Hoover Dam & Colorado River Raft Float...

Well this evening's blog is being

 written in rather different circumstances....

APOLOGIES - MY IMAGES ARE NOT UPLOADING AT THE MINUTE - I WILL TRY AGAIN IN THE MORNING - UNTI THEN - HAPPY READING,,,,,

I am used to typing away in a quiet room, having the quietness of the evening to help me find the right words.

Tonight - we are in Vegas - and the neon lights of the 'strip' are reflecting off the window.  We have just had dinner, having walked through an area of hundreds of slot machines.  The culture shock of the Bryce experience to the Vegas experience could not be more marked.

We started the day bright and early with breakfast in Boulder City, with a short drive to the Hoover Dam Visitor Centre.  As Robert drove the coach towards the Dam itself, we were all amazed at the grandeur and scale of the complex. We were shown a short video on the building of the 'Boulder' Dam, which was later renamed 'Hoover' in honour of it's great creator - Herbert Hoover - not the other one!

After descending many metres to the floor of the Dam, we were privy to the workings of the generators and the outstanding engineering which took place to produce of the modern day wonders of the world!

When we had looked at the sights - we then made our way to the Boulder City Hacienda Hotel - where we were to commence our river float trip.

We left Robert and our comfortable coach - and were driven through areas restricted to most, and found ourselves at the foot of the Hoover Dam wall.

When we were all safely 'loaded up', we were then on our way....

Our trusty guide - Dave  - highlighted to us the many types of different geological forms located along our route.   We saw hot springs caused by seismic acticity, non-conforming rocks, fault lines and 'tropical' grottos.

The remnants of the engineering required to create the Hoover Dam in the 1930's was still visible at times. The 'Gauge Men' who had to climb  across some treacherous areas to measure water levels and velocity - always taking their life in their hands to do so - was just one of the 'tit-bits' that Dave shared with us.

We had a few stops to allow the students to cool off - and some took this to the extreme - as you can see below!!!  the temp was about 12 C - so they were indeed brave wee souls (they have been awarded points for their teams to acknowledge their courage).

We eventually got to  our destination and we disembarqued our loyal raft.  We were met by Robert who drove us back to the hotel to pick up our luggage - as coaches are not allowed to cross over the Hoover Dam with luggage!!!

The images below do not do it justice - but I thought they might give you a small glimpse into our day.

And so the scene was set - we were now on our way to Las Vegas !!!  cue the old classic by Elvis.....

We were able to see the 'strip' from about 10 miles away - and as we drew closer - the Zion team were getting louder and louder.  The excitement was almost tangible - with everyone making mental lists of shops to be visited and spectacles to be witnessed.

We pulled up outside our final hotel - 'The Riviera' and the bell-hops took out luggage to our rooms - pretty soon we were in 'Kady's' for dinner - where the steaks ordered were as large as our dinner plates!!!!  - well you know what they say about things in the US!!

Anyway - tomorrow is a day of the artificial type of attraction - rather than the natural we have been spoilt with recently.  We will have a little time to shop tomorrow - which I know a lot of the group have been looking forward to.  Abercrombie & Fitch -here we come!!!!!!!

Some have gone for a walk to see the lights - my trusty apprentice Jade is taking the photos - so you will get the latest update tomorrow evening!!!

Until then - Goodnight x