Leaving Las Vegas - daytrips to escape the one-armed bandits

Las Vegas - A bell rings and the reels with dollar signs start spinning. A man with a chequered shirt puffs nervously on his cigarette as he stares intently at the one-armed bandit in front of him.

Young girls wearing gowns with spaghetti straps are screaming with delight - one of them has just won at the roulette table. From loudspeakers on the ceiling the voice of Tom Jones singing "Sex Bomb" reverberates through the hall.

Scenes like these are commonplace in Las Vegas. In this metropolis in the US state of Nevada the bright lights, entertainment and gambling are ever-present.

For those seeking respite from the slot machines there are some fascinating sights away from Sunset Strip, such as the impressive Hoover Dam.

Tour guide lan Clabeaux puts on a serious expression when he shows visitors around: "At the moment we are surrounded by 6.6 million tonnes of concrete," he tells them. "That's the largest amount of concrete ever amassed in one place".

Clabeaux is standing at the base of the Hoover Dam, between Arizona and Nevada which led to the creation of Lake Mead, the country's biggest reservoir.

The Hoover Dam is easily reached from Vegas which lies around 48 kilometres distant. "We do benefit a great deal from being so close to Las Vegas," said Bob Walsh from the dam's governing authority.

"Although up until September 11, 2001 we had around 1.2 million visitors a year, now we are down to just about 1 million".

In the wake of the terror attacks in New York and Washington, tours of the dam were suspended for three months for security reasons and restrictions remained in force for several years. The inside of the dam complex was reopened to the public in December 2007 although visitors are kept away from some of the areas previously on the itinerary.

The massive arched dam is worth a visit: A grey-beige wall 221 metres high seals off the Black Canyon. It measures 201 metres thick at the base, tapering to around 14 metres at the top. The Hoover Dam still serves as a crossing for the highway US route 93 although a new bypass is being built.

Despite the kingsize car parks and crowds, tourism takes a back seat at the Hoover Dam. The edifice has three main functions: It regulates the level of water in the Colorado River, creates a reservoir of water for farmers further south in southern California and serves as a massive power plant.

Visitors can learn all this and more if they join one of the tours of the facility which take place from 9.00 to around 17.00 daily. The best trip leads to the giant turbines at the foot of the dam and back to an observation deck.

It takes around 60 minutes. Other excursions delve deeper into the complex and its workings.

Alan Clabeaux finds it hard to contain his admiration for the dam and all the engineers and experts who toiled during the early 1930s to create was then the world's largest concrete construction.

A total of 96 people died before it was completed in 1935. "The dam can withstand an earthquake of up to 8.6 points on the Richter Scale," says the guide.

Bringing water precious water to the desert is the focal point of exhibitions in Springs Preserve too. The aim of this blend of interactive museum and study centre which opened in May 2007 is to explore "sustainable solutions to current and future environmental issues".

The campus is located within Las Vegas itself but represents a refreshing contrast to the downtown fruit machine culture.

"This used to be the site of the only springs in the entire valley," said Kendall Christian who is in charge of the Desert Living Center. Water has not been coming out of the ground here since the 1950s but it is still flowing freely between four and eight metres under the surface and is pumped up for use in local homes and hotels.

Visitors learn that water consumption in Las Vegas stood at around 2.65 billion litres a year in the 1940s. Today that figure stands at 662 billion litres.

"We've been able to reduce water consumption per person but the city is growing at a very rapid pace," said Christian.

"Treat the Earth with respect" - the motto is something the organizers hope visitors will take home with them after a visit to Springs Reserve. There are plenty of useful tips on tap here too, such as how to use natural building materials to ensure that houses stay cool, thereby reducing the need for power-hungry air-conditioning.

There is a mock-up of an auction which took place in 1905 when the railway company sold parcels of land for 500 dollars a time - pieces of real estate which are now worth millions. The museum complex includes a 2.4-kilometre themed trail through a dune landscape which highlights the native plant, bird and animal species.

Another short trip west of the Vegas strip is Red Rock Canyon National Preservation Centre. Highway 159 starts off as a broad thoroughfare leading out of the city but as soon as the last houses vanish in the rear view mirror, it narrows to two lanes and the traffic is suddenly sparse. The attraction hereabouts is an area of outstanding natural beauty with unique geological features which was once the home of the Kawaissue Indians. Dozens of trails meander through the dramatic landscape and hiking is the best way to explore the area.

The park is 25 kilometres north of Mojave and can be explored by traversing a scenic route for which drivers pay a toll of 5 dollars a head. The trails start at the various parking lots, leading straight into the scenery. A favourite with photographers are the Calico Hills, red sandstone outcrops whose sunlit hues gain in intensity as the day progresses.

Internet: www. visitlasvegas. com, www. springspreserve. org, www. usbr. gov/lc/hooverdamV (dpa)