Lake Mead, Nevada

From Death Valley we continued on to Lake Mead, a spot we have driven past on earlier trips but not yet investigated.
It was a convenient stop on our way to Quartzsite where we will be joining our Alpine Desert Rat Rally in a couple of days.

The drive out of Death Valley was stunning. We headed out along Daylight Pass Road east towards Beatty, Nevada, climbing steadily out of the valley bottom, across the Amargosa Mountains, past the Death Valley Buttes, peaked at 4,316 feet (1316 m) at Daylight Pass, then continued across the flat expanse of the Amargosa Desert (elevation 2,660 feet). 

more colors in various shades of earth tones

... and interesting formations

... and flat stretch of desert ahead

approaching Beatty, Nevada

We filled up in Beatty, a little town in Nevada where we knew there was a truck stop with regular petroleum #2 diesel. Michael had been advised by a service center to avoid the B-20 biodiesel sold in most truck stops because it may be incompatible with our Alpine's ISC 350 engine.  (He later got confirmation directly from Cummins that our engine can use biodiesel up to a maximum of 20%, B-20).  

From Beatty, it was a straight drive along Rt 95 heading south to Lake Mead. The terrain is familiar and predictable: miles of wide open desert, surrounded by mountain peaks in the distance, some with a smattering of snow on the highest peaks. It is lonely and remote, but well traveled. 

In the middle of nowhere, we passed a spot to refuel and eat at the 50's diner. Or you could shop at the small white building advertising that it is "Open Year Round, Everything 50% off." 

The yellow building claims it is the "Area 51 Alien Center." 
Whatever it takes to get your attention.

Route 95 lies between the Spring Mountains to the west, and various ranges
to the east: Spotted, Pintwater, Desert, and Sheep Range

straight road ahead through the desert, between ranges

snowcapped peaks in the distance

Route 95 takes you through Las Vegas, a city that grew with the construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s, and has expanded and keeps growing.





At Boulder City we turned off towards Lake Mead, and headed for Lake Mead RV Village at Boulder Beach in the Lake Mead Recreation Area. We stayed two nights before continuing on to Quartzsite, Arizona.

approaching Lake Mead Recreation Area

looking across Boulder Beach to Lake Mead from the RV park

The visitor center at the Lake Mead has great information about the area and its history. Lake Mead was created as a result of harnessing the Colorado River after Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. The topographical relief model below shows the river curving south through Black Canyon. Hoover Dam blocked the Colorado as it turns south into the canyon, and the backed up waters formed the 110-mile-long series of basins and coves now known collectively as Lake Mead. 

Lake Mead flooded the ancient channels of the Colorado and Virgin rivers, as well as towns and native settlements. Some towns like St Thomas were thriving communities while others like Callville, Overton, Rioville, Kaolin, and Gregg's Hideout had been abandoned for years. The Lost City Pueblo Ruins were also submerged. 
Prior to the dam construction, the Colorado River overflowed its banks for centuries, depositing rich layers of soil that the native Anasazi relied on for about 800 years (300 - 1150 AD) to sustain their agricultural way of life. After the Anasazi abandoned the area, the Chemehuevi, Mojave, and Southern Paiute partially relied on crops grown along the river. In the 1860's the Mormons began to settle the area, establishing missions and building farms, tilling the fertile bottom areas like the native inhabitants once did.
This map shows the location of Lake Mead in the south eastern corner of Nevada, in the Mojave Desert. The Lake Mead Recreation Area lies between the Great Basin and Sonoran Deserts and contains both arid (annual precipitation less than 10 inches per year) and semi-arid (10-27 inches of rain) regions. The predominant vegetation is Joshua Trees and creosote bushes.

Lake Mead with the RV Park in the foreground and Boulder Beach

the surrounding topography of Lake Mead, relatively unchanged since the lake's formation