Standing in Two States at Once: Being a Tourist at Hoover Dam
The Hoover Dam is a piece of American history. Built between 1931 and 1936, this testament to engineering has been a masterpiece of public works for nearly 90 years.
Starting the day at EGGscelent (I got the house special: the Carne Asada Hash, and it was amazing; see below), we sat around the restaurant table discussing travel options for the day. After realizing that the place I kept suggesting we go be the “Grand Canyon Skywalk,” which I later in the meal realized is not the iconic Horseshoe Bend of the Grand Canyon nor in Grand Canyon National Park, we collectively adjusted course back to an earlier idea: visiting the Hoover Dam.
It was a great decision.
From breakfast, we drove out past Boulder City, Nevada, to the most famous dam in the United States. And then, we sat in a long line of cars to be checked out by security. Once we made it through the security check (“Do you have any weapons? No. Okay!”) we slowly rolled our way across the historic dam.
Parking well into the state of Arizona (at least by a hundred yards or so), we walked past the spillways (AKA “pit of hats”) and across the dam, and back into Nevada. I loved the art deco features built into the dam and all of the art in commemoration of it. Even the restrooms had some interesting architectural features.
The views of the Black Canyon of the Colorado River are fantastic, but if you make the quick journey over from Las Vegas, make sure to leave your loose-fitting hat in the car. It’s windy out there.
