HOOVER DAM BYPASS BRIDGE, ARIZONA-NEVADA

For a person who knows nothing about engineering, never built anything or don't know how to use any tools, I just could not stop talking about Hoover Dam. I thanked my husband for his suggestion that we included a visit to this wonderful marvel structure. It was definitely one of the highlights of our recent westward road trip.

These are photos of the Bypass Bridge showing its near completion stage. I already have plans for a visit in the near future.

From this angle, the Bypass Bridge looks like the St. Louis Gateway Arch has been moved and placed here high above the Colorado River.

Construction for the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, on the Arizona and Nevada approaches began in 2002. According to the official website, it should be completed by the late 2010.

Here is what I found from the official website, http://www.hooverdambypass.org/, "Construction of the Colorado River Bridge is advancing on the 1,060 foot twin-rib concrete arch. The Colorado River Bridge is the central portion of the Hoover Dam Bypass Project. Construction on the nearly 2,000 foot long bridge began in late January 2005 and the completion of the entire Hoover Dam Bypass Project is expected in Late 2010. When completed, this signature bridge will span the Black Canyon (about 1,500 feet south of the Hoover Dam), connecting the Arizona and Nevada Approach highways nearly 900-feet above the Colorado River. Use the web cam icon to the left, to see real-time images of construction on the bridge! Visit the What's New and Construction Activities pages for more details on how this project is advancing."

COINCIDENCE OR GUARDIAN ANGELS AT WORK?

This is a true story and you decide whether it is coincidence or guardian angels were at work.

This event happened on Friday, June 26th, the 2nd day of our recent Route 66 adventure. We got up around 6:30 a.m., took showers and were ready to get on the road. I put my contact lenses in but the right lense gave me trouble. So I took it out and tried to rinse off whatever was on the lense that caused the irritation. After the third time of taking the lense out and putting it back on, I decided to open a new package for a fresh lense (good thing the lenses were disposable). We finally left Tucumcari, New Mexico at around 8:00 a.m., half an hour later than we had planned. At 9:10 a.m. we decided to stop in Santa Rosa and thought the Silver Moon Café would be a good place to enjoy a nice breakfast. One table with a family of 4 was eating, and a couple at another table just got their food served as we walked in. After we were seated, another couple came thru the door. We informed a 30-something waitress that we were ready to place our order when she brought us coffee. Another waitress in her 60s took care of the other customers. Half an hour later, we still did not get the scrambled eggs, ham and toast for me and an egg with American cheese omelet with toast for my husband. We inquired and were told it would be ready in a few minutes. We exchanged disappointing looks with the other customers and we all questioned the reasons for the delay when the place was almost empty. We finally got our food and got on the road at 10:45 a.m.

Ten minutes later, we encountered heavy traffic going westbound on I-40. Motorists were directed to use the right shoulder while the eastbound was completely shutdown. I was able to take these photos while emergency vehicles were still on the scene.

It looks like the driver of the 18-wheeler lost control, coming from the eastbound direction, crashed thru the median and jack-knifed with the trailer and the heavy load blocking 2/3 of the westbound lanes.

I was not happy when the right contact lense gave me trouble earlier. We were upset when the service at Silver Moon Café was unreasonable slow. Then we realized if it was not for the delay, we could have been on the road where the 18-wheeler came crashing thru. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time!

Is it coincidence or guardian angels were at work, you decide. Do you have a similar story you wish to share?

REVELATION 1:7

While driving near Silverado Ranch Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada, we saw this sign, "When you die, You will meet God." If I may add a comment, "When you die, You will meet God or you might not because You might be going down the escalator to Hell."

On Friday, August 6th, while reading the news on-line during my lunch break, I learned of the crash on I-44 in Gray Summit that caused 2 deaths. Gray Summit is approximately 15 miles from where we live. The accident made national news because it involved a tractor trailer, a pick up truck and two school buses full of high school students. Someone from my office made a comment that she hoped it was not the students among the fatalities.

I understand that we tend to sympathize more towards people who died young. A few years ago, my Mom commented, “They were so young and good looking people,” when we were talking about Princess Diana and John Kennedy, Jr.
I said to Mom, “Are you saying only old or ugly people would die?” We both laughed because we knew no one got to decide when their life expiration date would be.

