Memorial Day Weekend 2021

This is one of my favorite posts from several years ago so I am reposting it this weekend.

Thank you to all stuffies (and humans!) who have served in the military and given the ultimate sacrifice.

Mega Road Trip, Part 4 - Hoover Dam

 Our road trip continues!

After we left Williams, AZ, we headed to... THE HOOVER DAM! Now I really feel like this is National Lampoon's Vacation.

The Hoover Dam was built between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression. It was dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. It cost $49 million to build back then in 1931, which is about $675 million in today's money.

The Hoover Dam is a type of concrete arch-gravity dam and holds back Lake Mead, providing hydroelectric power to millions of people in the area. It's possible to tour the power plant below, but it was closed due to the pandemic.

It's a looong way down this dam! I'm looking over the edge - don't let me go, mom!

Here is the official plaque. It used to be named the Boulder Dam but was renamed to the Hoover Dam after President Herbert Hoover in 1947.

And just across the way is the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge which was more recently built in 2010.

Mike O'Callaghan was a former governor of Nevada, and Pat Tillman was a former NFL player who served in the U.S. Army and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The construction of the dam was such a significant milestone, as such a large concrete structure had never been built before. The work was dangerous and an estimated 112 people lost their lives while building it. Here is a memorial for all the brave workers who died.

The artwork in the memorial has an art deco theme, and I see the state of California's flag here too. Do you see the bears?

Stay tuned for our next stop on the road trip!

Mega Road Trip, part 3 - Route 66

Our Super Duper Road Trip continues! After leaving the Grand Canyon, we headed south and stayed at a town called Williams, Arizona. This town is known as the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon" and has a train station with trains going to the Grand Canyon Village.

This is me in front of one of the trains. We didn't ride on it, though.

Williams also lies on the historic Route 66 highway, one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. Let's take a look around!

You'll see lots of flags flying in this town.

And classic cars like this one...

Maybe I should paint my car this color?

We also walked by Pete's Gas Station Museum. It was closed and we could not find Pete, but we did peek inside and saw lots of memorabilia. I can't believe fuel pumps used to look like this!

Me in front of a nice, rusty, old kerosene pump.

I ran into a fellow bear as well. Hello there!

And here's another classic car just parked on the street!

In one of the souvenir shops, there was an Elvis Presley "The King" fortune teller. Pure Americana!

That's our visit on this part of Historic Route 66! I wonder where our next stop will be...

MAIL UPDATE

 We interrupt this road trip recap with this mail update!

I received some cool mail from Sandy!

How do I know it's from Sandy? Well, he has his very own postage stamp. I used to have some of myself also, but ran out. I will have to reorder some. There's nothing quite like seeing your face on a postage stamp.

And if there was any doubt, he also put a sticker of himself on the back of the envelope.

The first envelope appears to be a distress call, that says "Things are getting worse" on the front.

And it says "Please send chocolate" on the back. Oh no, things must be very terrible!

Oh, it's a lovely Easter card with a bunny on the front. How nice! Sandy says he is doing a lot of exploring and hiking lately, and will be supervising some house renovation projects.

The other envelope contained a few postcards. Did you know a group of badgers is called a cete?

And quite possibly my favorite postcard ever... is one of Paddington Bear!

Thanks for the mail, Sandy!

We'll get back to our road trip shortly!

Mega Road Trip Part 2: Grand Canyon

Our road trip continues...

DID YOU KNOW... You can get a national park pass for $85 and it will give you an annual membership to over a hundred national parks? That's well worth the price, as some park admission fees are $35 per vehicle.

Today we are heading to Grand Canyon National Park! The main parking lot here is just a 5-minute walk away from Mather Point, which offers tremendous views.

The Grand Canyon National Park covers a whopping 1,217,262 acres and shows off layers of red rock that reveal millions of years of history.

"Make sure you get my best side," said a familiar voice.

"Let me guess... DROOPY?" He was asking his photographer to take a photo of him. See? I told you we would run into each other again on this trip.

Here's a photo of Grand Canyon from Mather Point - what a beauty!

I don't know about you, but suddenly I feel very, very small standing here in front of the Grand Canyon. And I bet even Uncle Tibbs would feel small also! It is just a breathtaking sight.

If you look closely, you will see some people standing on the outcrop at the left of this photo. Look how tiny they are!

This park is so huge that they have different shuttle buses taking visitors to other parts such as the North Rim and the South Rim, to name a few. But I heard the views here are one of the best!

Did you know only 12 people have thru-hiked the entire 700-mile full length of the Grand Canyon? The terrain is very difficult, requires rock scrambling, the heat can be intense, and it's difficult to resupply on the thru hike.

 

Alright, one more look at this beauty and then we're off to our next stop!