As mentioned in our previous post, our goal now is to get to Las Vegas by the weekend so we can see Montana (our California granddaughter) play in a national soccer tournament. But of course there is so much to see along the way. We’re going to be blitzing so will be boondocking as we go. New word for you? Boondocking is when we stay overnight without hookups for electricity, water, and sewer; when we’re on our own.
abandoned 5th wheel in field next to us 
destroyed 5th wheel after dust storm
We thought we’d be ready to go right after Barney changed the new brake pads on one of the tires, but first we got to experience one of the joys of desert life. The evening before we left, as we were closing up for the evening, an unexpected dust storm just “happened” to come our way for about 5 minutes. The RV was rockin’ and rollin’ when we noticed that one of the windows that is held open by a lever was blown open so far that the lever came out and we couldn’t close it. Barney had to push hard against the door to get out so he could go around and insert the lever so we could close the window. He cleaned the outside of the RV after the windstorm passed, and I cleaned the inside of the RV when he went to pick up the brake pads the next morning. We didn’t think we could adequately show the intensity of the story until the next morning when I saw the destroyed vehicle on the right.
The power of the wind, right? Now we’re ready to take off.
Boondocking #1: The drive to Las Vegas took us first to El Paso, right on the Texas/Arizona border. This city is huge. We drove and drove to get to the end of town as the storm clouds were gathering. Our destination that night was a Texas rest stop right on the state line that Barney had heard good things about. We drove in, got settled, and 5 minutes later that deluge started. Again, we were rockin’ and rollin’ in our RV! The storm died down in an hour or so, and the overnight temperature went with it.
We woke up earlier than usual in the morning because we were now in Mountain Time Zone, and the parking lot was a busy place. The state was testing for CDL (commercial driving licenses) drivers. Cones were everywhere, but fortunately they didn’t cone us in.
truck after truck for testing 
cones all around us
One of the comments about the rest stop was that we didn’t have to worry about the prison behind us because it was a minimum security facility, had guards high up in towers watching, and fences were all around it. I actually took this picture between two slats of the external fence.
As we drove through New Mexico, we saw signs every couple of miles about dust storms and how to survive them. Made sense after what we just went through! We also saw these enclosures for picnic tables at one rest stop. So inviting! Wish it had been time for lunch.
Boondocking #2: Our second stop was a parking lot at Casino Del Sol in Tucson where they let trailers and RVs stay overnight. We had heard about this casino from a couple who are full-time RVers and have videos online of their trips and who had just stayed there. We enjoyed our iced teas by the pool.
The resort was hosting a mariachi band conference for young people. This one group was serenading outside as we were leaving to go back to our RV for the evening. They were really good, especially for being so young!
As we were driving the next day and and stopped at a rest stop, I saw this plaque of the state’s most abundant resources in the 1920s: cattle, climate, copper, cotton, and citrus. Good marketing way back then.
The road through northern Arizona took us through miles of Joshua trees, some of the oldest trees in existence.
Boondocking #3: On our third night on the road to Vegas, we had the choice of staying at a Walmart in Kingman or a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) campground at Burro Creek. We chose the BLM campground. Barn always sets us up so I get a nice place to sit and read.
It was so hot out that we had to stay in the shade, so we hooked up our electronics and watched NCIS New Orleans in 91 degree shade.
As we were sitting under our awing to keep as cool as we could, we kept seeing jet trails in the blue sky. First we thought they were from Air Force jets, but Barney started researching. He found a website called “plane finder,” and he was able to figure out the airline, where the plane was coming from, and where it was going. What fun to track these flights going over our heads.
Right behind our RV we had this beautiful and majestic saguaro cactus, one of many that we saw on our drive.
We made it to Las Vegas! As we drove in from the south, we saw snow on some of the mountain tops; beautiful!
Did you know that the city has RV campgrounds available to tourists? Our son Matt and his family had stayed at the campground at Circus Circus that had full hookups, so that’s where we went for our stay in Las Vegas. It’s a busy place.
Necessities of life: We got in early enough Friday afternoon that I was able to get my nails and toes done and we both got haircuts at a Great Clips. Before we leave town, we’ll stop at a Costco and stock up on some meats and foods we like, and maybe get a slice of pizza! Barney was able to change the oil in the truck and dispose of the oil at an auto parts store, and we got laundry done for the next stage of our travels.
