Hoover Dam

From Las Vegas we travelled to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped to look at the Hoover Dam. 

The Hoover Dam was completed in 1936. It is in two states, Arizona and Nevada.  In 1936 it cost $49 US to build. It is 221 metres high and 399 metres long. It dams across the Colorado river and creates lake mead. Lake Mead is the reservoir and it is used for water storage and power as well as flood control

The last few years, California, Arizona and Nevada have been in drought. The levels of Lake Mead are so low that even with small rainfall it is not able to get back to the levels that Nevada and Arizona need. There are lots of ways that they are trying to save water.

Las Vegas

After a long hot trip through Death Valley we got to Las Vegas! Wow it was busy! We stayed in a hotel that had a casino attached to it. It was bright and noisey!

That evening we went in to the city to see the sights. There was bright lights and music everywhere and lots of people!

On the second day mum and dad surprised us with tickets to Cirque de Soleil. The show was incredible there were so many things to see and the acrobats were amazing. Sometimes it was hard to watch just incase they fell! We saw rope climbers, trapeze artists, strong men, tumblers and a very funny clown!

It's hard to believe, that when there are huge buildings all around you that you are actually, in the middle of the dessert!

June lake loop track

We decided to go on a day tramp in the Yosemite National Park.  We chose the June Lake Loop Track.

It was about 15km.  We started walking from the parking lot, where there were signs warning us about bears!

We tramped up the hill and through some bush until we reached a beautiful lake. Here we had a picnic. We could see fish in the lake and we saw more garter snakes and lizards.  We also saw heaps of chipmunks and ground squirrels.

Death Valley

We traveled from Yosemite through Death Valley to Las Vegas. Because it was such a long way we stayed the night in Lone Pine. Lone Pine is a small town, which is famous for being the location of many old western films. 

After a swim in the pool and a good nights sleep we started our journey through Death Valley. The further in to Death Valley we got the hotter it was! There are many things to see in Death Valley, we saw  the artists palette. This is a rock face that is coloured from all the different minerals in the rocks. There are some pictures below.

We travelled on to Badwater Basin. This is one of the lowest places on earth. It is 85.5 meters below sea level. Because it is so hot and dry there is only a little bit of water there which is really salty and the basin has a salt pathway where the water has evaporated and left behind the salt.

By now it was 111 degrees Fahrenheit!

This is the salt footpath!

Reno!

When we were in Lake Tahoe we found out that the famous air races were happening in Reno. We decided to go.

Reno was really hot and in the dessert.  We went to a huge air field where there were lots of planes of all types.

 

We also saw lots of military aircraft including fighter jets and huge planes. my dad loved this beacause he used to be in the army and used to travel in the big aircraft and jump out of them!

The races started and it was really exciting! About five or six planes would take off one after the other and then circle back in to the racecourse. The course is about 8 miles long and they go around the course three times. It was so cool to watch airplanes racing!

At the end of the day we got to see the breitling aerobatic team put on a display. It was amazing!