Well, it’s our second day in Las Vegas and after a hearty breakfast (he had a ham an cheese omelet, I had French Toast) in Bugsy’s (the restaurant inside the El Cortez Hotel and Casino); we decided to go over to Hoover Dam to see the bridge they built 880 feet above the Colorado River to the south of the dam.
No, that’s not Dad with me in this photo.
Of course, this was after we check our multi-game Keno tickets to see what money we might have one. We both got some money, but not enough to cover what we had spent on the multi-game tickets.
A view out the window of the El Cortez towards the Las Vegas Strip.
Oh well, we bought new tickets, then headed out.
A view of Lake Mead as we headed towards Hoover Dam.
We actually drove out Fremont Street, which turns into Boulder Highway for most of the way, just to look at all the run down and closed up motels along the way.
The Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino, a nice place to make a pit stop on the way to Hoover Dam. Nice clean bathrooms!
Then, after getting on the freeway, Dad announced he needed to make a “pit stop.” Fortunately, the Hoover Dam Lodge and Casino was just at the next off-ramp – only a mile. So we got off the freeway and went inside the place so Dad could do his “duty.” By the way, it’s a very nice place with lots of interesting history on the construction of Hoover Dam.
My Dad, Jim Eades, looks down upon Hoover Dam from the bridge.
Okay, that was done and on to the overlook for the Mike O’Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which is the actual highway now between Nevada and Arizona.
At the top of the switchbacks trail leading to the overlook of the dam and the bridge.
We climbed a multitude of switchbacks on the walk up to the overlook, which were built very ADA compliant, by the way, with a grade of a 1-foot rise for every 12-feet. We both walked all the switchbacks up and down, rather than take the stairs
It’s a long drop from that bridge to the Colorado River below. But a great view of Hoover Dam. You can see the water level of Lake Mead is fairly low.
Once at the top, we walked out on the bridge on the pedestrian walkway to take in the view of Hoover Dam. We were 880 feet above the surface of the Colorado River below, south of the dam. A scary height indeed. The wind was blowing pretty hard too, so Dad had to carry his “Pop Pop” baseball hat so it would not blow away into the canyon below.
The bridge over the Colorado River near Hoover Dam.
You can still drive, very slowly, across Hoover Dam. But once across, you will have to turn around and drive back across, as it is no longer a throughway for traffic.
Cars still drive very slowly across Hoover Dam.
Then we drove through Boulder City on the way back to Vegas. That afternoon, after myself doing a little bit of my freelance work, we both went out to “check on our investment” in Las Vegas. (You know, gamble.)
These folks from Michigan were all having Bloody Marys at the Golden Nugget’s Bar 46. (They make an excellent Manhattan there, by the way.)
But before I hit the poker room at the Golden Nugget, I had a Manhattan at its Bar 46, where I met up with a group from Michigan who had flown into town and made that bar their first stop to have their version of Bloody Marys. (Seven of them in all!) They proclaimed them the best they’d ever had.
An interesting character on Fremont Street.
I won some of the money I had lost the night before playing poker by, playing poker.
While walking back to the El Cortez from the Golden Nugget, I did run into a few interesting characters along the way.
I think this guy behind me lost all his money at the Craps tables.
Sadly, neither mine, nor my Dad’s numbers all came in that night at Keno.
Then it was on to dinner at Bugsy’s. We both had Rib-Eye steaks. But in Dad’s case he did have a hard time eating it, so I gladly finished it for him. We also washed it down with three (apiece) glasses of red wine – the wine was free due to the donations we both made in the Keno lounge.
A very fast asleep Pop Pop.
So now that we’ve both had all that wine, we’re both very sleepy. He’s all ready asleep and I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open. So, it’s on to bed, then on to Pleasant Grove, Utah tomorrow.
In case you missed it, here’s a link to the Day One story.
