We crossed over the Colorado River to enter Nevada and made our first stop to see the Hoover Dam. Completed in 1936, it was, at the time, the largest dam in the world and it stores water that irrigates two million acres and provides hydroelectric power throughout California, Nevada and Arizona. It is one of the largest concrete structures in the world and the most visited dam with over seven million visitors a year.
Oh, there’s black jack and poker and the roulette wheel
A fortune won and lost on ev’ry deal
All you need’s a strong heart and a nerve of steel
Viva Las Vegas, viva Las Vegas – Elvis Presley, 1964
Las Vegas: also known as Sin City, the Entertainment Capital of the World, the Gambling Capital of the World, the Marriage Capital of the World and the Neon Capital of the World. We were last here eight years ago and the city is exactly as we left it in 2012 – bright, loud, crowded, colourful, completely over the top, and continuously serenaded by the sound of slot machines in almost every building you walk past. The opulent hotels, the neon signs announcing headlining acts, the giddy brides clinging to their stunned-looking spouses and the famous Bellagio Fountains gave us plenty to keep us entertained while we were here.
A few streets back from the raucous glitz of the Strip is a somewhat more sobering glimpse into Nevada’s history. The National Atomic Testing Museum tells the story of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas and the impact it had on the those who worked at the site, the nation at large and America’s international relationships. It also includes America’s history relating to its nuclear weapons program and the Cold War. Exhibits, artifacts and first-person narratives make this a really fascinating museum.
Leaving Sin City, we headed west towards the Nevada/California border. To my complete delight I walked into a gas station in a town called Jean and found Herbie, the Volkswagon Beetle with human tendencies, sitting there promoting the Hollywood Cars Museum. I promptly went back out and dragged Sammy in to see the car from movies including The Love Bug and Herbie Rides again 😂
So this concludes the Nevada chapter of our road trip. It is also our 49th state and the last state for us to visit in mainland USA. It feels a little bittersweet that the end of our journey is just around the corner, but at the same time incredibly exciting to know that we have almost achieved our end goal: to visit all 50 states in America.
We now head back to San Francisco, where we started this trip seven months ago, to return Wanda to Hertz and to catch our flight to Honolulu, Hawaii. When you see us next, we’ll be saying Aloha!
P&S
PS: Just in case anyone is wondering why we didn’t go to the Grand Canyon… we visited there in 2012 and so skipped it this time 😊