Snowbirds Trip 02/29/2012--Tooele

Winterized the trailer so it will be ready to park in Evanston until summer. 

Left Mesquite and hit a blizzard near Stockton, Utah. 

Drove to Tooele and parked the trailer in our friends drive way and then spent the night at another friends home.   They called another couple to come over and we all had shish kabobs. 

Snowbirds Trip 02/28/2012--shopping

Went shopping around town and we bought some gifts at antique store to take home for a few people who have been helping us out.

Snowbirds Trip 02/27/2012--Great Chinese!

Moved to the new RV Park by Smiths and finally have internet.

After setting up we took a drive over to Beaver Dam and Littlefield Arizona.

After walking around Mesquite for a while we have decided that it is much nicer than we originally thought.

We went to the movie and watched The Descendants.  

After the movie we went to Panda Garden and had great Chinese food!  I loved the won-ton soup and the walnut shrimp.  I have to go there again!

We stopped at the sporting goods store near the Smith's and I bought new walking shoes for the treadmill.

Snowbirds Trip 02/26/2012--Bunkerville

Drove to Bunkerville and went for a walk on Falcon Ridge.

Watched Academy Awards.

Snowbirds Trip 02/25/2012--Mesquite, Nevada

Left Lake Mead and drove to Mesquite, Nevada where we signed up at the Oasis RV park for 2 nights.  We rested for a while and then drove around downtown.  We found a new RV park next to the Smith's grocery store and will probably move there after tomorrow.

Snowbirds Trip 02/24/2012--Boulder City

We went for a long walk from the camp to the marina and toured a house boat and then walked around the NRA campground.   It has a lot more vegetation than the private campground we are in, but no hook-ups.

Later we did some exploring and a little shopping in Boulder City.

Last night we watched a Netflix movie.

Snowbirds Trip 02/23/2012--Hoover Dam

Went and walked all the way across the new bridge over Hoover dam. 




On the way back to camp we stopped and hiked through the five abandoned tunnels, following the railroad bed where trains once hauled the materials for building Hoover Dam.  This took a couple of hours and we stopped and read signs about the town that was there while the damn was being built.

Time Line & Facts

• 1931: Lewis Construction Company began construction under Bureau of Reclamation.
• 1961: Last year railroad in use.
• 1962: Tracks dismantled and sold for scrap.
• 1984: Nominated to National Register of Historic Places.
• Length: 3.7 miles from trailhead to Hoover Dam Parking Garage.
• One of two most difficult sections of track to construct.
• Only remaining section of Hoover Dam Railroad system that is not highly disturbed or under water.
• All tunnels are approximately 300 ft. in length, and 25 ft in diameter. The tunnels were oversized to fit penstock sections and large equipment being transported to Hoover Dam.
• Nine steam and four gas locomotives and 71 people were used to operate the system. It was a standard-gauge, 90-pound rail construction that used Oregon fir ties.
• This section was used in the motion picture "The Gauntlet" starring Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke for a sequence in which they were on a motorcycle being chased by an assassin in a helicopter.