Oasis in the Desert...

We continued our south-westward journey and the land became drier and drier....and then, suddenly, as if by magic, greenery and real trees began to appear around Flagstaff, AZ. This was a surprise for me, as I had assumed that Flagstaff would be a desert town. Far from that, Flagstaff had real evergreens...and even green grass on the ground.

We drove through Flagstaff and found ourselves heading closer and closer to our destination - Las Vegas.

As we left Flagstaff, the land became desert-like again, but yet the moutains persisted. I guess deserts aren't flat afterall.

I had planned on taking a day trip to visit Hoover Dam while we were in Vegas, but as we approached Las Vegas, it dawned on me t hat we would literally have to pass through Hoover Dam to get to Las Vegas.

This man-made dam was quite a sight to behold. It wasn't anywhere near as large as I had imagined that it would be (from having looked at it in pictures and on TV), but never-the-less, Hoover Dam was still quite impressive.

This man-made structure is what makes Las Vegas possible. Supplying much of the electricity for the region, Hoover Dam also makes life possible, providing water to irregate the entire region. Unfortunately, Las Vegas, and the surrounding areas seems to be consuming quite a bit more water than the amount that is being produced by the water sources upstream from the dam. Note the white waterline along the mountains in the far right image below.

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