Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

From a natural wonder of the world to an engineering marvel of the world…

No Hoover Dam, no Las Vegas - the explosive growth not only Vegas, but of much of the US Southwest was made possible by the construction of the Hoover Dam across the Black Canyon of the Colorado River in the 1930’s. We drove over the crest (nearly 400 meters), peered over the depth (221 meters) and explored the inside tunnels and turbines on a tour…All hugely impressive. Then we toured just a little of Lake Mead’s 885 km shoreline.

It’s still America’s biggest reservoir and has sweeping panoramas of desert scenery and mountain ranges around every turn. But it is also a very clear indicator of climate change and resource over-use: the centre image below shows the dam intake tower and how far beneath the top the water level now rests – you can also see the white tide mark of the former lake level in the background. The latest estimates suggest that Hoover Dam and Lake Mead will be unable to provide water and power by the end of this decade as a result of Lake Mead’s shrinkage. Read my review of an illuminating book for more on this at: www.chrisrobinsontravelshow.ca

Glenwood Springs

The drive west through the Glenwood Canyon beside the Colorado River is spectacular and it took us to the town of Glenwood Springs from where we rode the gondola tram up to Glenwood Springs Caverns Adventure Park www.glenwoodcaverns.com to meet Steve Beckley, the owner of this family attraction. He has transformed a Victorian show cave into a bundle of cave tours, wild rides, 4D theatre experience (moving seats, surround sound and special effects!) and educative activities that delight visitors of all ages. I rode the Canyon Flyer (top), the first Alpine coaster in the U.S. and then was launched on Swing Shot (middle) 1,300 feet above the roaring Colorado River. The highlight for me was exploring the caverns themselves with Steve (bottom) who has extended the cave system here for thousands of feet into the mountain depths.

Grand Junction

Following the Colorado River, now a brown torrent, through canyons becoming familiar from many a Western film and more and more desert-like, we suddenly shot out into the green oasis of the Grand Valley and the town of Grand Junction www.visitgrandjunction.com/ . The juxtaposition of the lush vineyards and the arid desert buttes and mesas is amazing (top). This is the heart of Colorado wine country, so naturally we had to tour and sample a few! We toured Plum Creek Cellars www.plumcreekwinery.com/ (middle), Canyon Wind www.canyonwindcellars.com/ and Varaison Vineyards www.varaisonvineyards.com/ where Alex educated us on the wines in a lively and fun style (bottom). To compliment the excellent wines, we dined in style at 626 on Rood www.626onrood.com/ and enjoyed the hospitality of the Grand Vista Hotel www.grandvistahotel.com/ .