Advertisement
Published: January 29th 2009
With the bright lights firmly in the rear-view mirror, we left Vegas and made our way east on a road-trip that would take us through 4 of the United States south-western states. The first area we headed to was perhaps one of the greatest engineering accomplishments of the 20th century - the Hoover Dam. The dam keeps back the man-made Lake Mead. The road to Hoover Dam gets quite congested as the main highway actually runs over the dam itself. It marks the state line between Nevada and Arizona, straddling the Black Canyon. A new fly-over bridge is in the process of being built, meaning the dam will only really cater for tourist traffic in the near future.
The dam itself is an enormous wall of concrete. No surprises there. It is bonded to either side of the narrow canyon and slides down getting narrower and curving outward's until it hits the river bed 866 foot below. It is 660 foot thick at the base and is made from 4,360,000 cubic yards of concrete. What is so impressive about it is that it was finished in 1935 using experimental building techniques. The whole Colorado River had to be re-routed to
build the enormous dam which included boring huge diverting tunnels around the construction. The dam used new techniques in pouring concrete as it could not all be poured in one lump. They poured it in segments which strengthened the overall structure. They built new drilling and tunneling systems and new pulley systems to create the dam.
The design has a very art-deco feel which depicts the era in which it was built. The dams use for hydro-electric power was actually an after-thought. Initially it was installed to regulate the Colorado River which, before the dam was built, made cultivating any crops in the south-west very difficult due to the constant flooding of the river in certain seasons. The dam is named after Herbert Hoover, who played an instrumental role in its construction, first as Secretary of Commerce and then later as President of the United States. Realising the immense effort, physical and political that went into building the dam makes it even more impressive. We spent quite a time admiring it and wandering across it, looking down the sheer drop to the green waters of the Colorado River on one side and the deep blue Lake Mead on the
other. The exhibition centre good and the information it provides is very nicely presented.
We wound round the road beyond the dam and towards our next destination - the Grand Canyon. Barren lands of dirt, dust and withered plants formed the majority of the scenery and then, quite unexpectedly, snow began to appear. Firstly as mere frozen patches on the ground, but gradually it became thicker and thicker. Whilst we were hearing of flurries back home, we were driving next to snow at least 8 inches thick on the road-side. We made for our evening stop in a town called Williams, which was caked thickly in the stuff. Williams itself is an incredibly beautiful town and epitomizes a real-life Disney-esque Main Street USA. The shops look so delicate and traditional, the Christmas decorations and the lights making the town feel like an delightful winter wonderland. The ornate street lamps glowed, giving the place an ethereal feel as we followed a horse and cart along the main road which forms part of the old route 66. It was all so very cosy and friendly, the ideal place to spend the evening by a sizzling log fire. Our room heater at
our motel would have to suffice.
The next day, after a brief snow-fight we began the slippery drive in our not-so-grippy car to the Grand Canyon. We were both very excited at the prospect, but neither of us were quite prepared for our initial reaction on seeing the mile-deep enormity. Jaw-dropping is a term sometimes used quite endearingly, but our jaws did actually drop and our eyes widen considerably as we caught our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon. It is BIG - mind-bogglingly immensely gigantically impressive. It would give the BFG a height complex. It's 10 miles wide, and 1 mile down - the Colorado River being just about visible and bearing resemblance to a small thread of green weaving in and out of the massive monoliths that make up the canyon. The sight was made more stunning as it was dusted with snow which was clinging to some of the sedimentary gradients of some the rock faces, fearful of the plummet to the ground.
The area was even more impressive as the snow-laden clouds cleared and the sun began to shine. This lit up the rock in a variety of pinks, browns and reds against a
blue sky, which was incredibly picturesque. Despite the crowds of tourists, which aren't as bad in the winter thankfully, there is a deafening quiet across the canyon which emphasises its immense size and commands respect for the natural force which carved this great chasm. The Grand Canyon was created by the Colorado River over millennia and through the ice-age.
Our day also included us admiring the wonderful Grand Canyon Railway which travels here from Williams, as well as enjoying some close encounters with some Elk and baby Elk's which was quite wonderful. Although they looked a little alarmed at our presence.
