Dam! It's just a load of concrete right?

Back on the road, the end of the Wild West was in sight. There was just one shining beacon of a city to visit in the middle of the desert first.

But before that we would have to pass across our last time zone boundary. And that line between Arizona and Nevada runs through one of the largest engineering feats in the land. As the sun was sinking lower on the horizon, we arrived at the Hoover Dam. We had seen the signposts for it and decided it would be worth a quick stop. And, on yet another occasion on this journey, I'm thankful we made that last minute call.

I must admit the Hoover Dam was never high on my list of must-see sights on this trip. It wasn't that I had an aversion to the idea of visiting it; it was just that it had only been in my peripheral thoughts as it existing. Not that I want to offend the structure, but in my mind I had an image of concrete. Of a man-made, functional mass of industrial achievement.

And boy, I wasn't wrong. But much to my surprise, I felt that it had a quietly calming beauty radiating from its physical strength and presence. The fading light cast a warm glow over the surrounding canyon sides overlooking us from all angles. Even the miles of electricity cables creeping across the countryside like cobwebs attached to towering steel pylon giants protruding diagonally from the hills looked like a work of art. I simply couldn't get my head around how the engineers and brave workers of the 1930s constructed such a marvel.

The industrial intricacies sit in a certain harmony with the natural wonder of the Colorado River. The river feeding down from the created Lake Mead sat in absolute stillness. The surface reflected the surrounding colours of the canyon just as any mirror would; the colours as deep in reflection as they were many feet above, bathed in sunlight.

Even with the few other tourists left at the late hour, there was a feeling of awe in the air as we gazed upon the ethereal sight of the view of the water intake towers standing proud just before the Colorado meets the Dam. Like a scientific diagram, their cylindrical shapes are attached by rigid barriers to the curvature of the Dam itself. But yet they have a real beauty in their monochrome design, especially as the pattern is doubled in the crystal clear reflection in the waters they appear to wade through.

The word incredible is used so flippantly these days, I feel that I should find another word, but I can't as it fits so perfectly.

Standing on top of the Hoover Dam is truly an incredible sight.