Right Brain Right Lane : Never know where I'm going to end up!

Boulder City, Nev - Builders of the Hoover Dam

Byron and Anne suggested I head over to Lake Mead and check out a couple of their favorite campgrounds – so here I am at Boulder Beach Campground (part of the Lake Mead Recreation Area) right around the bend from Hoover Dam. If I had known I was coming here, I would have brought my kayak!

Tall trees and cooing of doves (I'm pretty sure they're doves of some kind, but I can't find them in my bird guide) make for a very pretty and relaxing campsite.

Hoover Dam

Exceedingly big and very impressive. The 'winged figures of the republic' are, I think about 30 ft tall, and, in their day, the biggest cast bronze figures in America. At their feet are all sorts of symbolic stuff in the surrounding walkway – in addition to the usual eagles and flags, there is a depiction of all the stars one would have seen from that spot exactly as they appeared on the day of the dedication – pretty impressive. Clearly, the founders expect this dam to stand until alien life lands and use the star chart to figure out when the dam was built.

The scale is almost too big to really grasp. Not the place to go if you don't like being around big power lines and transformers (or crowds). Be prepared to be separated from some cash – parking: $10; access to visitor center: $10; Tours either $15 or $30. Also, there is a police security check before you get too close and, like airports, no guns, knives or anything carried that's bigger than a bread box.