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Published: August 23rd 2008
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Hoover Dam
The Dam, in all its glory. This picture is taken from where we parked (and walked all the way to the other side of the Dam). Previously on Cody and Nickey's Excellent Mis-Adventures:
When visiting the "Grand Crowding" in the summer, go to the North Rim. When on a hike, remember to take your camera AND the memory card. When doing laundry in a National Park, electricity is a convenience, not a given. Lastly, don't forget your French-English dictionary.
Today we follow Cody and Nickey as they make their way west on I-40 and, along the way, get a few kicks on Route 66. After leaving the Grand Canyon in all its panoramic glory, the happy couple drive south to get to the interstate, that they might make the best time possible on their long journey before sleep. The goal is to make it to Death Valley by night (apparently the sky in Death Valley at night is like no other). But first, the Hoover Dam. An engineering wonder of the world, the Hoover Dam is an art deco architectural feat. Luckily, for Cody and Nickey, they arrive at 5pm at the museum that closes at 6pm. Unluckily, the Dam parking charges $8 for the nearby lot, and Cody and Nickey are cheap. So, by the time they park on the other side of the
Hoover Dam
We thought it was pretty cool that you can see how high the water line has been on the rocks around the dam (that is the bright white section). Dam (where it is free) and hike across it is now 5:20pm. Nothing like learning about how to dam up the mighty Colorado in 40 minutes. A little history lesson for all you viewers out there. The Hoover Dam was built between 1933 and 1936 and is 726 feet tall. It weighs around 6.6 million tons (which is also the approximate weight of Cody and Nickey at the end of their trip). 21,000 men were employed over the duration of the project, with an average monthly payroll of $500,000. 96 men died while building the Dam, but these were only those who were considered "industrial fatalities," such at rock slides, washed down river, struck by heavy equipment, etc. There were many others that died of pneumonia, but the insurance companies did not recognize these as job related, therefore avoiding payment and are not included in the official death toll. None are recorded as having been buried in the concrete of the dam. On that happy note, let's meet back up with the couple. Cody is avidly enjoying all the engineering facts that the museum has to offer. Surprisingly, Nickey is not 😊. We find her mimicking the artwork (see photo
Hoover Dam
The dam overflow into the dam spillway, in case the dam water gets too dam high. below) to pass the time. They visit the Dam as long as allowed, but must continue on their way if they hope to make Death Valley by night.
A little jaunt north, through Las Vegas, passed the Nuclear Test Site of Nevada (which for those of you who would like to visit, like Nickey did, make sure to plan in advance because they only open it up to tourists once a month-of course that "once a month" was not while our protagonists were visiting) and left from there, we are once again introduced to our main characters. Now it would seem obvious that a place with a name such as DEATH Valley would imply discomfort and miserable things. That apparently did not occur to Cody in his quest for open starry skies. He quickly learns from his shortsightedness when they pull into the campground named FURNACE Creek, the only campground open during the summer, at 10:30 PM. To be fair, his reasoning included prior knowledge about deserts being freezing cold at night. Apparently Death Valley is an exception to this rule. The temperature gauge in the Pacifica reads 112 degrees! That's right folks! 112 degrees at 10:30PM. Apparently, earlier
Hoover Dam
One of the overflow spillways. Notice the 3-foot road cone at the bottom to give it some perspective. They have only used the spillways twice, once to test after being built and the other during a flood in the 90s. that same day the temperature reached 123 degrees! With hopes that the temperature will drop, they optimistically set up their tent. It would appear that luck is not on their side, however, the lowest the temp would reach this night: 100 degrees. Needless to say, between the sweat, blaring full moon (which meant no great starry night like Cody had hoped) and the pack of coyotes that appeared in the campsite (howling at 3am) not much sleep was had. It would appear that Cody has enough because by sun-up they are out of there, failing to take any photos or wait for the Visitor's Center to open and allow Nickey to get her passport stamp. Moral of this story: Death Valley really is as bad as it sounds!
Following the long night of sleeplessness, the two drive into town (Lone Pine), via Highway 395, planning to visit Manzanar War Relocation Camp, in Independence, California. Having left Death Valley around 6 that morning, their arrival to the Relocation Camp is much earlier than the opening of the National Historic Site. What is one to do while sleep-deprived and sitting in an empty parking lot? Sleep! After their hour-long nap, the
Hoover Dam
The amount of concrete used in constructing the Hoover Dam would pave a standard highway 16 feet wide, from San Francisco to New York City. two are rejuvenated enough to tour the newly renovated museum and grounds of the World War II Japanese Relocation Center. Short history lesson: after 1941, when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (what day was that, kids?) the US wrangled up all of the Japanese living on the west coast and sent them to ten "relocation camps" in the desert. They took everybody of Japanese descent, even those born in the US. The people were given sometimes only 24 hours to arrange their affairs, and they were allowed to take only what they could carry. Most of them had thriving land or businesses, that they had to either abandon, or in a few lucky cases, get neighbors to watch after their place until they were allowed to return. Some 110,000 Japanese were taken to these camps, which were not much more than military-style barracks, surrounded by barbed-wire fences. Armed guards made sure that the "detainees" did not leave. Manzanar was one of these camps. 10,000 people were sent to Manzanar, a desolate, desert slope on the eastern side of California. During the Reagan administration, the US government publicly recognized the wrong it had done, and issued retribution checks in the amount of
Hoover Dam
This is the backside of the Dam and the Colorado River, the buildings at the bottom are the power plants that supply power to Nevada, Arizona and California. $20,000 to all 60,000 detainees remaining alive. While the barracks no longer exist, being torn down by the army for their lumber, they still have a map of the locations for a self-guided driving tour around the camp. Additionally, the old gym has been refurbished and is now the Interpretive Center/Museum, wherein resides the all-important passport stamp. Getting back to our weary travelers, after touring the museum and watching the 22-minute film, Cody and Nickey drive around what used to be Manzanar, and snap photos of empty lots. At the far end of the camp, towards the mountains, is the graveyard, with a monument erected to honor all the detainees. With no place to go, Cody and Nickey now decide to head towards the Pacific, where we will meet up with them again.
Tune in next time:
Founded in the year 1911, Solvang became a Danish immigrants heaven.
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