Lake Mead – Meanderings & Mind Munchies

Historic Railroad Trail

On Monday, we decided to get out the bikes and go for a ride.

First, we rode the Historic Railroad Trail, which we had seen from the Lake Mead Overlook the day before.

When the Hoover Dam was being built, all the workers stayed together at what became Boulder City. A railroad was cut through the mountain to take materials to the dam.

We rode our bikes from the campground to the trailhead.

There are about four or five tunnels that you can walk or ride through between Boulder City and the Hoover Dam, which is only about three and a half miles away.

Me, trying not to fall over while looking behind me.

Some of the tunnels still have their timber framing.

The trail provided a pretty view of Lake Mead and the marina.

River Mountains Loop Trail

Next, we biked in the other direction down the River Mountains Loop trail. It went past the campground and continued along Lake Mead for a little while.

We only went about 5 miles on the trail because the inclines, although not steep, were very long.

It wasn’t until we turned around and headed back that we realized we had been going uphill for so long. We both thought we were simply too old and tired to bike very far!

Although the trail wasn’t particularly populated, we did encounter a couple of other people on our bike ride.

After our ride, we headed back to the campground for lunch.

Greg wanted to rent some Sea-Doos to take out on Lake Mead for the afternoon, but the marina had stopped renting them for the season.

Hoover Dam

On Sunday morning, we headed to Hoover Dam to take a tour.

Greg, standing in front of one of the cement buckets.

A diversion tunnel, used to divert the Colorado River while they were building the Hoover Dam.

Our tour guide, talking about the building of the dam.

Our other tour guide, leading us down one of the many tunnels within the mountain.

Greg, walking down one of the ventilation shafts.

One of the inspection tunnels. The inside of the dam is honeycombed with tunnels.

I have no idea how those people got into our picture!

Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

After leaving Hoover Dam, we stopped at the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge overlook. Walking out onto the bridge, we got a great view of the Hoover Dam.

Lake Mead overlook

Just before arriving back at the campground, we stopped at the Lake Mead overlook.

Valley of Fire State Park

After a yummy lunch of grilled ribeye steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli, we headed to Valley of Fire State Park.

I had no idea what to expect from this state park, but it was fantastic! I wish we had set aside more time to enjoy it.

Unfortunately, it took over an hour to get there, and Greg wanted to be back to the campground before dark, which meant we only had about an hour and a half to see it.

We even got to see a couple of desert bighorn sheep!

Valley of Fire State Park had some very interesting-looking hikes, but we didn’t have the time to try any of them. Maybe next time.

Sunset

On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a couple of overlooks to enjoy the sunset.

No Kings protest

Greg and I started our morning at Lake Mead by attending the No Kings protest in nearby Henderson.

The crowd filled both sides of the street. The event organizer told us that a thousand people had signed up to attend in this Red city.

We didn’t feel like we should let our vacation get in the way of doing our patriotic duty.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was a lot of fun!

Even the frogs were in attendance!

There were some great signs, too!

Some folks wore their patriotism…

Even the dogs were showing their patriotism!

And many of the cars passing by honked their horns to show their support, waved American flags, or gave us the thumbs up!

After the rally, Greg and I had fast food for lunch before heading back to the campground.

Kayaking on Lake Mead

After finishing setting up the camper at our site last night, Greg and I drove down to the beach to see where we might be able to launch our kayak. Greg had his heart set on kayaking while we were here.

The sun was just beginning to set, and the sky was a lovely shade of blue and pink.

We even got to see a couple pairs of mallard ducks.

So after the No Kings protest and our fast food lunch, we headed to the beach with our kayak.

There was a separate beach just for kayaks and canoes.

After our kayak trip, we headed to the laundromat to do what we hope will be our last load of laundry for this trip.

Grand Canyon

Well, if you want to see the Grand Canyon without crowds, the time to go is mid-October.

On Wednesday, the weather was cold and windy. We decided to drive Desert View Drive and stop at the various overlooks along the way. The idea of a hike in that cold wind was unappealing.

We started at the Desert View Watchtower, the furthest point along Desert View Drive.

The inside of the Desert View Watchtower was covered in Native American art and petroglyphs.

The weather on Thursday was significantly better, largely because the wind was non-existent.

Our original plan had been to bike Hermit Road, but we decided it was still too cold to spend a lot of time outdoors. Instead, we opted for the shuttle bus.

I’ve come to the conclusion that no photograph can do justice to the Grand Canyon. The closest one can come to portraying the magnitude and awesomeness of this geographical feature is through paintings.

I am looking forward to trying my hand at capturing the Grand Canyon in watercolor once we get home.

The Colorado River, still looking muddy.

Sadly, we only had two days at the Grand Canyon, and we didn’t make the most of them. I would have loved to have hiked the South Kaibab Trail, but neither one of us was feeling energetic enough.

I would also have loved a plane ride through the canyon!

Today, we arrived at our final planned stop for this camping trip, Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.

Almost there! It doesn’t look like we are coming up on a lake!

After this stop, we begin the long journey home.