Hoover Dam Details

Recently I went to Las Vegas with The Hubby on business (for him). I don't love Vegas. The only redeeming thing about that city is its proximity to Hoover Dam, which I adore.

(View from atop the dam, looking downstream.)

I've visited the dam three or four times. The place is huge. Vast. Stupefying.

On this trip, however, I decided to concentrate on the small things about the dam that I love--specifically, small things with lots of visual texture. Here is what I found:

(A mosaic set into the floor inside the turbine room.)

 (Catwalk above the turbines.)

 (Various grilles, above and below, in the turbine room.)

 (This fabulous stainless-steel desk, above and below, dates back to the 1930s, when it was used by dam officials.)

 (Okay, this was a four-panel painting on a large scale, but I love the textured detail in it. Almost like pointillism.)

 (Part of a brass handrail along the pedestrian causeway atop the dam.)

 (All the diagonals in this shot, above, caught my eye.)

 (Love the vintage typography and the small cracks running over the surface of this concrete pillar.)

 (Detail of a brass door, pedestrian causeway atop the dam.)

 (Commemorative sign and fluted, curved wall.)

 (Something about this huge sweep of curving concrete right over people's heads looked like it was in flight.)

 (Can't get enough of those diagonals!)

 (Of course when you're near a large body of water, there are bound to be some beautiful blues, above and below.)

 (Detail of a plaque commemorating the men who died building the dam.)

(One of two bronze winged statues at the dam's entrance, above and below. The angel's feet stay polished by thousands of people touching them.)

 (The state seal of Utah. Love the bees and the bee skep.)

If you find yourself in Las Vegas, well, my condolences. Hop in a car and drive to Hoover Dam. It will help set things right in your head.