Sin City and the Damn Big Boulder Dam

Sin City and the Damn Big Boulder Dam

I teach because I truly enjoy working with young people…people younger than me; I think I still qualify as young…
I also wanted to teach for the luxury of extended and regular vacations that would allow for travel and extracurricular fun on a regular basis. And so I find myself in the second week of my annual two-week March break, sitting in a room in the Orleans, a large hotel-casino off the main strip in Vegas. I’m not here because I think gambling in these tumultuous economic times is the solution to all my worries, and I’ve already done the “bachelor’s bash”…that one was a solo adventure to Belize for two weeks with activities like caving, repelling, hiking, Maya ruin exploration and kayaking; Vegas doesn’t draw the outdoor enthusiasts. No, I came here for a History conference of all things, but I decided that there would be no harm in getting away from home and traveling for a few extra days while I was out here.

I flew in n Tuesday night, taking advantage of the great deals, booking myself into what is a more than adequate hotel room for 20-something dollars a night and renting a car to see some of the area surrounding Sin City since I’m not all that interested in sinning these days…Leading up to the flight yesterday, I was cautiously excited; you see, I have been to Vegas once before, on a road trip several years ago. I spent an evening here, stopping to see O, a Cirque du Soleil production that was fabulous but couldn’t cover up the rather disturbing socio-cultural idiosyncrasies of this truly unique city. Leaving Nevada after the show, I felt grimy and somewhat psychologically anguished and didn’t expect to be back anytime soon.
Well, five years later, I’m back, and I decided that I’d come in this time, knowing what to expect and ready to just soak it in, laugh and find other things to do that don’t involve hookers, casinos, strippers or excessive shopping and debauchery (though I do intend to spend some time strolling around the strip to take it all in and I might throw 20 or 25 bucks into a slot machine just because. I love Blackjack and would rather play that, but I think that would require far more money, and when it comes down to it, I’m sure I’ll feel guilty enough when I lose a dinner out in a slot machine…).
So, after getting in very late, at least by my east coast clock, I slept a measly five hours before waking up ready to go (yeah, I must have been REALLY psychologically disturbed by my past evening under those neon lights). Abby would have been amazed as I almost NEVER beat her out of bed, and certainly not after only sleeping for a mere five hours. A nice drive down the strip, seeing it in all its quiet morning slumber, a short food shopping spree at Whole Foods, and it was off for my first day out of the city.
I think of Vegas as flat, but as I drove around the city on the beltway, I was in awe of the rocky mountains, hills and rock formations surrounding the city. I found the local NPR station and drove east toward Boulder City and the Boulder Dam Hotel where a little-visited museum is nestled in the back rooms of the old hotel. The Helping Friendly Book directed me to stop at this off-the-beaten-track site, and it was well worth the two dollars admission.
After a wonderful exhibit and an insightful, if outdated, video on the Boulder Dam, I turned to leave only to find myself talking to one of the two retired women who were on duty. It only took a minute or so to discover that she hails from Schwenksville and migrated to the drier climes of the Nevada desert a short four years ago. I have to say, I always will think of myself as a Bay-Stater first, but I do find far more people from my “new” home in Philadelphia as I wander and travel. So, my new friend quickly asked me if I liked hiking when I asked her about the best way to reach the Boulder Dam, and when I answered in the affirmative, she directed me to the Alan Bible Visitor Center trailhead, from where I embarked on a nearly four mile hike to the dam. This not only helped me avoid the traffic that piles up on each side of the giant concrete plug, but it also turned out to be a wonderful stroll above the shores of Lake Mead on an old railroad bed that has long been clear of rail ties but which still passes through a series of five tunnels that allowed the trains to carry supplies to the dam as it was being built back in the 1930s.

An hour or so after starting out and having meandered past desert flowers and blooming cacti, the trail ended abruptly on the upper level of the parking garage beside the dam. If you haven’t figured it out, I had hiked to the Hoover Dam, which had originally and passionately been referred to as the Boulder Dam. I imagine that in the height of tourist season, and when economics encourage more people to travel, it must be an awful place to be considering that there’s not that much room to operate and I’d wager that it must be Nevada’s #1 destination outside of Vegas. But today, the crowds were thin, the waits short, and the tour of the dam a perfect way to spend my first day “in Vegas”.

While the day turned out to be longer and more rigorous than expected (considering what I’m planning on putting the body through tomorrow), I am anything but done. Soon, I’m going to head back out for a night in the casinos. The main draw is Cirque’s Mystere, a show I have heard is excellent. Cirque du Soleil is one of my favorite things of all time, and I decided to splurge for this one when I decided to come early. Here’s hoping for a night of magic, mystery and comedy as only Cirque can provide, and as I THINK I’m sitting I the second row, I’m excited to see Cirque in a way I never have before.