We begin our tour of the Canyons

The first was the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, only about 20 miles outside Las Vegas, and has the Hoover Dam built across it. After the Great Depression, it provided work for many people and electricity for Nevada and Arizona which it effectively joins, as well as water for irrigation.

We went onto the nearby town of Boulder City which was built for the construction workers and was billed as Nevada’s best laid out town. It was. It was immaculately kept too and many of the 1930s buildings were well maintained and in use. Not sure why we didn’t get the camera out there, but we did take a photo overlooking its (rather ordinary) suburbs towards Mead Lake, created by the dam.

We then drove up the side of Mead Lake, which had nice views of the lake, and enjoyed the mountains and a beautiful little outcrop of red limestone.

We proceeded to the Fire State Park where there were lots of wonderful rock formations. The elephant rock

Some other scenes from the park, including ancient Indian rock carvings

We headed on to Hurricane where we are staying three nights. After Las Vegas we hadn’t expected too much of the hotel here, but discovered it is brand new, very modern, has a swimming pool and does a jolly good breakfast. A great base for our visits to Zion and Bryce.

)
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade