My siblings and I decided to gather in Las Vegas to celebrate our sister’s 70th birthday. It was a most enjoyable family reunion, especially since all of us are based in different parts of the world and haven’t been together in recent years.
Since all of us had been to Las Vegas many times before, we decided to explore destinations outside the city. The Nevada-Arizona border had some interesting attractions, so we chose to drive there and see these tourist magnets for ourselves.
Only 45 minutes away from Las Vegas is Hoover Dam, our first destination for the day. Built in 1931 during the Great Depression, it is named after U.S. President Herbert Hoover and is located in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Although it was renamed Boulder Dam during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration, the U.S. Congress eventually restored its original name.
It certainly was an engineering masterpiece of its time. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques applied to its construction had never been used. Built by hundreds of workers from neighboring states, the construction presented a significant challenge as the workers had to deal with the torrid summer heat that the Nevada-Arizona area is known for, as well as the lack of facilities onsite. Several hundred workers died. Nevertheless, it was finished in five years, exactly two years ahead of schedule.
The dam provides energy for public and private establishments in the states of Nevada, Arizona, and California. To make it easier for sightseers to access this engineering marvel, the Hoover Dam Bypass was opened. This tall concrete bridge spans the Colorado River, connecting Nevada and Arizona, and offers a panoramic bird’s-eye view of the dam.
Very near Hoover Dam is Lake Mead, a reservoir formed by the dam on the Colorado River. In terms of water capacity, it is the largest reservoir in the U.S. and provides water to residents of California, Arizona, Nevada, and the northern part of Mexico.
Although it is connected to the dam complex, Lake Mead is an attraction in its own right. Tourists can go boating, fishing, swimming, and water skiing in this large body of water. It even has four marinas for those who have their own yachts. There are also many restaurants and cafes along the lake, offering excellent cuisine and the much-desired relaxing view of the water.
We ended our tour at the latest tourist attraction in the area—an attractive art installation in the Nevada desert called Seven Magic Mountains. This colorful public artwork by popular Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone features seven vertically stacked limestone boulders, each approximately 35 feet high, with each boulder painted a different fluorescent color.
Inspired by the balancing rock formations he sees in some parts of the Nevada desert, the artist also wanted the stacks to evoke the art of meditative rock balancing, keeping them right in the middle between monumentality and collapse. It is very interesting to see these boulders teetering in the desert sun, yet seeming to defy gravity despite the wind blowing from all directions.
We took as many photos as we could of these colorful boulders, but we had to hurry back to our van when we saw the sign warning us about the possibility of venomous snakes in the area. Although people said they usually come out during summer, a few others have been bitten in autumn and winter. We did not want to end up as part of the area’s statistics.
It was a fun, leisurely day tour of the Nevada-Arizona border. It was nice to see the laid-back side of Nevada, so different from the flashy, glittering, spectacular scene that Las Vegas and Reno offer.
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