Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Boulder City, Nevada

Boulder City, Nevada. This town, about 20 miles from Las Vegas, came into being as Hoover dam was being built, to support the workers and provide the support services that were needed. My dad helped build this dam, so I feel a sort of connection to it.

We pulled in to the Boulder City Elks Club right around lunch time today. We got the rig set up, then went in to have a cold one and pay our rent.  And, the beer was REALLY cold. The compressor went out on their beer cooler so they had to ice down the keg. Word got out to the members that the beer was even colder than usual.... they all mentioned it as they drifted in. 'Friendly folks. We got to chatting with the RV park host and hostess.... she's pulling bartender duty today too. Deb and Colin are from Oregon too, right up the valley from where we lived, just south of Lebanon. They moved away from Oregon several years ago and have been out here in the desert ever since. Small world!

As we talked with our hosts we learned some of the history of the place. The club is housed in a building that was once the Boulder City airport. One site on Boulder City history states "the terminal was dedicated May 20, 1938. It was a beautiful building: the waiting room had open beams in the ceiling and a large wood-burning fireplace; there was a radio room, ticket office, and office for airport manager..." Here's an historic photo of the airport building  The Elks bought the building in 1958 when it was retired from airport duty. The parking lot and RV lot are where the airplanes are in the photo.   Photos of the club room and bar show the original interior architecture. Heavy ceiling beams seen in the photo of the interior of the "lounge in the clubroom" at the above link are also seen in a photo they have on the back wall of the lounge showing the airport when it was in use. The back side of the bar was originally the ticket window, and those small windows are still in place. They really have done a nice job of maintainingthe facility and they also have quite a few activities scheduled. We won't be around long enough this time to participate, but this is definitely a lodge we'll visit again.

Last night we stayed at "Blake Ranch RV Park and Horse Motel". The Ranch is a really nice park. Very clean and well maintained overall. The staff are friendly and helpful, and the little convenience store offers pretty much anything you'd need. Landscaping includes some nice cactus beds, many were blooming and the effect was very pretty. Molly had a bit of a problem with this stop, however. Doggies here are expected to visit the very tidy little fenced areas to do what dogs do.... and she just doesn't quite know how to behave in a 20 x 30 fenced in spot with nothing to sniff. We each took her to the "dog park" and sat on the available bench to wait for her to perform..... she looked around and then came over and sat down next to the bench. Give that dog a bush to sniff and she's happy, but this just didn't make any sense to her.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Leave us a comment! We love to hear what you have to say! Unfortunately this section no longer supports Explorer, but we'd love to hear from you if your browser is supported.
If you have a question and your email address is not attached to your profile, we will respond here in the comments.