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| Picture by Kolohe |
Across the road from the scenic view area is a geological feature that was discovered while excavating material for the Interstate. One of the displays explains that the fault represents the boundary between two blocks that moved independent of each other and then magma filled the crack during volcanic activity, leaving the distinct mark that is visible today.
Leaving the scenic view area, Interstate 11 bypasses Hoover Dam on the way to Arizona, so visitors that want to visit the dam have to exit the Interstate onto old Highway 93. A short distance after exiting onto old Highway 93 there is a scenic overlook located on top of the last tunnel on the Railroad Tunnel Hiking Trail; so we decided to park at the scenic overlook parking lot and hike down to the dam by following part of the Railroad Tunnel Trail. Most hikers on the Railroad Tunnel Trail leave from the Alan Bible Visitor Center, pass through the five tunnels, and then follow a trail that makes a large loop around a mountain, returning to the Railroad Tunnel Trail and then back through the tunnels to the visitor center. However, there is a side trail that most people are not aware of that leaves the Railroad Tunnel Trail, passes through an electrical substation, and then follows a different trail down to the dam. Along the trail that passes through the electrical substation there are a number of interesting exhibits that explain various equipment used in construction of the dam.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
After walking through the electrical substation the trail continues through a cut in the mountain and then drops down through a series of switchbacks, eventually ending up on the roof of the Hoover Dam parking garage. From the roof of the parking structure there are nice views to the west of the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge as it passes over the Colorado River and to the east are views of Hoover Dam and Lake Mead.
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| Picture by Kolohe |
When exiting the parking garage there is a tomb of "The Dog Who Owned a Dam." A placard next to the tomb states: "The Hoover Dam mascot only acted as if he owned the dam, but without doubt he owned the hearts of its workers. The dog wandered freely around the jobsite; up ladders, over catwalks, and through tunnels. He even rode the open-air elevator (called a skiff) and would bark at the operator when he wanted to get off. The commissary prepared him a single daily meal, which he carried to the job in a paper bag. He died when he was run over by a truck. Grown men wept as they jackhammered a tomb for him in the rock next to the temporary ranger station..."
Located across the road from the parking garage is the Dam's visitor center that has interesting displays and a movie about the Dam's construction. Unfortunately, the visitor center is temporarily closed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
A short distance east of the parking garage is Monument Plaza, which contains two "Winged Figures of the Republic" that according to legend, if you rub the feet of the Winged Figures it will bring you good luck. (Apparently, the legend was made prior to Covid-19.) Therefore, the feet are nice and shinny while other parts of the statues are corroded from the elements. Located next to the Winged Figures is a terrazzo surface with a star chart that is a view of the heavens as they looked on September 30, 1935, the day the dam was dedicated. A placard states that thousands of years from now the star chart will allow astronomers to calculate the dedication date of the dam using astronomical mathematics. The Plaza also contains a great seal of the United States and the seven seals of the states that are the signatories to the Colorado River Compact (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and California).
Work on Hoover Dam started in 1931 and required four years to complete. Unlike today's construction projects, work on the dam came in under budget and before the projected delivery date.
During construction over 21,000 people worked on the Dam 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There were 112 deaths reported that were associated with the Dam's construction. The first death was J.G. Tiemey, a surveyor, who drowned in the Colorado River while looking for a spot to build the dam, and the last death was Patrick Tierney, the son of J.G. Tieney, when he fell to his death from an intake tower that was under construction. There is no truth to the tales that some construction workers were buried in the dam while the workers were pouring concrete.
Construction required 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete and 88,000,000 pounds of steel plate to make 14,500 feet of pipe ranging in size from 8-feet to 30-feet in diameter. The Dam is 720-feet high, 660 feet thick at the base, and 1,244 feet long at the crest. Until the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge was completed in 2010, Highway 93 across the top of the Dam was the only way to cross the Colorado River for miles in either direction.
On the hike back to our vehicle we took a slight detour and walked out onto the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge.
