Railroad Rally Reflections

Everyone has pulled out of the Lake Mead RV Village. The kitchen and social hall are clean. All bills are paid. A great time was had by all; what more could we ask for when a rally is over?  Our Golden Spike group has always found the most interesting ‘train’ related venues to hold a rally at.  We were a little nervous when bring our group to a rally with a 4 mile in length excursion train ride.

We have ridden the 3 hour long Mt Hood Ride and the 4 hour long Verde Valley Ride this year so when the good comments about this little well run and maintained railroad are voiced we are happy that we planned it here.

Mt. Hood Railroad – Portland Rally                                                                  Verde Canyon Railroad – Cottonwood, AZ

Our time here began last Tuesday following up on all our tour contacts to make sure we were prepared when the 11 rigs pulled in Thursday and the 12th on Friday.  We were joined by our Co-rally Masters, ‘D’ and Bill Hall, and Sandy and Ken Carnes on Wednesday.  We tried to go the the Bistro for dinner as we had been very pleased with the menu when we were planning last February.  BUT… it is a very small restaurant, we had no reservations and we were a group of six.  So we went to one of the restaurants that have been in Boulder City since the building of the dam, Evans.  We all had a good dinner; Tom even had his comfort food, Liver and Onions. And Barbara says, YUK!

Thursday, we had our Nick and Terry and Greg and Jan fix for at a quick lunch at the Henderson Buffalo Wings. We talked and talked, catching up on our travels since our fun times in Yuma at the Gypsy Gathering Rally.  We then went to CostCo to shop for the breakfasts and dinner items we provide for the rally.  We even found 2 dozed red roses for the ladies on Mother’s Day morning at a reasonable price.  When we returned to the park we were ready for Happy Hour, a tradition in the RV’ing world (or at least at the Golden Spike world).

 

This is such a fun group that loves to eat, party, and learn about rail roads together.
We started an activity packed 3 days on Friday with breakfast at 8 a.m., leave for the Boulder Dam Tour at 9 a.m., and a tour the Dam at 10.

Touring the Dam VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Everything about the building of this dam has been fascinating: the largest government contract issued at that time, the project finished 2 years ahead of schedule, and a $500,000 bonus for the Superintendent, Frank Crowe. He took the bulk of the bonus early and a good thing as he died only a year after the dam was completed.   Boulder Dam or Hoover Dam? Ever wonder about the name and how often it was changed? This is a good story and worth the read.

Art at the Dam VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The art deco at the dam was wonderful. It was found in the architecture, the statues, and in the dam museum.
After the Dam Tour we carpooled to the Boulder Dam Hotel and Museum. 

We had a good lunch and the tour of the museum was very interesting as was the movie of the building of the dam and the price was right, FREE. 
We were OYO, On Your Own, for the afternoon and met back at the Boulder Brewery and Pub.


Evaluation: Too many people, too loud, not enough room, AND NO SEPARATE CHECKS = frustration.  Enough said!
It was a full day and we were looking forward Saturday and the train ride. 

Story continues tomorrow.  So we are still caching on the road… even though on this trip we only got one cache, but more about that tomorrow.