Day 27 – The wonders of Nevada, Arizona
Travel Experience | Ricky | April 6, 2010 at 1:47 am
Wow! A beautiful morning and I could still hear some party going on around the places. Right at 7:00 am in the morning we were all ready to have a beautiful 14 hours journey to Grand Canyon. The Lux Bus took us around different hotels to pick up the hotel and after driving for sometime we got down at Anaheim to get our tickets to Grand Canyon and back. After waiting for nearly 20 minutes, we got our approved stickers on t-shirts and hop on to Bus No. 1. There were in all 5 buses with the same tour operator, the bus was quite filled up by the time we entered it so did not have much options to choose our seat. Well, the road was never ending and it seemed a little boring as if there is never going to be the end of journey. Our tour guide was a lovely man, he joked and gave speeches relating to whatever places we would pass around the roads. I gathered quite a bit of good information on Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. Our first stop was Hoover Dam.
Hoover Dam is also known by the name Boulder dam and it is a very old name now. It is located on the borders of Arizona and Nevada. It was completed in the year 1936, it is one of the world’s largest hydroelectric power generating stations. Hoover dam is one of the largest concrete structure and is one of the 38th largest hydroelectric generating station. It is situated close to 30 miles from Las Vegas, Nevada. Hoover Dam has been named after Herbert Hoover who played a major role in building the dam. He was first the secretary of commerce and later on the president of the United Stated. The lake mead reservoir is named after Elwood Mead who saw the construction of the lake. Hoover Dam is one of the top most construction achievements of the century and it attracts lots of tourists around the year. The dam is located in Black Canyon; it takes just few minutes to reach after leaving Vegas.
Hoover dam stands at 725 feet above the Colorado River and generates over 4 billion kilowatts of electricity from its 17 generators. The operation and maintenance cost of the dam is supported with the revenue made from power sales. The Hoover Dam power plant tour has varied options for its tour that costs $11 per person, the tour lasts for around 2 hours. The guests can choose from the formats available for the tour, the tour shows the video of the history of the Hoover dam and how it was developed over years. An escort will take you down an elevator, over 500 foot descent to have a closer look at the power plant generators which are located at the base of the dam. You can also see the original diversion tunnels and 30-foot pipe where you can feel the rumbling of the river passing through it. Hoover dam is regarded as the treasure of the states Arizona and Nevada and it took the talent of over 200 engineers to make this dream come true. The dam was built with the aim of making it multi-purpose. Back again in the bus within 10 minutes, we had a long long journey to Grand Canyon. Oh no, I still cannot imagine that I made such a long journey.
Wow, the area was huge and I was really awe-struck looking at the beauty of Grand Canyon. 
The huge landscaped area was seriously overwhelming to see and it was very inspiring to watch one of the natural wonders of the world. Grand Canyon stretches to over 277 river miles long and over 18 miles wider and it is over a mile deep. The summer climate at the South Rim is usually pleasant while the climate at northern rim is cooler because of the higher elevation. The inner temperature of the canyon is extreme, it can go up to day time high at over 105 degree Fahrenheit. Grand Canyon national park is one of the largest tourist attractions across the US and gets over 5 million visitors in a year.
There are varied points at Canyon to enjoy its beauty, the Lipan point is located at the southern rim. It is located at the east side of the canyon. The Lipan point has different varieties of rocks around the unkar creek area located at the inner side of the canyon. Most of the rock material at Canyon are composed of sedimentary rocks which are formed at the shallow coastal plains or at the bottom of the ocean. The top rock of the canyon consists of kaibab limestone mostly consisting of sandy limestones.
It was one of the spectacular experiences of my life to see the grandest of the Grand Canyon and the skywalk is simply mind boggling. Its an architectural marvel of present times and is made up worth of over 30 million dollars, it weighs around 1.571 million point and has the capability to withstand another 71 million pounds of weight over it. There are other lots of facts relating to Canyon, no human made beauty can beat the beauty of nature in its natural splendor. My visit to US was no waste especially if I have seen the Canyon here. I still cannot miss that lovely sight away from front of my eyes. We got around 1 hour to enjoy the beauty and after clicking lots of pictures we were again for our long voyage again. It was seriously an awesome experience to see the vast beauty of nature inviting you with natural vibrations. Tomorrow, I am sure I am not going to do much except to recollect my previous day memories. Bye bye.
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Your US trip cannot be over without visit at Grand Canyon. Great place after Niagra falls to visit.
After partying a lot in Vegas, this is the next destination where you can enjoy the scenic view of the great Canyon!
Hoover Dam is really well constructed but it is not much known in the world. It is indeed one of the biggest hydro power station.
One of the best landscape in the world is Grand Canyon! Its huge and very long! I just wonder how the hell it was made.
I’ve heard that Grand Canyon National park is really good but haven’t been there anytime. I also need to visit Grand Canyon.
Its true that going to US and not visiting Grand Canyon is total waste of yout trip.
The skywalk is amazing! What a great effort done by all the engineers and workers to bring this in reality!
Hoover Dam and skywalk at Canyon should be in the list of amazing constructions of the world.
I wanted to know that is there any other way to reach here. I have a problem of puking in bus.
Arizona has featured a continuous string of dancing and performing groups of many ethnicities. The state is a recognized center of Native American art, with a number of galleries such as the Heard Museum showcasing historical and contemporary works. Sedona, Jerome, and Tubac are known as budding artist colonies, and small arts scenes exist in the larger cities and near the state universities.