A surprise, Hoover Dam and Las Vegas

It was only a short hop over the mountains into Las Vegas, Nevada this morning. However, we rode straight through there and the adjoining municipality of Henderson en route to Boulder City and the Hoover Dam.

There was a surprise in store for us when we arrived: the main road across the Colorado River no longer takes you across the Hoover Dam. An amazing new bridge takes traffic high across the Colorado River without having to wind down and up one lane switchbacks on either side of the Dam.

The Mike O'Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened less than 3 weeks ago on 20 October. Pedestrians can walk across the bridge from a carpark on the Nevada side of the river. It was jam packed when we were there and we didn't understand why until we learned the bridge had just opened.

The view of the Hoover Dam from the bridge is quite spectacular - and vice versa.

The water level behind the dam seems very low.

Returning to Las Vegas, we checked into our hotel and rested up.

After dinner, we walked to "The Strip", the main road with all the big casinos. It was crowded with people all ogling the ostentatious glitter and glam. An amazing place.



Everything is so over the top - for example, The Venetian casino is modelled on the Doge's Palace and has a pool out the front that is so big they offer gondola rides. on it

The Paris casino has its own replica of the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower...

One of the casinos has a simulated volcano, while Bellagio's has a two hundred metre wide fountain that puts on a show every hour.

Here's some of the other casinos:

By the time we walked back to our hotel we were exhausted, but it made for a good night's sleep.