By now we all know that the 2 people died in this accident were the 15 years old female student riding in the first school bus and the 19 years old young man driving the pick-up truck. I feel sorry for these families and the pains they must be going thru. I also thought it would not be any less painful if it was the 45 years old woman or a 68 years old man because they are family members of someone, a father, a mother; do we feel less sorry for them because they were older? Are their lives worth less because they have lived a few more years? Are they not loved equally by their sisters/brothers, children, and grandchildren?

These students were on their way to a day of fun at an amusement park in Eureka, Missouri. How quickly life forever changed for them and for their families! It is a reminder that life is full of surprises and unexpected events. I saw a quote at the bottom of a poster, “Dream like you would live forever; Live like you would die tomorrow” below an image of James Dean in his famous devil-daring pose. Whether this quote was made by Mr. Dean or someone else, it is definitely a good quote. How do you plan to live your life today?

WHERE IS THE DAM GIFT SHOP? HOOVER DAM, NEVADA

Monday, June 28th, we left Kingman, Arizona, took US 93 to get to Hoover Dam. It was a 90 minutes drive. I don't remember if anything eventful happened on that drive except seeing the temperature kept getting hotter and hotter. It was 115 when we were purchasing admission tickets at 4:59 p.m. for the last tour of the day.

Hoover Dam was the biggest man-made masonry marvel to surpass the Great Pyramid of Giza. The dam is made of more than 5 million barrels of cement and 4.5 million cubic yards of aggregate – enough to pave a standard 16-foot-wide highway stretching from San Francisco to New York City.

Hoover Dam was originally known as the Boulder Dam project and named after the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover. It was started in 1931 and completed in 1935, during the Great Depression, and two full years ahead of schedule.

Hoover Dam is 728 feet high (70-story building), and at the base is 660 feet thick (a little over 2 football fields).
I enjoyed the powerplant tour, especially seeing the massive generators, walking thru the tunnels and standing 600 feet above the Colorado River, the view from the observation desk was impressive. Be careful not to touch the handrails, at 125 to 140 degrees under the sun, it could burn your palms.

This striking figures, a pair of 30-foot bronze statues, are called Winged Figures of the Republic, were sculpted by Oskar J. W. Hansen, a Norwegian born, naturalized American artist. The statues were formed from sand molds weighing 492 tons.

I highly recommend putting Hoover Dam on your Bucket List, a must visit and must see.

At the end of the tour, we had just enough time to visit "the dam gift shop". Being an engineer, my husband had to obtain a piece of history, a piece of the original copper transmission line that carried electricity between Hoover Dam and Los Angeles beginning in the 1930's. In 2002, to make room for the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge and highway, several transmission line towers in the vicinity of the dam were relocated and the original high-quality copper cable was replaced.

TOTA TURNS 4

Exactly 4 years ago, August 4, 2006, TOTA was born in the beautiful downtown Bath Beach (Bensonhurst) Brooklyn, the Great State of New York. Special thanks to Qaptain Qwerty, to the Lone Gunman, aka Sal, to the two loyal followers, unknown faithful readers and other visitors - your support is much appreciated; let's celebrate this important milestone of TOTA's 4th Birthday/Anniversary.

I read in a book about the Navajo that “The number four is very significant and is found throughout Navajo culture and religion. There are four directions, four seasons, four original clans, and four colors associated with the four sacred mountains. Most ceremonies consist of four songs or multiple of four songs.” (From our recent road trip to New Mexico and Arizona, I became interested and have been reading about the Yavapai, the Navajo, the Apache, the Hopi, and the Pueblo.)

I like to post TOTA's First Entry on Friday, August 4, 2006, just like parents looking at baby photos and see how their child has grown.
"Hello, world! It was a dark and stormy night... THANKS to my little brother, L. I finally created my very own blog. Not much to write yet. I am visiting my family in New York, enjoying my little nephew J. , spending time with my Mom. It is too warm for my thinking - I will write more when I have a chance to put on my writer hat." Thank you, Qaptain Qwerty, for your help from the beginning and continued support.

