You may notice that the rocks in the last couple of posts have all been sedimentary. We had left the volcanic rocks behind, and were now more in fossil territory. Chad inspected the dinosaur tracks on display outside the dam visitor's center.
We were lucky to have a clear day that was not too hot -- only about 90, compared to the 105 that it was the last time we went through Page. The air was also pretty clear, which led to long views out to the layered rocks on the horizon. We started out at the visitor's center,
from which you can look down at the dam.
and out toward Lake Powell.
After showing our identification, and going through a metal detector, we joined the early morning tour group. Security is pretty tight here, as one does not want to have problems with a dam that is over 700 feet tall. There is just a lot of water stored behind it!
First, we got to walk out onto the dam.
Our guide talked about the history and structure of the dam and showed off some defunct turbines that were left after the last upgrade.
We also had plenty of time to be tourists and take pictures.
Looking down off of the dam was fun. It's tall. Note the evidence of water seeping through the sandstone on the side. This apparently was expected and taken into account, but was a bit unnerving to notice. Sandstone is porous relative to many rocks.
We then took a long elevator down into the dam to get a closer look at things below. The dam is riddled with maintenance passageways, and much cooler inside than out.
From below, one has an entirely different vantage point on the structure and surroundings.
Many big turbines generate power inside the bowels of the dam. The whole tour took about 45 minutes, and was a good diversion at this point in the trip. Some history, some rocks, some engineering to marvel at...what's not to like?
After the tour, we took a few minutes to check out the old Navajo bridge (left), which was replaced with the new bridge (right) back in the 90's.
Today, the old bridge is a pedestrian bridge, so you can cross the Colorado River and enjoy scenic river and dam views. Looking at this picture, I find it sad that they explicitly have to have a sign pointing out that it is dumb to throw rocks in the river from here.
We like how the dam seems to just spring out of the rock outcrops. All of these structures require massive feats of engineering to put in.
As we explored above, rafts full of presumably happy people floated down the river below. It looks like fun -- so maybe a notion for next time!
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