Other than this, we spent the rest of the day making our way to various viewpoints, most without any protective fencing. The views are so unspoiled and spectacular that sometimes we wondered if it was not real and was just a painting back-drop as is used in films as cheap, dramatic vistas. One thing for sure, it was a very humbling moment when we stood on the precipice of a sheer drop down into oblivion with the proof of natures power before us represented by a gigantic chasm in the earth. We were told by the person
Victoria on the Dam
Lake Mead in the background.that served us by the car company that it was 'just a hole in the ground' but it is so very much more than that. Similar to calling the mighty Angkor Wat or Stone Henge a mere collection of stones.
We took the eastern exit, leaving the park driving slowly as the fresh snow had been compacted and was thus slippery. We spent the following night in a town called Kayenta, the roads in Arizona becoming more desolate, barren and isolated the further east we travelled. Kayenta turned out to be not much more than a collection of roads, motels, gas stations and fast food outlets but we found a nice motel amongst these. We were moving into Navajo Indian territory and this was a significant town for them. Even the local Burger King had a section dedicated to the Navajo Code breakers of WWII. Our motel was even American-Indian themed and was very comfortable indeed.
The next day we made our way to the Utah - Arizona border to visit a famous sight called Monument Valley. These red rock edifices were iconic in many westerns featuring the likes of Clint Eastwood and John Wayne. The red dirt
of Monument Valley is punctuated only by dry yellow grassy mounds and the odd patch of melting snow. A dramatic scenic drive took us round the various rock formations which are really fascinating to see. Many of the contortions are bent in gravity-defying ways and crumbling into the red dust that surrounds them. The drive was bumpy but made us feel like we were in a Western. Various viewpoints and vantages give great views of the sprawling vast landscape and the large red protrusions that look grand yet isolated on the landscape. Each formation was named and had lengthy meaning behind its name.
From this point we turned north, heading further into Utah (the Mormon centre of the States) and some of the most remote parts of the USA. Apparently these areas were the last parts of continental USA to be mapped. Still, the drives were excellent with just a clear open road in front of us surrounded by red rock and desert.
We took a detour route from the main highway, which wound up some large cliffs. Unknown to us the paved roadway ended as it began to rise up the cliff face. We wound up on
the gravelly dirt road which eventually turned into a sheet of slippery ice. This was quite a scary moment as it made turning already-tight hair-pin bends on ice, with nothing stopping our car plummeting off the edge should it loose grip, quite a stomach clenching process. We wheel spinned our way precariously to the top, staying on the narrow road and enjoyed the magnificent views from atop. A large grey sky covered an enormous plateau of cliffs and barren desert. It was quite extraordinary.
We passed the town of Mexican Hat, admiring the rock formation after which it was named and spent the night in Moab which, at this time of year, was deserted. In the summer it is apparently rammed with throngs of people enjoying the nearby national parks. We were here to see a couple of them - Arches National Park and Dead Horse Point. We explored Arches first, which again consists of scenic drives and various hiking trails. The park takes its name from the shapes of the rock formations in the park. Because of the way the rocks have eroded and crumbled over time many of them have formed amazing arches over the landscape.
Monument on Hoover Dam
Dedicated to the people that built the dam. These arches are quite incredible to see, such as the Delicate Arch and Landscape Arch, which both look as if they're ready to fall and I'm sure probably have done for some time. We read in the visitors centre that if you hear a loud popping noise to start running. It is usually a precursor to hundreds of tons of rock about to crash down from somewhere on the arch. This didn't happen thankfully so we further enjoyed the fruits of natures power and the beautiful landscapes which blend red rock, barren dried plant-life with a crisp, fresh layer of snow. This was all framed against a cold, gloriously cloudless day.
It was getting dark as we headed further north to Dead Horse Point. This famous park is known for being the filming locations for Mission Impossible II (the opening sequence where he's climbing) and the end sequence for Thelma and Louise. It is named Dead Horse Point because, funnily enough, a herd of horses met their end here. They were trapped by cowboys who fenced them in off this point. After taking the horses they wanted, they left the rest to die of thirst with the Colorado River
in view 6000ft below. Still, at least they had a good view.
The view is similar to a splice of the Grand Canyon and watching the sun set over the large looming cliffs was spectacular. Many of the sheer-drop cliff faces are quite accessible and it took me scrambling on hands and feet to pluck up the courage to peer over the edge. The drop is a vertigo-inducing fall of great magnitude and makes me feel dizzy just thinking about it. We had the area pretty much to ourselves and it was excellent to watch the final rays of sun reflect off the green ice-flecked sliver of the Colorado River far below. It also lit up many of the cliff faces across the canyon in a variety of colours from fiery orange, red and purples which glowed brightly as the sun disappeared. It was very spectacular to watch. We made our way back down, dodging various cows and deer in the fading light before stopping at Green River - the water melon capital of the world. We really do ensure to visit all the big sights!