However, the Chinese, in both Mandarin and Cantonese dialects, do not care for number four because they believe the word for the number four sounds like the word for death. They avoid number 4 like some people avoid number 13.

Although I am Vietnamese-born of Chinese ethnic, having been in America more than 30 years, I chose to believe and prefer the Navajo’s positive meanings associated with the number four.

Please join me in the celebration of TOTA turning 4. I will keep blogging and I hope you will keep reading.

SO FAR, IT HAS BEEN A GOOD SUMMER

Here we are, the first week of August. The hot and humid weather is expected for the entire coming weeks and months. You would think that living in St. Louis since 1995, we should get used to this "scorching" temperature by now. After our 9-day, 4,437 miles road trip, it was back to working, daily chores, weekend errands, putting away "stuff" that we obtained on the trip but most of the time, we stay in the cool basement, and taking naps on the futon. It took me a whole week to get the 2,000+ photos organized, copied onto CDs and also back-up copies on the laptop.

Sunday, July 25th we went to a Ford Mustangs and Classic Cars Show (top photo). There were, of course, lot of cool Mustangs, a dozen T-birds (none with the Merlot color) and also a few good-looking Fairlane. I specially like the Galaxie 500 Skyliner with a Retractable Hardtop.

On Sunday, July 18th someone at my husband's workplace gave us 2 tickets to see the St. Louis Cardinals taking on the Los Angeles Dodgers. At first I did not wish to go since it would be too hot at 12:15 p.m. but the tickets were two rows behind the dugout (above photos show how close we were to the field) and it was the Dodgers (Brooklyn connection). I know that the team moved from Brooklyn in 1958 but to me it will always be the Brooklyn Dodgers! I was glad we went because we got to sing Happy Birthday to Joe Torre. He looks good for a 70 years old guy.

I want to share a beautiful sunset, seen and captured (bottom image) from my backyard. Wishing all five of my faithful readers and three loyal followers and everyone who reads my blog, whether for a good laugh or to help with your insomnia, a safe, fun and enjoyable summer. Be cool!

POWER HOUSE AND ROADKILL CAFE

The Power House Visitors’ Center is headquarters for Arizona’s Route 66 Association and has a nice museum and gift shop. For this road trip, we have planned to give Arizona not only our moral support but also financial support by spending extra nights in the State, shopping at local stores and making purchases at visitors' gift shops.

Monday, June 28th, at 12:47 p.m., we finally reached two of Route 66 most famous towns, Seligman and Kingman. Once you see this tower, there would be no mistake that you are in Kingman, Arizona.

Above is the Hotel Beale sign, opened in 1899, still standing after more than 100 years.
Below is the Hill Top Motel (1954) still has its 1950s charm and the best view of the Hualapai Mountains.

Below is Route 66 Motel still has the great flashing arrow neon sign. It was known as the Pony Soldier Motel of Kingman.

Seligman was previously known as Prescott Junction, where the Prescott and Arizona Central Railroad met the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad (now the BNSF). The town was renamed Seligman after a prominent New York banker, Jesse Seligman, came to town, financed the railroad construction and decided that Prescott Junction should be re-named since Mr. Seligman brought such prosperity to the town.

Roadkill 66 Café where roadkill is always fresh! Step inside and you would be transported back to an old west saloon with pictures, antiques and a large display of hunting trophies! The menu includes items such as Tire Tread Buff (Buffalo Burger),The chicken that Almost crossed the road (Fried Chicken), Road Side Remnants (Popcorn Shrimp) and Long Gone Fawn (6 oz. Steak).

Historic Route 66 Motel, above, formerly named the Navajo Motel, went thru a complete renovation in recent years.

Below is Westside Lilo’s Café features American and German cuisine. Who would have thought finding German cuisine in Seligman, Arizona?

Thanks to local barber Angel Delgadillo and other founders of the Arizona Historic Route 66 Association, who recognized that the heritage of Route 66 was vital to America’s history. Their hard work in keeping the Mother Road alive and “kicking”, so that Americans and people from around the world were able to experience the real charm of Main Streets of America.

Copper Cart is one of the vintage restaurants along the stretch of Route 66 running through downtown Seligman.

