Intake Towers

These are the intake towers at Hoover Dam. Water is drawn in at the bottom and funneled down into the generators of the dam. There are four towers sitting in Lake Mead. Two sit on the Arizona side, and two on the Nevada side. On each of the two nearest towers are large clock faces. One clock reads Nevada time (Pacific Time Zone), the other reads Arizona time (Mountain Time Zone). For half the year the clocks are one hour apart. For the remainder of the year the clocks read the exact same time. Why? Because Arizona has voted not to observe Daylight Saving Time. Therefore, when the Pacific Time Zone begins Daylight Saving Time and Arizona does not change its clocks, it brings both the Arizona and Nevada clocks into synchronicity.

The Dam Angels

These statues are beautiful. When I visited Hoover dam I expected to see the engineering wonder of it all. I didn't expect to see all the amazing art and architecture associated with the complex. Because the dam was designed and built in the 1920's and 30's it is a wonderful example of the Art Deco style. The dam itself along with the intake towers are all beautifully streamlined. By comparison, modern dams are heavy mechanical things. In contrast, the Hoover Dam emphasizes soaring, sweeping curves and lines. Although its a monstrous construction of concrete and steel, I never got the feeling of weight and heaviness when I looked at it. Instead, I got the sense of space and openness. The concave slope of the dam and its pale off-white color gives the sense that its a fragile porcelein shell barely holding back the torrents of water behind it. It belies the fact that the base of this hulk is a concrete foundation as thick as a football field.

There are a number of impressive monuments around the dam celebrating its construction. The dedication monument is my favorite. It features these two beautifully stylized and streamlined angels. It seems as if the artist is trying to remodel the bodies into aircraft forms. I understand that during this time aerospace technology was just beginning to develop. Air travel was in its infancy and the use of airplanes as weapons of war was a new concept. It's interesting that the artist would associate angels, as guardians and instruments of protection, with aircraft that also serve as guardians and instruments of defense during that time. These angels wings are very obviously inspired by aircraft wing design. There are no suggestions of feathers on these wings whatsoever. Some might argue that the patterns on the torso are suggestions of feathers. I believe them to be a stylized representation of the intercostal muscles.

There was an interesting story they tell of the statues. It is considered to bring good luck to gamblers in the Vegas casinos to rub the feet of the angels as you pass. That's an unfortunate rumor because it has rubbed off the beautiful light green patina that all old bronze statuary have. The angels toes glisten a bright coppery bronze in the sunlight. Nevertheless, it's an inspiring monument.

The Dam Squirrel

After two days of casino hopping we were a little tired of that action. So, what to do? Vegas is a huge place that basically offers a whole lot of the same thing wrapped in a variety of packages. You can gamble with a tropical theme, gamble with a pirate theme, gamble with a Hollywood theme, gamble with a classy European theme, gamble with a grungy white trash theme, etc. You get the picture. So, on the third day we decided to try something different. Let's get out of town.

Our guide book and comp book from the monorail station advertised an excursion out to Hoover Dam (or Boulder Dam if you prefer). Using the coupon in the comp book we got a fair price for the trip there. It was roughly a four hour trip. Besides seeing one of the wonders of the modern world we got to do a little sightseeing along the way.

The bus was very comfortable and not too crowded. It also provided the opportunity to do a little people watching. Our favorite two people to watch on the trip were a couple of good-looking German guys in the seat in front of us. I think they were brothers because they looked very much alike. We were calling them Hans and Franz, "The Eurotrash Twins." We think they were speaking German but not really sure. I'm no expert on German. They were about the age of frat boys and just as goofy. I hope they didn't understand enough English to know we were calling them Hans and Franz (or the Eurotrash Twins).

Along the way the bus driver tried to give a little mini-tour. He pointed out various points of interest as we drove along. It was interesting at the time but I can't remember much of it now. Mostly, I remember him making a lot of silly jokes. He thought it was funny to refer to our trip as the "dam tour", himself as "the dam bus driver", and us as the "dam tourists." Personally, I got a little tired of the "dam humor."

The dam bus driver took us around to the Arizona side of the dam because we were able to get better pictures of it from there. On the Nevada side we're so close that all you get is a picture of the dam up close. From the Arizona side we got pictures of the whole complex. While we were on the Arizona side of the dam taking pictures there was a little chipmunk scampered up to us and stopped there. I was surprised at how fearless he was around people. No doubt, people tossed treats to him so often that he had come to expect it. He stood up on his haunches to beg for food. I zoomed in on him and snapped a couple of pictures. I think they turned out well. What do you think? Hence, the story of the "dam squirrel."