Secret Tunnel

Taking advantage of the cooler temps in September (as compared to July when we usually have our family reunions in Vegas), our goal was to hike the Historic Railroad Trail this morning. We made arrangements with the hotel front desk for late check-out and then headed over to Lake Mead National Recreation Area after a quick breakfast.

We snagged one of the last spots in the small parking lot next to the trailhead just past 8:00AM. Since the first 1.5 miles of the trail are completely exposed, we made sure to put on sunscreen/hats and carry water before setting off (and trying not to die).

Hmmm, it's September 27...

Looking back at the Alan Bible Visitor Center (upper left) and trailhead parking lot (lower right)

During the construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s, this segment of the railroad was used to haul gravel, supplies, and machinery from Boulder City to a concrete mixing plant on the rim of Black Canyon. The railroad tracks were dismantled in 1962 and were converted to a multi-use trail in 1992. The views of Lake Mead and the surrounding mountains from the trail were great!

Las Vegas Boat Harbor Marina, Boulder Islands, and Muddy Mountains

We made it to the first of five tunnels about 9:00AM. According to the information on the waysides, the crews that dug the tunnels worked three shifts around the clock, completing the project in just five months. The tunnels are 18 feet wide by 27 feet high - large enough to allow the trains to carry oversized pipes and construction equipment to the dam site.

Tunnel 1

Inside Tunnel 1, looking into Tunnel 2

Tunnel 2

Rock Island (front) and Sentinel Island

Tunnel 3

Tunnel 4

After exiting Tunnel 5, we found ourselves at a rest area on Bureau of Reclamation property. We didn't have the wherewithal to continue the rest of the way to Hoover Dam (1.5 miles), so we turned around to hike back to the car around 9:30AM.

Approaching Tunnel 5 on the way back

After stopping by the visitor center for passport stamps (and finding another America 250 stamp!), we went back to the hotel in Henderson to shower and change before checking out. For lunch, R wanted to try Oming's Kitchen - a Filipino restaurant that originally started out as a food truck. Yum!

Sinugba Pork Belly Happy (garlic rice, pancit, lumpia) and Tocino (sweet pork) breakfast

From here, we continued to the California Hotel & Casino in downtown Vegas, which will be our home base for the next two nights. My friend raved about Bangkok Street Thai Street Kitchen, located a couple blocks east of the Fremont Street Experience, so we walked over there to try it out for dinner. We were still a bit full from lunch, so we didn't order a lot, but we definitely enjoyed what we ate.

Chicken satay, chicken pad thai, and fried calamari

Then it was back to the Cal for ice cream from Lapperts before we called it a night. We haven't pulled the trigger on tickets to tomorrow's game yet. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:25PM, so we'll see where the prices are at in the morning.