The real reason for the trip: We connected with Peggy (daughter-in-law) and Montana on Saturday and Sunday for the soccer games. Montana is playing team soccer instead of league soccer, which means they play other teams from all over northern California and Nevada. Lots of traveling. Matt and Tucker stayed in Truckee for Tucker’s games. Montana had strained her quad during the week so wasn’t able to play. Sadly, her team lost both games, so we won’t have to plan on getting to Hawaii for the finals. After Saturday’s game, we joined the team and their parents at a Marriott’s where one of the parents had reserved a cabana by the pool so the girls could cool off and relax after the game. Peggy’s parents who had come for the game too were with us as well. Barney and I then went to a Starbucks nearby to enjoy the air conditioning and WiFi. After Sunday’s game we got to have lunch with Peggy and Montana before dropping them off at their hotel so they could get to the airport with team families.
Hoover Dam
Just over a year ago we met the California Martins in Vegas for another of Montana’s soccer tournament as we drove their motor home back to them (they had driven to Georgia in it the previous Thanksgiving for Barney’s retirement and we stored it over the winter months). As we were driving into Nevada the same way we just did, Barney said we’d be seeing Hoover Dam. I was so excited. But . . . they had built large barriers along the road so people wouldn’t slow down and stare as they drove. Phooey
Since we had an afternoon to ourselves, Barney suggested we drive the 20 minutes or so to the dam and see what we could see. Let’s go!
We first stopped at an overlook to the dam and Lake Mead behind it, and the information there really summarized what we saw at the visitors center. This dam’s purpose was to control the Colorado River because its flooding caused havoc to those around it.
As we drove toward the dam, we had to go through an inspection site with Park Ranger Law Enforcement. Windows had to be opened and looked through. Later on we had to go through detection like at the airport with more officers. They are serious about protecting the dam!
Now let’s drill down a little. As we said, the Colorado River had to be diverted so the workers could get a solid base for building the dam in such a steep, narrow canyon. To divert the river, they invented this “drilling jumbo,” a mobile double-decker drilling rig to speed up the work of creating 4 huge tunnels. As this sign says, drilling and blasting for these tunnels took almost as much time and money as constructing the dam itself.
World’s most extensive aerial cable system had to be built before concrete could be poured
Before the first bucket of concrete could be poured for the dam, they had to build roads, railroad beds, and tunnels to get men, equipment, and supplies to and around the site.
A little quiz on words used from this time period. How many do you know?
One of the buckets used on the aerial system for getting concrete where it needed to be poured.
Sand and stone, aggregate, for the dam came from the river bed and a grave deposit 6 miles away. Trains moved it around so it could be washed and sorted and then to one of the two concrete mixing plants next to the dam. This project required more concrete than all of the projects before it.
Housing the workers
Now this is interesting. Instead of pouring all of the concrete at one time, which would take 125 years for it to cure, they built the dam in a series of blocks. No more than 7 blocks (35 feet in height) could be added to a column in a 30-day period.
Innovations
See the curve of the dam? “The strength of the concrete holds back the Colorado River, while the arch transfers the weight of the water into the canyon walls.” What engineering.
Security over the years
Towers: Water enters through the 4 intake towers, and pipes carry it to the turbines, which spin the generator and create electricity (for southern California).
More info on the amount of concrete used.
Stats: dam is 660 feet at its base (wide enough for 2 football fields back-to-back) and 1244 feet across the Black Canyon.
Looking down at the river and the new bridge that crosses it.
Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
In 1985 when the Hoover Dam celebrated its 50th anniversary, it also had repaid the Federal Treasury for the cost of the project by selling the electrical energy. So nice to have projects pay for themselves in the long run.
We had such a good time exploring the history of the Hoover Dam. Next time we’re here we want to take one of the tours and then visit the historical part of Boulder City where the workers lived.
We’re now done with our travels along the Rio Grande River—until we get to its headwaters when we’re in Colorado. We hope you’ve enjoyed this adventure as much as we have.
What’s next? Our next adventure will be spending 2-4 weeks on the east side of the Sierra Mountains as we travel north to where Matt and Peggy live outside of Truckee near Lake Tahoe.
