We were at the Hoover Dam about three years ago. It’s changed, as the new bridge, nearly 900 feet above the Colorado River, is now completed. Just like the dam, the bridge’s mid-point is the border between Arizona and Nevada, as well as the time line between Mountain Time and Pacific Time. If you want to see the bridge and the dam up close, you must exit the highway and pass through a security checkpoint first. There is a free parking lot near the bridge where you can park and walk up 69 steps to the pedestrian walkway that runs the entire length of the bridge. We did this, and walked all the way across and back.
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| Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) |
This is the highest and longest arched concrete bridge in the Western Hemisphere. The second-highest bridge of any kind in the United States and the 14th in the world. The world’s tallest concrete columns of their kind. It was pretty impressive.
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| Hoover Dam & Shadow of Bridge |
Next, down to the dam. There is a new parking garage and visitor center now too. We paid $7 to park, but when they said they wanted $8 to enter the visitor center we said no. Guided tours are from $11 to $30, and we said no to that too. But the gift shop was open at no charge! That’s where you can buy dam souvenirs and dam tshirts and dam hats. And we could walk around the area and take pictures. There were several monuments, plaques, and memorials on the grounds, and we were able to walk across the dam. You can still drive across the dam after going through the security checkpoint. It occurred to us too late that on the Arizona side there was free parking available.
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| Dam High Scaler Monument |
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| View from Hoover Dam |
After the dam visit and taking some dam pictures we went to Target in Las Vegas for supplies. I see the sales tax here is 8.1%.
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| 8.1% sales tax |
The Nomadic Life 