Friends & Family

Inside the Arizona-side generator house. These generators create 16,000 Volts at 4,200 Amperes... each! I believe there are 17 generators total, counting both the Arizona and Nevada sides of the river. All the Hoover Dam tour photos were shot on Kodak Max 800 film.

Our tour guide was the worst I've ever seen. My understanding of this device is that it controls the turbine speed, thus controlling the generator speed to provide precisely 60Hz AC. The shaft, which is 60 feet (18 meters) long is 38 inches (970mm) in diameter.

When we emerged from the power house, we were greeted with this view of the dam face. It's a long way (600 feet, 180 meters) up! The square you see superimposed on the large photo surrounds a ventilation duct. The duct allows fresh air to circulate through the tunnels inside the dam. In a later photo, you'll see the view seen looking out through the grating that covers the vent.

I've placed the photos in order of the tour. This is the view out the vent shaft about mid-height on the dam face looking southwest toward Lake Mojave (mo-HA-vay).

This is the view from the top of the dam, looking southwest. Both powerhouses can bee seen, either side of the river (Arizona on the left, Nevada on the right). It's a scary viewpoint for acrophobics!

This view is looking almost directly south from the top of the dam. I wanted to show the power lines coming up from the powerhouse and being carried off toward Phoenix and other parts of the American Southwest.

Las Vegas Hotels and attractions:

Evelyn standing outside the Tropicana Hotel, camera looking toward the North West and the New York, New York hotel/casino across the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip). The MGM Grand is on the North East corner of the intersection.

I just happened to look across the street as this juxtaposition occurred. I wish I had had more time to compose the shot so I could have gotten the tops of the buildings in the scene, but the traffic was moving along The Strip and I had to shoot quickly. That's the price you pay for taking a 25 year vacation from the photojournalism scene. Back then, I'd have made the shot with proper composition without even thinking about it. Note the U-Haul truck in the foreground.

Behind the photographer in the above shots is the Tropicana Hotel. Just inside the door, to the left, is this see-through vault holding what is supposed to be ten million dollars! (That's $10,000,000.00.) It's a jackpot for some game they play that's unique to the Tropicana Hotel Casino. I don't know if it's all real money, but it looks good. I didn't play. First, I didn't feel lucky, second, I didn't think all that paper would fit in the back of my pickup. It would have been fun to try to see if it would fit, but if it wouldn't, I didn't want to have to make a second 400 mile trip back to 'Vegas to load up the rest. I wonder if they would have written me a check.... ?

On the South West corner of the intersection of The Strip and Tropicana Ave. is the Excalibur Hotel Casino. This one's a Camelot motif. In the center you can see Merlin the Magician greeting you from the tower.

To the south of the Excalibur along Las Vegas Boulevard is the Luxor Hotel Casino. It's theme is ancient Egypt. The entrance from The Strip is between the front paws of the Sphinx. I'm (justifiably) proud of the exposure on this one. The 'hieroglyphics' are visible, both on the wall on the left and on the shadow-side of the obelisk that is the hotel's marquee. This was a difficult shot, into the morning sun. I wonder what the hieroglyphic symbol is for 'No Vacancy'.

Evelyn standing next to one of the paws of the Sphinx in front of the Luxor Hotel Casino. The hotel's landmark black Pyramid is in the background. Some of the hotel rooms are built inside the slope of the pyramid walls. This is a very interesting study in architecture and engineering. At the top of the pyramid is a spotlight that shines so brilliantly straight up into the desert sky at night that commercial airline pilots complain.

Evelyn sitting next to one of the fountains inside the shopping mall area of Caesars Palace. No, I didn't forget an apostrophe. The name of the hotel is Caesars, plural. You are supposed to be made to feel as if you are one of the Caesars when you are there. I missed the chance to win some money in this one. Evelyn and I were watching one of the Roulette tables as the wheel doled out three Reds in a row. All I had to do was place $20 on Black and I'd have been a winner. Having the ball land on the same color three times in a row is very uncommon. The odds are VERY high that it will land on the opposite color next spin. I didn't bet. I should have.

Night scene looking South East from in front of Caesars Palace. The Flamingo Hotel Casino is in the scene, but directly to the East (to the left) across Las Vegas Boulevard is the Imperial Palace, a Japanese motif casino/hotel. The Imperial Palace has an interesting automobile collection on one of the upper floors. Museum entrance is free, as are many of the Las Vegas attractions. To the right, directly South of Caesars and out of the picture, is the Bellagio Hotel Casino. This is one of the ritziest in 'Vegas. If you're not a high roller, I think they make you shine the doorman's shoes before they'll let you inside. Seriously, the rooms are from $150, and very steeply, 'up'. Funny thing, though. If you can afford the $3,000 room, you don't have to pay for it. They figure you're loosing more than that in their casino, so they give you the room (3,000 sq. ft. suite) for free. And we thought the other hotels were giving us a bargain on the 'all you can eat buffet' (including SHRIMP!!!) for $9/person!

To me, this is the epitome of Las Vegas. I see it as sad and extremely humorous at the same time. In the foreground is the Chapel of Love. Get married on a moment's notice, pay later... 90 days, same as cash. Perfect for those with 'hot pockets', if you know what I mean. Right next door are several motels advertising 3-hour rates and XXX movies. Who the Hell needs XXX movies on their honeymoon??? If I had looked farther down the street, I'd probably have found a 'Divorce-in-the-Box' with drive through service. Just tell your complaint to the clown. What a classy joint!