We continue our road trip in Las Vegas at The Cliffs at Peace Canyon. Since Bluegreen resorts are few and far between in the southwest, we traded one of our Bluegreen weeks into RCI – a timeshare clearing house of sorts – for a week in another timeshare company, thereby expanding our options. This nine-week trip required three RCI stays, and all three were excellent. The furniture was even pretty comfy here in Vegas, which is rare. They had a beautiful pool and although it looked inviting, the weather was only “fairly warm” so we didn’t even dip a toe into it.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
< Visit the first post of this series – Escape the Tundra 2019

When a lot of folks visit Las Vegas, staying on the strip is their dream – maybe even a requirement. Doing so will allow a walk from their hotel lobby right into the action of this wild and colorful city.

But Jim and I (well, mostly Jim) are not really Vegas people. We come to Las Vegas for a show or two, people-watching with drinks and a couple of great meals. Since we usually end up leaving several hundred dollars behind at the slots, this trip we’ll limit our trips to the strip and focus on the surrounding areas.

Unpacking and getting organized gets us started in a new location. Since Red Rock Canyon is only about 15 minutes away (and entrance is free with our NP pass), we decided to do a recon of the 13-mile scenic loop so we can make the most of our visit later in the week. We knocked out the Visitor Center today and did the loop without stopping to get a feel for the road and how great each stop was going to be. The loop is one-way and plenty wide to pass really slow traffic, and apparently a race track for others. Although the road was nice and curvy and would be fun at higher speeds, we wondered why someone would want to ricky-race through such beautiful scenery. To each his own.

It was a beautiful VC, with a great panoramic window to see most of where the loop will take us. We arrived later in the afternoon and the sun was starting to sink behind the mountains, so we’ll get an earlier start next time for brighter views.

After our preview of the Canyon, we stopped at a grocery store and Costco for a refuel. We had seen many of the movies up for consideration (for the first time in years), so we watched the Academy Awards, had leftovers for dinner and looked forward to the rest of our stay in Las Vegas.

Next day we visited the Hoover Dam. A lot has changed since I was here so many years ago. Back in the day, all traffic on Hwy 93 had to travel over the dam. As traffic continued to increase over the years, this would cause quite a backup during peak tourist season – sometimes up to four hours. Now an awesome bridge diverts traffic, so only those who are actually visiting the dam cross over it – making security a whole lot easier with less wear and tear on the dam.

Opening in 2010, the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is quite a feat of engineering. It is the longest single-arch bridge in North America, with a pedestrian lane on the dam side for a birds-eye view. Jim said no-way to my request to check out that walkway, and I decided against it as well. The second photo shows two semis – one carrying at least four cars – zooming by pedestrians at highway speeds. I’m sure there are safety measures in place, but no thanks!

“Construction began in 2005 and the officials cut the ribbon in October 2010, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of Hoover Dam. Although bureaucratic and contractual delays and a major equipment mishap added years to the timeline, the project met its $240-million budget.

A series of wildlife-only over- and underpasses protect the nation’s largest herd of endangered desert bighorn sheep from the heavier volume and faster speed of traffic on the modernized highway. Highway officials used radio collars and GPS to track the migratory patterns of sheep and other wildlife to identify optimal crossing points.” READ MORE

We got here pretty early this morning and we found parking in the closest free lot, just a short hike to the dam. There are several more free lots further up a hill and if all of those are full, a multi-tiered structure offers parking for $10 (in the distance in the photo below). The structure is close to the Visitor Center, restaurant and gift shop.

A small herd of those bighorn sheep were munching on the moist, grassy area just past the guardrail and down the slope in the same photo. They blend in so well on the rocky slope, we didn’t see them until we saw people pointing.

The waters of the Colorado River were diverted into spillways during the building of the dam, and today they act as an overflow area if water ever gets high enough to cause concern. The Arizona spillway is shown below, and there is another one on the Nevada side.

