A satisfying mini tour to Hoover Dam is perfect for visitors with time limitations, but who still want to explore the engineering marvel, one of America’s National Historic Landmarks.
During a 30-mile ride aboard a luxury motorcoach departing from Las Vegas, an expert guide/driver shares fascinating tidbits and stories about the dramatic construction of the Dam and formation of Lake Mead, the 115-mile-long reservoir created by damming the Colorado River.
Sightseers pass through the picturesque town of Boulder City, the community constructed in the 1930s by the federal government to house approximately 5,000 Hoover Dam workers and their families. The town was needed for the men, who, desperate for work during the Great Depression, arrived at Black Canyon to find the only housing available for families was Ragtown, a collection of makeshift shanties. Stories about meeting the challenges and surviving life in Ragtown are inspirational and amazing.
- Panoramic views and photo opportunities
- Las Vegas Valley and surrounding area
- Narrated luxury motorcoach tour to Hoover Dam and Lake Mead
- Boulder City
- Hoover Dam history and artwork
- Historical film
- Hoover Dam’s W.W.II gun emplacement
- Optional tour of the dam’s interior
At the Dam, sightseers will have two hours to browse through the Visitor Center where they can view a 10-minute film with incredible historical footage. The trucks and construction equipment appear in the documentary to be the size of tiny antique toys. These “toys” poured enough concrete in the 726-foot-high dam to lay a sidewalk around the earth at the equator. Contrary to popular myth, there are no bodies buried in the 4.5 million cubic yards of concrete.
The Visitor Center has a collection of memorabilia and fascinating information about the area, including how two airplanes, a B29 Superfortress and a PBY Catalina flying boat, ended up in Lake Mead. There will be information, too, about the W.W.II gun emplacement, the dam’s amazing artwork, such as the two bronze 30-foot winged figures and a marble chart showing the position of the stars when the dam was dedicated on September 30, l935. (Some suggest it is good luck to rub the feet of the statues.)
Close by are the plaque dedicated to a stray dog adopted by construction workers and intricate terrazzo floors with Native America designs. Tours of the dam’s interior to view the immense operating equipment are inclusive.
Built at a cost of $49 million dollars, Hoover Dam was completed two years ahead of schedule, an amazing feat considering the size of the structure. Visitors are awestruck by the fact the Dam’s spillways are large enough to each hold a W.W.II battleship. |