The Hubris of Hoover Dam...

For years I've driven past Hoover Dam en route to a better place called Death Valley National Park. As an American history buff, I've always wanted to stop, but the call to wilder places beckoned me. 

Recently Barley the Van chose to get temporarily sick in nearby Las Vegas. The timing was right to pay a visit (with a rent-a-wreck) to "America's Seven Modern Civil Engineering Wonders." I'll say it now, it was worth my time and $30 for the Dam Tour. 

After going through a security check point, me and the Wreck were permitted passage across the top of the dam. I parked in Arizona and walked back to Nevada. My first impression of the Dam was "there's a lot of concrete below me." 

Hoover Dam Fun Fact Number One: A two lane 4,000 mile highway (San Francisco to New York) could have been constructed with the concrete used to create this monstrous river impediment. 

After going through a second security check, similar to an airport screening, I purchased my tour ticket. (No AAA or AARP discounts). 

It's a one hour tour split up between the hydroelectric power plant and the Dam itself. The guides glazed over the historical significance of the Dam, so I'll fill you in.

Construction began during the Great Depression (1931). Folks were desperate for employment. (In other words, the opposite of me). Men were willing to chance it all for a livable wage. Over a 100 people died in the dam's construction. Most of them from working in poorly ventilated tunnels containing high concentrations of carbon monoxide. (OSHA wasn't established until 1971). Work went on around the clock like a Walmart Supermarket. The project came in under budget and completed two years ahead of schedule. 

The Bureau of Reclamation's voice boxes spoke the truth about the Dam's purpose. To provide cheap water for agricultural use. (80%) Sure, we all need to eat, but much of those precious acre-feet (the amount of water to cover an acre, one-foot deep) of liquid is wasted on low value water intensive crops. I.E. Cotton, hay and alfalfa. Pecan trees are wetted down in the desert too! That's just wrong! 

As far as hydroelectric generated capabilities, Walter the guide was honest as well, "about one million households" worth of electrons. Not that impressive a number when the lower basin states contains over 20 million electricity users. 

Please, don't get me going about the Dam's benefits of flood control. By placing homes, gardens and businesses in a flood plain, you are running a risk.The long term odds are against you. How long can you tread water?

On the Dam building portion of the tour, Hal the guide spoke about the spillways. "In case of big water years, the extra volume would  be diverted around the Dam. It wouldn't be overtopped. The spillways can move two Niagara Falls amount of water together" 

(About 400,000 cubic feet/second). There's speculation the Colorado River ran at half million CF/S in rare pre-Dam years. 

I then asked if the big water year of 1983 caused cavitation in the spillways. "Yes, there was damage." I know that's an understatement. The overflow spigots was spitting out concrete and chunks of canyon walls. Fortunately, the ridiculous flow abated before a catastrophic failure occurred. The photo below shows the 1983 "bathtub ring" watermark very well. 

BTW: The spillways bypass tunnels are 50 feet in diameter. That's a huge orifice. 

Moral of this blog? Anything mankind can do, Mother Nature is capable of undoing. She's patient and way more powerful than we are. 

For two great reads on this subject check out: John McPhee's "The Control of Nature."

And "The Emerald Mile" by Kevin Fedarko.

I could only aspire to write as well as these fine authors. 

Use water responsibly. In the Southwest of America, it's a highly prized commodity. 

Last fun fact: The Colorado River has been involved in more court battles than any other waterway in the World. In the Southwest, whiskey's for drinking, water's for fighting. 

Cheers!

I'm escaping from Las Vegas today.

Jeff. 

Parting is such...

sweet sorrow when I leave Death Valley National Park. 

It's become a comfort zone for me. The out-worldly landscape, the sunrises and sets, and the miles of hiking devoid of nothing but skittering lizards. It's all good to me. 

http://jeffsambur.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-of-superlatives.html

Every now and then, I'll actually speak to someone who's even more eccentric than me. It'll usually happen in the Tollroad or Corkscrew bars. Fortunately, like me, they are harmless. 

For example: Larry. He's a smiling black man who wore a yalmulke, a mezuzah, corn row dreads 

and shades. I didn't ask if he was a Member of the Tribe. You know, don't ask, don't tell. His opinions were well grounded in the brotherhood and sisterhood of humans. He was an easy guy to like. He had a German girlfriend. 

His first question to me? "What's this place all about?" I laughed. I think the vastness of Death Valley unnerved him. I suppose it's not for everyone.

Tomorrow, I'll start to move south toward the Mohave Desert Preserve. But first a detour to get Barley the Van checked out by a Ford Dealer. This will be the third opinion from mechanical doctors. There's something just not right with my travel companion. A man knows his van!

Wish us luck. Hopefully, it'll be a quick outpatient surgery. The thought of an overnight stay in Vegas makes my stomach hurt.

Cheers from windy, sunny and mellow Shoshone, CA,

Jeff

Dispatches from No Cell Phone...

Coverage Valley...

would be an appropriate name for Panamint Valley. Verizon and company has deemed the area as unworthy of a microwave tower. I'm OK with this "No Service" approach to remote.

This desert depression is a short raven's flight west of its famous neighbor-Death Valley National Park. After spending four nights there, I call it Death Valley Lite. There's canyons, mountains, ghost towns, waterfalls, sand, solitude, abandoned mines and one Panamint Springs Resort. 

The PS Resort is the Valley's population center (about 30). When campers and motel guests stay the night, the population quadruples. Naming this crash pad a Resort is sort of a misnomer. Toilets plug up daily, hot showers are problematic, wifi is in name only and litter blows freely throughout the compound. The unofficial slogan of the staff is, "we're not paid enough to care!" 

On the plus side, the restaurant has good bar food, smiling helpers and a beer selection that puts most  Biker Bars to shame. (In other words, heaps more than Coors and Bud Lite). Purchasing an IPA is on the honor system. Choose one of 130 titles from the Winnebago sized cooler, flick its cap and start drinking. Settle up with the bartender when you're done. I like the style. 

I met Evan, a part owner of the spread. He was in his late-twenties, wore camouflage pants, long hair and a beard. His shirt announced "Keep calm and return fire." He was a wealth of information about dirt bike trails but never heard of a canyon of historical significance just fifteen miles away in the National Park. Go figure. 

Ahh! But the views from the campground of the Cottonwood and Panamint Ranges are skip a heartbeat beautiful. Happy Hour sunsets are silently thrilling, except when fighter jets from nearby China Lake Naval Weapons Center flex their might and muscle at sand dune level. Oftentimes, the aircraft are heard but not seen. The fly boys and girls are kind enough to call it quits at nightfall, thus restoring peace in the Valley. 

BTW Thank you pilots for your service to our country. 

The other population center is thirty miles south-the one full time resident ghost town of Ballarat. From 1897-1917, this mining camp/supply center boasted a post office, a Wells Fargo station, a school, a jail, a morgue, three hotels and seven saloons. There wasn't any churches. Now, there's a sign proclaiming the town to be "free." Going so far as to say, it's OK to shoot your gun. 

Freedom has its limits. Don't drive over 15 MPH past the trailers, rusting mining equipment, blue-tarp roof outbuildings and General Store. You can camp there, but it'll cost you $3 a night. Don't forget to give your neighbors a wide berth and stay out of their line of fire. 

Besides being wild and remote, Panamint Valley is just plain out there. I hiked a few canyons, went high along some hills to old mines and spent the rest of my time taking in the views. 

One day, I'll be back to do it over again. I'd even camp at the Panamint Springs Resort. Maybe (touch wood) the plumbing will be repaired.

Cheers from somewhere else out there,

Jeff