The following day we drove quite a distance, looping around to the
south west corner of Utah and to another national park - Zion. After exhausting as many Matrix jokes as I could extrapolate, we began to explore this magnificent place. The drive into the park is the best bit. The road has been painted red to blend into the environment, which is a nice touch that makes the valley drive more impressive. Either side of the road are large brown, pink and red mountains which made us feel tiny on the road. They were set perfectly against the blue sky backdrop as we followed the crisp, clear bubbling river towards the end of the road.
The Virgin River here has sliced a wonderful valley through these tan-coloured mountains and created a very beautiful landscape. We drove up one of the mountains and through the Carmel Tunnel, which was blasted through the rock many years ago. The tunnel is 1.1 miles in length and the other side leads to more glorious snow caked forestry and large tan hills. We spent the night in a great value motel in a town called St George that did wonderful waffles - God bless the American breakfast. We also did our usual trick of stocking
up on the pastries and bagels at breakfast for our lunch.
Our final national park on this particular trip was possibly also named the coolest - Death Valley. It was another long drive from Zion and took us back into California. The drive took us close to Las Vegas as the road became quite isolated and barren. Red rock and dust had now been replaced by traditional light sand-gravelly desert with hills in the background but a lot of nothingness in between. Occasionally the landscape is punctuated by dry mangled sprouts of grass and cactus but is quite lifeless apart from that. However, on arrival to Death Valley, we were introduced to the true meaning of a lifeless landscape.
The name Death Valley indicates just how much life the environment here can support - none. It has turned this area into a spectacularly barren landscape where the hottest and driest temperature in the US have been recorded. The valley is an enormous gouge in the landscape, flanked on either side by mountain ranges. The lack of water has led to there being no plant and animal life at all. The highest viewpoint - Dante's View - gives an
incredible view of the valley. Large patches of salt flats make up the barren desert of the valley floor, which sits 866ft below sea level at a place called Badwater. We spent quite some time taking in this incredible viewpoint and looking forward to getting down onto the valley floor ourselves.
We made our way down via a couple of other interesting viewpoints of yellow rock canyons and strangely sculpted mud-rock landscapes to the valley floor. Much of the scenery remained quite otherworldly and barren yet we both really liked the solitude these extreme desert environments enjoyed. We made our way to the salt flats, which were quite extraordinary. They come into existence because of water that is run off for miles across rocks and down into the valley. It drys here and the salt contained is left on the valley floor in abundance. We walked out onto the large salt flats as the sun was making its way behind the mountains. As mentioned before this area is called Badwater, so called because there is a small pond of water near the road that, at one point, a man tried to make his mule drink. The mule wouldn't drink
Trains in Williams
Part of the Grand Canyon Railway. it because of the salt content and so the man decided that the water was bad...and so hence Badwater.
We drove out from this point in Death Valley on a very long drive in the pitch darkness. We had both seen 'The Hills Have Eyes' and so didn't want to hang around in the desert at night for too long! Victoria was particularly worried about demonised mutilated oddballs running out from the darkness to attack us (aka 'The Crazy's'). We motored along the deserted highways (filling up on gas for a ridiculous, but still relatively cheap price) until we eventually hit civilization a couple of hours later and the road that would take us back to Vegas.
The national parks we have seen so far have been utterly breathtaking. Their diversity and the wealth of extreme and differing landscapes is incredible from hot and cold, mountains and valleys, barren deserts and thick forestry - it has all been incredible to see. From here our Greyhound to San Diego awaits to take us back to sunny California.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.093s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 14; qc: 23; dbt: 0.0357s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Linda Baker
non-member comment
Mum Dad Nates Oliver: WOW
What can I say? utterly amazing, definitely somewhere I want to visit. The scenery is spectacular even the very pretty Williams Town. So quaint. I have heard of cycling (death defying) treks in Death Valley. Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon - absolutely brilliant. I am flabbergasted at your brilliant photos - how much more amazing in real life - I must go!! I did know about Dead Horse Point but had not realised (obviously) the significance. Talking of 8 ins of snow - well join the club!!! You look like you enjoyed the SW states immensely. Great Stuff.