Pictured above and below are just two of many information boards found on the dam which tell its story. You can get a lot of background by zooming in on those. Two of the intake towers are pictured below, with two more on the Nevada side. They contain the pipes that carry water into the generators, so they are both functional and quite beautiful!

We spent nearly four hours here in the warm sun, with one of those hours spent in line to get tickets and then waiting for our tour to begin. It was a long wait, but with such great views, we didn’t mind at all.

The only time the spillways were used was in 1983 when Lake Mead was full. The high-water mark is indicated by the white rocks which were submerged at that time. The level has been dropping as demand has far exceeded supply. Vegas, large parts of California and Arizona rely on water from the lake, and the ongoing drought there hasn’t helped the situation.

Once our wait was over, our tour guide gathered an elevator-full of anxious tourists and we descended into the depths. Because the dam became an icon of modernism when it was being built, the walkway to- and several other areas in the Power Plant had beautiful Art Deco designs. I didn’t realize that the initial intent of the dam was just that – a dam. After the fact, they decided that the hydroelectric power would be a bonus.

At the center of the dam is the AZ/NV state line and the changing of timezones. My photos weren’t taken at the same time, so don’t look too closely at the clocks!

The outdoor areas were pretty great too, with a wonderful exhibit about the men who lost their lives. Officially, less than one hundred died during the building of the dam. That number did not include those who were injured at the dam site and died in transit to, or at a hospital, or after they were discharged. With that disclaimer, the number is obviously higher.

“The “official” number of fatalities involved in building Hoover Dam is 96. These were men who died at the dam site (classified as “industrial fatalities”) from such causes as drowning, blasting, falling rocks or slides, falls from the canyon walls, being struck by heavy equipment, truck accidents, etc. Industrial fatalities do not include deaths from heat, pneumonia, heart trouble, etc.” – READ MORE

Our tour guide also mentioned that since no one had social security numbers at that time, if Bob got fired for not coming to work one day, he could cut his hair, shave his beard and get a job as Steve a couple days later. This made the missing persons count and the names of those who died pretty tricky at that time.

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and having so much time to spend here. We got an awesome view of Lake Mead at an overlook as we were leaving the dam. As you can see, the water would have to rise quite a bit to return to the “full” stage of 1983.

Next morning we attended a sales presentation at South Point Hotel Casino, about 20 minutes away. Normally we refuse, but with more time and limited spending money in the budget for this trip, we reluctantly agreed. Our free brunch buffet before the sales-pitch turned out to be pretty awful, but we lucked out when our salesperson realized we absolutely weren’t going to buy anything! and let us off the hook quickly.

Instead of taking her up on her offer to drive, we drove ourselves so we could wish her well and enjoy our free voucher booklets at South Point. Although we had several booklets, the $20 slots vouchers were limit one each and were gone before we knew it. But we did take advantage of several of the free drink vouchers, since we couldn’t let those go to waste!

One perk of staying at The Cliffs is the free shuttle to the strip, Fremont Street and several other locations around town. Although it will save you money over a cab or Uber, there isn’t much room for spontaneity given its reservation system. But if you know us – we’re not that spontaneous – so it worked out well for us!

The next day we took the 2pm shuttle to the Mirage. It was a short walk to Treasure Island, where we picked up our tickets for this evening’s Cirque du Soleil’s “Mystère”. We have always enjoyed Cirque du Soleil in the past and for $50 we picked those along with a buffet at Treasure Island as the rest of our “rewards” from the presentation.

Since we had lots of time before the show, we wandered a bit and then gravitated toward Caesar’s Palace, which has a wonderful courtyard and several vendors to help with our adult beverage needs. We enjoyed people-watching under the shade of a canopy on this gorgeous day until it was time to head back to Treasure Island for the rest of the evening.

The buffet was just delicious and the show was pretty good too, with lots of bendy folks doing dangerous acrobatics way up in the rafters. We had pretty good seats, considering it was a relatively cheap evening. All in all, the hour we spent with our laid-back salesperson was well worth this fantastic day.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Las Vegas, but we’re not done yet!

Next up: Long and Winding Roads

Happy trails,
Barb