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September 05 Hoover DamHoover Dam is all it's cracked up to be. Unfortunately, the cost in human life was tremendous. Working conditions were poor and safety measures were all but non-existant. It did however put lots of money in the pockets of the group of companies who built it. Almost 100 people died between 1931 and 1935 when it was completed. Hundreds more died over the years after from work related illnesses. No compensation ever given. What a tragedy. There is a monument to those killed on the job.
A new road is being built as a result of 9/11. There are now security agents that inspect all vehicles going over the dam as it was built so that two lanes of traffic would drive over the top. These new security measures impede the flow of traffic. So, build a new road to bypass the dam and you don't have to worry about terrorists. Power lines have to be relocated and all the supporting towers have to be anchored on the surrounding mountainsides. Expensive.
To see the generators we went down 52 stories and through a blasted-out tunnel. Quite impressive, really. Throughout the generating plant there's inlaid art based on traditional Indian art. We only got to take a picture of one.
The dam does not lend itself well to being photographed from the river side so there are individual pictures from the ground up, so to speak.
And I know where the term "hot damn" comes from. 104 F in the shade. Hotter in direct sunlight. And when the dam was being built, it was just as hot. Incredible.
Another bus tour tonight - Las Vegas at night. Should look just like a scene from CSI. Hope to get some good pictures. Leave tomorrow. Will update when we get to our next stop on the way home. TrackbacksThe trackback URL for this entry is: http://ourmexicanadventure.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!C2E85A51351BC4F6!538.trak Weblogs that reference this entry
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