Wednesday, August 27, 2008

What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas...

What a great three days. It has only been about a year and a half since we were last in Vegas, but oh, how the skyline is always changing. We flew out of DFW at 7:30 on Sunday morning and with the time difference we arrived Las Vegas at 8:30. It meant that we had a full 3 days ahead of us. We picked up our car and headed out to Hoover Dam after stopping and having good breakfast at Denny's.





Arriving at Hoover Dam



We have been to Hoover Dam several times. When we were there in January 2007 they had started the construction of the I-93 by-pass. What a sight. So, our main reason to go there on this trip was to check out the continued construction of the I-93 by-pass. It was suppose to have been completed in 2008, but has been pushed to 2010. This is the interstate that comes from rizona into Nevada. The road now takes you directly across Hoover Dam. However, since September 11, to cross the Dam you have to go through a Homeland Security Check Point at either end. With the completion of the I-93 by-pass the road across the dam will be open to foot traffic only. However, I am not sure I will ever want to drive across the new bridge. You decide for yourself.





So, I am taking names for the first one that wants to volunteer to drive across this bridge.



This is the view of the Colorado River from the Dam Bridge and is directly under the new bridge.


This is a look at Lake Mead from the Nevada side of the bridge. The lake is down about 35' as told by the water line on the rocks.



One last look at the construction.




This is the start of the bridge support, the top of the arch will touch the bridge at the center. There is another one of these on the other side, let's hope it meets in the middle.


Around noon we decided to head back to Vegas and get ready for the rest of the day. Soooooo...





We checked into our hotel, The MGM Grand, and decided since we had started the day at around 4 a.m., we would take a short nap and then go out for the evening. We were on floor 9 in room 424. There were 23 floors. This was one of the smaller hotels.


Around 4:00 and well rested we made our way downtown to eat at The Golden Nugget's Seafood Buffet. YUM. We then spent the rest of the evening dropping a few pennies in some slots and taking in the overhead laser light show. Here are a few of the sights...

This guy has been hanging around Vegas for alot of years
What a day. Tomorrow I will take you on a tour of the Vegas Strip. See you there.


4 comments:

  1. I remember it well...we had so much fun with you guys. Maybe some day we can do it again??

    Joe and Sherri

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  2. It's been a lot of years since we visited Vegas, even more since I saw the dam. What fun!

    We'd love to make a trip that way, one of these days, maybe we can tag along with you guys and Joe & Sherri.

    Hugs,
    Ellie

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  3. Next year - we're going next year! We head west in February and plan to visit Las Vegas during our return trip. We're not gamblers, but everyone says you need to see Las Vegas at least once in your lifetime. :)

    Have fun, and be safe.

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  4. We'll be there in February. We were there a few years ago but there's been many changes since then. I can't wait to get there!!
    Dee

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