicles and a slow-down in traffic due to horrible semi accident that was a mangled mess. No idea if the driver survived, but judging by the condition of the truck, if he did, it would have been a miracle! 
A forest of Joshua trees and a table top Mesa...love the scenery!


A bridge way off in the distance that we'll be crossing...
And the view below...




Nearing the Hoover Dam area...
Colorado River...
Entering Nevada!...
Our destination for the night is the Hoover Dam Lodge. We pulled into the lot and went into the lodge to ensure we could park overnight...no problem, but we just had to complete a form. After that was done, we picked our spot...backing up with our back window overlooking a spectacular view of Lake Mead.
 
We did a quick set-up and then headed out for a much needed walk after sitting all day. The Hoover Dam Lodge Trailhead was right behind us...
(Click on photo to enlarge)


There are sign boards all along the trails...
Looking back up at the Lodge...
We caught up with Earl and Allison at the bottom of the hill on the Historic Railroad Trail that was used in the construction of the Hoover Dam 4.8km/3 miles away...





There are 5 tunnels on the way to the dam...
The lake is extremely low. The hill on the upper left used to be an island and the light coloured area used to be the high water mark...
Allison and Earl...









The timbers were in poor shape so they have what looked like a shipping container to walk through for protection. It was late in the day so we didn't go all the way to the dam as we've all seen it before...
But here are a couple from when we visited back in March, 2012 with my brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Suzanne (Wow...10 years ago!)
The Hoover Dam...
The bridge where the dam picture was taken...




What a great walk! After the climb back up to the lodge trailhead, we all grabbed a bevie and sat out enjoying the stunning view...
View out our back window...
After dinner we joined Earl and Allison in their trailer for a few games of Rummikub then called it a night.
Tomorrow, we continue north....

8 comments:

  1. Hopefully, the next time we can get down to meet up. Isn't the Historic Trail great fun! You certainly had a great view for the night.

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    1. Next time for sure John and Pam! We want to complete the hike to the dam too.
      Cheers!

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  2. What a nice place to stay and lived the cool tunnel hike! So sad to see The water levels go lower and lower.

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    1. Never stayed there before but would definitely return for a night or two. I remember on our last visit one of the marina boat launches was nowhere near the lake…very sad.

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  3. Yup, we all were rookies once! Remember the first time we stayed at LaPosa South and you had to show us where sites were? We could not see them at all. That accident looked horrible, hopefully the driver is all right.

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    1. Yes…we still talk and laugh about that…LOL! Although we were no better on our first visit when we picked a goofy spot near Earl and Allison that we still laugh about. That’s how we met them so it all worked out after all. In almost 12 years of full-timing most accidents we’ve come across have been semi trucks and I think this one was the worst.

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  4. Thanks for the update regarding Hoover Dam Lodge. What a great place to overnight. :)

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    1. It was! Stunning views and a great hike for some exercise after a day of driving.

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