Big Lights. Bright City. Historic Virginia City. Hoover Dam. Oh hello, Nevada!
- michellepfeiffer
- Jan 1
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 1
Hey friends! So happy you are here! We are Pat and Michelle, born and raised in Minnesota, and currently taking our 'GAP' year in our 50's. We have decided to leave normal life behind in search of something different... We recently launched full-time travel life in our Brinkley travel trailer with our dogs, Indie and Louie.
Mid October, 2025
Well, it is hard to believe but neither of us had ever been to Las Vegas before now! Not a big one on our bucket list, but we decided to be spontaneous and figured we'd see what the bright 'City of Lights' is all about...and guess what, it was a lot of FUN!
The best people watching...Fremont Street, downtown Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS...We only had a few days, but we packed it in...saw Cirque du Soleil, The Sphere, Freemont Street, Circa, Vegas Vickie & Vegas VIc...we walked The Strip, lost at slots, played Top Golf, ate and drank and laughted and people watched(!) celebrated Pat's B-Day and took in all of the noise and lights our little brains could possibly handle. It is a bright, loud, colorful, people-packed place and we are glad we finally saw it. Such a contrast to the slow pace of camping life, days filled with outdoors and nature, dog walks, mountain views, ocean air, and quiet mornings that we've been loving on this trip. This was a great reminder that there are many ways to have FUN and pack in ADVENTURE while exploring our 50 states! We NEVER would have guessed that we could have found a place to park our big Brinkley in Las Vegas, but we did! And it was a lot of FUN!
Viva Las Vegas! Happy Birthday to Pat!
Our other Nevada stops included Virginia City, Sparks/Reno, and Hoover Dam...
Virginia City is famous for the Comstock Lode, a huge silver deposit discovered in 1859, which turned the small settlement into a wealthy metropolis. It is known for its wild West history, including incredibly preserved historic buildings. We did a self-guided architectural walking tour and couldn't believe everything we learned! The highlight was our tour of the Historic Fourth Ward School, opened in 1876 as a 'monument to education' in this booming town. It was a state-of-the art building for its time, a four story beauty that could accommodate over 1,000 students! Today, it is a well preserved museum, complete with creaky floors and many incredible details of its original glory.
Virginia City, Nevada
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, located on the border between Nevada and Arizona. If you look closely at the photos above, you can see the clock towers showing both 'Nevada time' and 'Arizona time' on each side of the state border. The Dam was built between 1931 and 1936, during the Great Depression and is considered one of the greatest man-made structures ever built. The construction of Hoover Dam took thousands of workers and over 100 lives. The dam's generators provide power for both public and private utilities in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Along with providing power, the dam also helps with flood control, water storage and regulation, and is used for recreation.
Hoover Dam Fun Facts:
-Height: 726 feet
-7 million tourists visit annually
-Construction cost $49 million, only took five years to complete, and used enough concrete
to pave a road from San Francisco to New York! They used interlocking concrete blocks
(think giant legos) to manage the concrete curing process.
-Workers hung by ropes from 700 foot cliffs to remove loose rock with dynamite.
-Building the dam was dangerous work. The workers were paid $.50 to $1.25 per hour.
-21,000 men worked on the dam, an average of 3,500 per day.
-Lake Mead (created by Hoover Dam) is the largest reservoir in the United States.
Hoover Dam was well worth a visit. There was much to learn about this National Landmark!
NEXT stop / travel goals:
Alright you guys...we need a bit of time to sit still in ONE spot! :)
As much outside & nature time we can
pack into late fall...
We are headed to St George in Southern Utah!
Thanks for sharing in the adventure! x o x o
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