Mike O'Callaghan was a Nevadan that joined the Marines in 1946 at age 16. After his tour of duty was completed he worked construction, then went back in the military to fight in the Korean War. He lost a leg in combat and after recovering he became a history teacher and then went on to become Governor of Nevada.
Pat Tillman was a professional football player with the Arizona Cardinals. After September 11, 2001, he turned down a professional football contract offer of more than a million dollars a year because he wanted to join the U.S. Army and serve in Afghanistan. After his tour of duty in Afghanistan he applied for the Army's Ranger School and graduated in 2003. He was redeployed to Afghanistan where he died in action in 2004.
Attached below are some panoramic pictures by Kolohe that provide additional detail in each picture.
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| Web Picture - Unknown Photographer |
The Gilbert Pearson family lived in the same general area as our land in South Dakota and watched over our crops while everyone was in Kansas, so our family became very close friends with the Pearson family. Even after we moved to the farm near Pierre we remained close friends with the Pearsons and would often drive up to their place for visits.
Gilbert and Peggy Pearson had two children - a girl named Jean and a boy named Ralph. I don't remember Ralph because he died before I was born. Jean married a teacher named Neil Luebke and he was one of my teachers when I was in high school. After the Pearson's moved into Pierre and built a house, they also built a house for Neil and Jean on the adjacent lot.
When the Pearsons lived on their farm, they had an old house that did not have many conveniences. Their house did not have running water and there was a hand water pump in the kitchen connected to a cistern that collected rain water. As with most farm houses there was a bucked of water by the pump for drinking water from a common dipper and the water was also used to prime the pump as needed.
One time when I was about 5 years old we went to visit Pearsons in the winter after a large snow storm. The dirt road to their place was on the east side of the property, but it was completely blocked with snow. Because it was so cold the dirt in the fields was frozen solid, and at that time there we no shelter belts or wind breaks, so the snow did not pile up in the frozen fields. I remember that we just drove across the frozen fields to get to their place that day.
While the adults were visiting, there was not a lot for my older brother Jerry and I to do, so we went exploring around the barns and other buildings. In one of the building we found an old shipping crate that was not solid wood like they use now, but it was completely made of slats with wire between the slats to hold the crate together. The snow adjacent to the building was piled almost to the building's roof, so we decided to take the crate to the top of the drift and use it for a sled to slide down the large snowdrift. Jerry got in front and I got in the back. The crate picked up speed quickly and then the front of the crate dug into the snow and stopped. We didn't. Jerry's arm went between the crate's slats as he was falling forward and I fell on top of him, breaking his arm. He was in great pain but we got back to the house and then we had to drive him to the hospital. I remember as we were driving across the frozen dirt field it was very rough and every time the car hit a frozen dirt clod he would scream. That was the last time we ever tried using an old shipping crate for a sled.
The Pearson family spoiled me and when I was young. I couldn't say "Pearson," so I always called Gilbert Pearson "Bookie." I have no idea where that name came from. One summer day when I was about three years old I wanted to go see "Bookie," but my Mother was busy so I told her I was going to ride my trike up to "Bookies" place. (Their farm was about 20 miles away across Highway 14 on dirt roads.) Mother didn't say "No," so off I went. I remember that after what seemed like miles on a dirt road, my legs hurt, I was thirsty and hungry. I wanted to be home. About the same time my mother was looking all over the farm for me. Then she remembered that I said I was going to "Bookies," but she thought that I was just pretending. Since she couldn't find me at the farm, she got in the car and started driving up the road. I had managed to cross Canning Road, and was on my way to Highway 14. I remember when I looked up and saw my Mother in the car I was the happiest person on earth. She put me and my trike in the car and she did not even give me a spanking for leaving the farm. She said that she didn't think I was serious when I said I was going to ride my trike up to "Bookies." (I just measured the distance using Google Earth aerial maps and from the farm to the place where Mother found me was about 0.47 miles.)
I don't know where the below picture of the Pearsons was taken, but it definitely was not in front of their house on the farm. The picture of Jerry and me with their dog, me with their cat, and me in my snow suit were all taken at their farm.
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