This building was an old gas station that was closed in 1985 and was turned into a museum and a gift shop, named "Return to the 50's Museum and Gift Shop", how appropriate!

ALL ABOARD IN WILLIAMS, ARIZONA

Monday, June 28th, at 10:15 a.m. we continued our westward trip thru Williams, Arizona. The town was named for Bill Williams, a well-known fur trapper, one of the first white settlers in the area.

Williams known as the Gateway to the Grand Canyon, due to the Grand Canyon Railway which offers train rides in restored 1880s coaches, pulled by a vintage steam engine, for daily visits to the Grand Canyon National Park. Until 1927, more than half of the visitors to the canyon boarded the railway from Williams to the south rim.

Williams also is known as the last town to be bypassed by the interstates. Once the construction of the I-40 is completed, on October 13, 1984, people were able to drive from Chicago to California, non-stop on interstates, without encountering a single traffic light.

Mr. Bill Williams standing tall, looking as if he was pleased with his latest trade!

Twisters, is a Route 66 souvenirs shop, serving chocolate sundae, and features retro-50 soda fountains.
Rod’s Steak House, has been serving steaks since 1945.

Above is the Red Garter Bed and Bakery, an 1897 bordello structure. Look closely and you will see the “lady” leaning out a window, waiting for any “gentleman” might be looking for entertainment for the evening.

Part of the fun when travelling Route 66 is to find vintage items such as this neon Cocktails and Package Goods sign.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

“Grand Canyon – one of Earth’s most powerful, inspiring landscapes – overwhelms our senses”, these words from the visitors guide published by the National Park Service was exactly how I felt when we got our first glimpse of the canyon from Mather Point on the South Rim at 3:19 p.m. on Sunday, June 27, 2010.

It was an astounding experience. The Canyon was so beautiful and so majestic, beyond my imagination and yet so familiar from having seen documentaries and looking at images in printed materials. Here we are, at the Grand Canyon, one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Nearly 2 billion years of geologic history, layers of limestone exposed, eroded by natural elements of water and wind, so gentle yet so powerful.

If the Grand Canyon is a sculpture garden, then God must be the best artist to create such masterpiece.

Borrowing the words of wisdom from Forest Gump, "when standing at the Grand Canyon, the view is so vast, as far as the eye can see, I don't know where the earth ends and where heaven begins!".

Driving along Hermit Road, after a few stops at the overlooks, I decided that I should put away my camera and just enjoyed the views. There are only great photos of the canyon, no matter what camera or the person taking the photos. The canyon is like a gorgeous woman who needs no artificial make-up or fancy dresses. A person could close his eyes and still take great photos of this amazing landscape.

"How could it possible be so beautiful", it was the thoughts that kept running thru my mind.

The view from any of the nine overlooks was spectacular, breath-taking in literally sense. At times I felt as if I was floating on air, flying over the canyon, touching the colorful layers of limestones, up-close and personal with the dramatic view of the rock formations, the multihued stone walls, and dipping my toes into the Colorado Rivers, thousand miles deep below the canyon. The Rivers looks like a tiny stream when standing at the edge of the canyon but it is nearly 350 feet wide, meanders west through the Canyon.

At 7:35 p.m. we followed the crowd into Canyon Café as it was time for dinner. We were hungry since we only had a sandwich at the Meteor Crater, almost 7 hours ago. We decided to get overnight accomodation at Yavapai Lodge, a motel-style lodge at the eastern end of the Canyon, approximately ¼ mile from the South Rim. I learned that the word Yavapai means “sun people” in Paiute, a group of nomadic native people associated with the Grand Canyon.

We planned to get up early for the sunrise views when the colors of the rock deepen dramatically among the layers of the canyon walls. Well, we did not get up early but the next morning, at 7:28 a.m. the view was still much more beautiful than we could expect. Since it was early, at one of the points, we almost had the whole canyon all for ourselves, without any other visitors around.
We left the canyon at around 8:50 a.m. on Monday, June 28th, with a promise that we would be back soon to visit the North Rim and stay longer. Grand Canyon National Park will be on our top-10 list of the best and the most memorable places.

Above is the view from our room at Yavapai Lodge.