Of course, no visit to the Hoover Dam is complete without an aerial view. Now you can get a view from the Mike O'Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge. I don't know if you're allowed to stop on the bridge to take photos – probably not. As you can see in the lower left and lower right corners, the bridge was in the early stages of construction when I took this photo. Look at the cars winding down the roads on both sides of the dam (click on the image for a larger version). Before the bypass bridge was built, all the traffic had to meander down one side of the canyon, cross the dam and then climb back out. Now, with the bypass open, you can no longer drive across it – no more playing chicken with the 18-wheelers as you try to cross the road!
Many people will fly on one of the helicopter services out of Las Vegas, but if you're driving to the dam anyway, I recommend the Dam Helicopter Company! They fly out of the parking lot of the Hacienda Hotel and Casino on us-93 in Boulder City, a few miles west of the dam. I took the Hoover Dam Tour which is $59 per person at the time of writing. Best thing is, you don't need to book a specific time. You just rock up to their ticket office and if the weather is cooperating, you just wait your turn in line. You also get great views of Lake Mead on the tour and you don't spend all that time flying to and from Las Vegas.
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Production Data
Camera: Canon EOS 5D
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM AF Lens (B&H)
Processing: Lightroom 3.6
Processing: OnOne Photo Suite 6 (onone) 10% discount with coupon code rdavisphoto
