Epiphanies in Vegas

I just returned from a girls weekend in lively Las Vegas! We shopped, spent half a day at the spa, ate lots of delicious non-healthy food, and partied! People-watching was equally enjoyable...

With that being said, I am sure you are wondering why the pictures above are not of our modern and upscale hotel (which was Aria and I highly recommend it), or of the famous Vegas sign, or of us ladies in our sassy but classy party dresses. Call me boring or nerdy, but my favorite part of the trip was our time at the Hoover Dam and the Hoover Dam Bypass.

The ladies and I took a tour of the Hoover Dam via Pink Jeep Tours. Yes, we were actually in a pink jeep. Here is proof...

  And here is me in it...

The things that struck me about the dam were its size, beauty, and obviously its history. It was built on the Colorado River between 1931-1936, which was during the Great Depression. During the tour, I learned that thousands of men sacrificed their lives and time with their families to build this massive structure that would provide irrigated water, flood control and hydroelectric power for millions of people. Due to limited technology, many workers used their bare hands to pour concrete, lay pipes and dig tunnels- all for a grand total of $4 per hour. Ninety eight men lost their lives during the process. Several hundred men lost their lives after its completion due to carbon monoxide poisoning. That is what I call the ultimate sacrifice.

Nature has also sacrificed its beauty and its elegance for human benefits. Excessive droughts have caused the water level of the Colorado river to drop over the years, as evidenced by the white residue on the sides of the mountains. I wonder what it will look like 20 years from now?

Adding to the beauty of the dam is the Hoover Dam Bypass. It was completed just last year and is the second highest bridge in the United States. We didn't walk across the bridge, but I enjoyed the breathtaking view and how it accessorized the dam.

As I was on the tour and basking in the beauty of the dam, the bridge, and the surrounding mountains, I had the following thoughts:

 - Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do, even if that means sacrificing your time, your family, and sometimes your life. - 

 - If a beautiful structure like that can be built with bare hands, then ANYTHING is possible if you have a plan and put your mind to it. - 

 - Nature never goes out of style. -  

And one of my favorite quotes about nature by Martin Luther King, Jr.:

"God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars."