Thursday 4 June

Having spent another night in a hotel I was up and about reasonably early and off to visit somewhere two of my friends had been climbing the previous year

Red Rocks National Conservation Area

I got very jealous of my friends here. The scenery was stunning and the climbing looked superb. Unfortunately this has been a last minute addition to my plans and there was other stuff I wanted to fit into to day so I couldn't spend too long and all I did was drive the scenic drive getting out at most stops.

Hoover Dam

That afternoon I went and visited the Hoover Dam. It was worth visiting just to see the dam itself but I found the tour rather boring and was glad I hadn't paid the considerable amount more for the longer tour. One of the most interesting things I thought was the clear line on the rock in the dam which marked the highest point water had got (and could get) in the lake.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area

On the way back from the Hoover Dam I stopped off at Glen Canyon NRA which is mainly centered around Lake Mead, the lake created by the dam. I had a nice swim in the water which although a teeny bit chilly was a good temperature for swimming. Swimming was a little odd as although being very large it is a fresh water lake and so there was none of the taste of salt. All the cliffs around also made it a bit wierd as it felt more enclosed than being in the sea.

Las Vegas

In the evening I wandered around the Strip in Las Vegas. As expected it was outlandish and over the top but, at least in the casinos I visied, not as much so as I thought it would be. I gambled a little bit of my money away before driving down most of the stip to get a feel for it. I think that I agreed with many other people I know who have been to Vegas that although it's worht visiting it's not really somewhere to spend any time.