Holding Back Colorado at Nevada and Arizona

Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, and the Colorado River, Nevada and Arizona, USA

Hoover Dam is an incredible structure which holds back the Colorado River to form Lake Mead and provide hydroelectric power and water to millions of citizens in the Southwestern United States.

In this photo you can clearly see the dam, penstock towers, a spillway, Lake Mead, the Colorado River, and the bypass bridge.

This photo was taken near the end of the same flight from which we snapped yesterday's photo of Emory University and the CDC.  Like yesterday's photo, the plane was turning, but instead of climbing, it was descending.  This required being prepared and taking many shots in rapid succession.

We were lucky that there was no cloud cover and that our flight path flew past Hoover Dam where we could see it from our side of the plane.

A Grand for Around $400

The Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Overflying the Grand Canyon in a Delta Airlines Boeing 757 cost us about $400 each, but the view was priceless.

Sharp Green

Cactus, Phoenix, Arizona, USA

We find cacti fascinating for many reasons.  Coming in all shapes and sizes, some are like plants, and some like trees.  Some have big spines, and some have tiny, little ones.  The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix sure had a wide variety for us to enjoy.

A Line in the Sand

Subdivisions, Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, USA

This abrupt change from subdivisions to desert is like a line in the sand.

A River Runs Through It

Rivers and Canyons, Arizona, USA
This unknown river and its tributaries and canyons are somewhere in northwestern Arizona. Captured on a flight between Los Angeles and Denver, you can almost see the carving action that takes centuries to unfold.

Prickly Sentinels

Cacti, Phoenix, Arizona, USA
You might think that these prickly fellows keep watch on a lonely dessert, but in fact they are in the Desert Botanical Garden inside metropolitan Phoenix.