Hoover Dam

Towards the end of October Tina and I went to a trade show out in Las Vegas (I know ... tough job, but somebody had to do it).  On our last day there we rented a car and drove out to Hoover Dam.  I had been there when my parents went by there when I was 5 years old, but somehow I didn't have a whole lot of memory about that visit. 

Regardless of how many times you see pictures of it and hear documentaries on it, it's still absolutely amazing to see it in real life.  Just the enormity of it's size, the engineering challenges which had to be solved to build it, and the fact that it was pulled off in a 5 year schedule is just amazing.  Throw in how visually breathtaking it is and you have a place that is well worth the visit.

We did the complete tour which allows you to go down into the electrical generation portion of the design.  There's a total of 8 generators on the Arizona side of the dam and 8 generators on the Nevada side.

Walking over to the back side of the damn you can easily tell how bad of a drought this part of the country is still suffering through based on the lowered water levels evidenced by the white marks on the side of Lake Mead.  Water levels in the lake have dropped 100 feet since the year 2000 and are being estimated to drop another 25 feet over the next year.

On a brighter note a new bridge over the down stream side of the dam diverted highway traffic from having to actually drive over the dam itself.  It's hard to believe that this bridge didn't get completed until 2010 even though studies identified back in the 1960's that the dam would be inadequate to handle the traffic that was growing.

The bridge was named for Mike O'Callaghan (governor of Nevada and Korean War Hero) and Pat Tillman (well known Afghanistan hero who gave up his NFL football career to enlist).

 

Until next time ...

Labor Day 2013

So I'm still trying to catch up ... but we're starting to get there.  Shortly after we got back Labor Day snuck up on us and we had a water sports get together up at our house.  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we had more than enough people here in the morning to get a boat full of people out on the water on the raft.  Unfortunately this was the only outing that I had the camera out for, but we still managed to get most of our younger visitors captured on "film".

We started with our niece Mia and granddaughter Ashlyn.  Ashlyn was a bit nervous, but Mia's attitude got her out there.

Mind you this was before we got going so Ashlyn was still looking pretty positive.  A few moments later though and Ashlyn was reaching for something to hold onto.

Adding our granddaughter Kaylyn onto the mix didn't seem to totally settle Ashlyn, but Mia was still playing the role of the trooper.

Due to the expert boat driver, Ashlyn seemed to finally start enjoying herself.

Switching things up we got our nephew CJ out on the raft with Ashlyn still braving it through and our newest grandson, Jessie, joining in on the fun.

Jesse was a bit nervous at first, but quickly started warming up.

Meanwhile, Kaylyn and Mia were chillin' out back out on boat.

Tina's sister finally made it and we got her daughter Ellie out on the raft.

But towards the end of the boat ride it was time for the grand kids to learn what rafting is all about as you get older.  Mia and CJ didn't give me a speed limit ... or perhaps I just didn't ask.  :)

Note ... first person off of the raft for the day was CJ.

Meaning first person climbing back onto the raft for the day was also CJ.

But alls well that ends well ... and our niece and nephew enjoyed a peaceful ride back to the dock.

So November 12th and I've caught up through labor day.  I'm getting there.  Until next time ...

Bye bye!!!

;)

Day 17 - A Final Day in Wales

I actually thought I had posted this last vacation post a couple of weeks ago.  I guess that's what happens when you get older.  :)

Leaving Bath we drove 3 hours over to southern Wales and the town of Swansea.  By the time we got there it was too late to do much but we enjoyed the night at a beautiful hotel near the sea shore.  The next morning we got up early and after breakfast started the long drive around the coast line of southern Wales for the day.  Being our first time to that part of Britain we were simply blown away with the beauty of this coast line.  Our first stop was a nice hiking trail of perhaps 3 miles which took us over the cliffs overlooking the coastline.

The Coastline of Southern Wales

It was a bit cool on that day, but considered downright cold by Tina's standards.  The cows however thought it was a perfect day for laying out and relaxing.

Here Tina was all bundled up, I was wearing a light jacket, and the locals were in shorts and t-shirts.  :)

The hike ended up taking us up to an overlook of a place called Threecliff Bay which was another example of the beauty of this unique place.

Even the sheep thought it was a great day for sun bathing.

Driving on west around the coastline we stopped for lunch just in time to miss a light rainstorm.  Even then the cliff lines and water front was beautiful

The challenge driving around southern Wales is that most of the roads leading to the coast line are very narrow and windy.  Given I already had Tina speaking in a firm voice to me (i.e. yelling) about my driving abilities when you're on the left side of the road, having narrow wet roads to boot didn't help things.

 

The last stop of the drive was on the west coast of Wales at a beach known to be prime surfing area.  Mind you by now the temperature was down into the low 40's, there was a pretty steady rain, and it didn't feel anything like a Florida surfing day.  HOWEVER, there was a 20 mph wind coming out of the west, and Wales surfers never miss a day when there's a good wind making waves.

 
 

And then there was the long drive back all the ways across Wales and through England over to Heathrow Airport.  Our flight was at 7 AM the next morning so we spent our last night out at a hotel next to the airport before finally bringing our Scandinavian vacation to an end.

Until next time ...

 

So long and bye bye!