Day 11 (Tues. May 23/06)
Las Vegas
Breakfast at McDonalds
There was a Harley Davidson theme to this McDonalds, complete with cards of all the years
of Harley motorcycles mounted in the glass on top of the wood dividers. Oddly enough, there
was Yamaha, Honda & Suzuki dealer next door.
Hoover Dam
Hoover dam was built from 1931 - 1935 at a cost of 96 lives. It formed the 115 mile long Lake
Mead on the Colorada River covering 255 square miles, enough water to cover the state of New York.
Generating plants
Lake Mead and Hoover Dam are on the border of Arizona and Nevada. Each state generate their
own power as can be seen by the 2 buildings at the foot of the dam
Water Intake
Each state draws water from 2 intake towers at the front of the dam to meet their power
needs. The last 2 pictures show how each state has a clock on the tower closest to the front
of the dam. Note the white rock above the water level in the 2nd picture. This shows where
the water level was at it's highest point a few years ago.
Hoover Dam Spillway House
The usual arts & Crafts, gifts and refreshments were available but a little pricy. A cup of
ice or water cost the same as a drink. However, it was a nice cool place to get out of
the sun and get a view of the front of the dam
Views from above
We crossed the dam and rode up the side of the mountain in 2 zigs and 1 zag (last picture). Lake
Mead can be seen in the 4th picture. The 1st 3 pictures show the overflow spillways on each side
of the dam should the water level in Lake Mead become too high. The 1st picture shows the bridge
at the end of the dam that goes over the Arizona spillway.
Cranes at Hoover Dam
At first all the wires from the cranes look like power lines. US 93 winds around the mountain
side to take you over the dam. New approach bridges are already built to provide an expressway
that will cross the river just downstream of the dam. These cranes and wires are anchored on
each side of the river and span the river so that footings and supports can be built on the
mountain side to supprt the new bridge.
Lake Mead Marina
We just had to go down to see how the marina functioned after seeing how high the water used
to be. As we suspected, everything floats with walkways anchored on shore. In picture #6, the
house-like structure with the bridge connecting it to shore is for the Tour Boats.
Pictures from the bike on Las Vegas Blvd
On the way back from Hoover Dam we came into Las Vegas from the north, down Las Vegas Blvd. Pat
snapped these pictures as we were riding in rush hour traffic.
Pictures from the Deuce double decker bus
We didn't want to take the bike up the Strip that night so we took a double decker bus on the
"Deuce" system. There was also a trolley system. Neither were free. These pictures are from
the upper level of the bus before it got dark.
Fremont Street
I had heard about this street so we headed here first. The street runs east-west for 3 or 4
blocks. It has no car traffic on it but a couple north-south streets allow cars to pass
through. There are shops, venders, bars, performers and
casinos here. The whole street has a covered top that displays an awesome show.
An Awesome light show
This cover has the equivalent of 12,000 42 inch plasma TV's for the display. It's a "back
breaking, neck straining show that lasts about 10-15 minutes. There were pictures, graphic
designs, cars racing and abstract art displays. It was impressive and very well done.
More pictures on Fremont Street
Spray paint art
This guy was amazing with his spray paint art. We watched him make this picture in about
10 minutes. He used cardboard shapes to direct and control the paint spray along with
newspaper and a knife to wipe paint off, creating a unique picture all done freehand.
After dark on Las Vegas Blvd
Someone, whom we shall not mention, told us about $1.00 draft in a bar accross from Caesars
Palace. The name was wrong but we found it anyway. However, it ran from 2 AM until 8 PM,
and we got there too late in the evening. We decided to get a pizza and take it back to our
motel to enjoy with a few beers. We thought Las Vegas was alive all night, but I guess that
doesn't apply to eating places off the strip. We ended up settling for a frozen pizza from
the local gas bar.
Daily Stats
153 Kms Ridden
2 Hrs 55 Mins Riding Time
1 Hrs 01 Mins Stopped Time
49.1 Km/Hr Avg Riding Speed
Fuel Used: 7.86 L
Fuel Cost: $6.36 US
Avg Km/L: 19.45 (without the trailer)
