LAKE MEAD AIRSTREAM CAMPING // What is a National Recreation Area?

Welcome to Lake Mead National Park. No, it's not a national park. It's a national recreation area. If you're anything like us when you hear national recreation area and see a national park sign next to each other you're probably wondering what the heck is the difference between the two. I did a quick google search but there really wasn't anything simple and concise about it so we decided to just head in and see if we could figure it out through experiencing Lake Mead. We're about to go through the gate. Got my national park pass. Perfect. I've just gone through the gate that the national park pass also works at national recreational areas. Normally the fee would be $25 but because I have the national pass it doesn't cost me anything. And like national parks it has camping for RVs so that's where we're parking our Airstream for the next couple days. There's also dispersed camping just across from the RV park. It's first come first served $20 a night and based on the honor system. You pay at the front simply dropping your cash into this little box. Tents and RVs are both welcome here but the only hookup is water. On the other hand the RV camping has full hookups which is a luxury you don't often find in national parks. In fact of the 63 national parks in the US only 17 have RV sites with full or partial hookups and considering we booked this campsite with only a two-week notice that's definitely different from scoring one of those coveted national park sites which almost always requires a minimum of a six month lead time on your reservation. The first adventure we're embarking on at Lake Mead is one on the water and despite it looking like it's close to our campground the lake is actually over a mile away so even staying in the park most activities you'll want to drive to. This is the first time since we've gotten to the national recreation area that we're actually on the water and how beautiful is this place. One of the most popular recreational activities here at Lake Mead is to get out on the lake. We are going to be taking a cruise on a river boat this afternoon 35 bucks a person and you even get to see the Hoover Dam so we're pretty excited about it. This beautiful boat we're boarding is called the Desert Princess. She's a three-level Mississippi style paddlewheeler that does brunch, midday and evening dinner tours of Lake Mead. To make your trip even more enjoyable they have snacks and adult beverages for you to enjoy while they educate you on the history of the lake and make the visit to the Hoover Dam. It's damn windy. The Hoover Dam is a concrete arch gravity dam situated here on the Black Canyon of the Colorado River. Construction on the dam began in 1931 during the Great Depression and nothing like it had ever been built before. But despite the unknowns the dam was built in just over five years and turned over to the federal government on March 1st, 1936. Only a short five years later and more than two years ahead of schedule. Today it protects Southern California and Arizona from disastrous floods, provides irrigation water and supplies enough electrical power to serve 1.3 million people in Nevada, Arizona and California. It really is a marvel to the restaurant we found an unexpected surprise. A school of carp who just happened to be enjoying a popcorn feast. That's so crazy. They love popcorn. Your mouth looks like mine. But back to that snack of our own. Clearly we're eating health food today. Cheesy tots and loaded nachos. In addition to a really yummy restaurant and the super cool fish, this entire marina is actually owned by a local family and has been for over 65 years. So if you come to eat here, shop here or rent a boat or jet skis from here, you're shopping local. Next we decided to head down and check out Boulder Beach which is super close to the Airstream but still a driving distance. Also like a national park, it has incredible views and it's in a basin so it's pretty windy today and apparently that's a normal thing. Not to mention also if you're here in the summer, the basin is known for being eight to ten degrees hotter than it is in Las Vegas so you definitely are going to have to prep for the weather change. All right, let's go check out the beach. Here's a hint as to what the difference between national parks and national recreational areas are. I think I'm starting to get why they call it Boulder Beach. These are basically all over the place. We made it all the way down to the beach. The only possible thing to do next is see how chilly the water is. Just make sure that if you're coming out to this beach, you bring the appropriate footwear because it is rocky. Yeah, exactly like I didn't do. I'm wearing flip-flops. The preferred footwear for this beach is definitely hiking boots or at least tennis shoes. After a relaxing walk on the beach, we headed back to the Airstream because we had big plans in the morning. We're up a little early this morning because we're going on an exciting hike. We're hiking the Historic Railroad Trail. But before we go, I'm making breakfast. I love making oatmeal in the mornings, but one thing that you learn when you're cooking in an RV kitchen is that the faster you put things away, the better because small spaces get cluttered fast. Last but not least, I sprinkled a little bit of walnuts on mine. Daniel doesn't like them, so that's why it's the last step, but there you have it. Very fairy oatmeal. My favorite. Time for a hike, but check out this view from our front door. Welcome to the Historic Railroad Trail. This trail is actually all the way out to Hoover Dam, which is of course why Lake Mead exists, but what this trail is about is exactly what its name says. The railroad that used to come from Boulder City to the dam while it was being built actually existed here. Now we originally thought the entire trail out and back was 3.5 miles. It turns out it's 3.5 miles in one direction, so a total of seven miles. But it is really easy terrain. It's even wheelchair accessible, so we figure might as well do the whole thing. Since it's so far, we're going to jog some of it because seven miles would take a long time to walk. All right, we've got a sign at the entrance here. It says do not hike between the months of June and September because, as I quote, heat kills. Luckily, we still have another week until June, so I think we're going to be okay. These concrete blocks may not look like much now, but they're actually remnants of the construction site of the Hoover Dam. In fact, these were plugs that went into the Hoover Dam floor while they were waiting to put in the turbines, which of course brings electricity to the dam. The final plug was removed in 1961 and dropped here for all of us to see. We made it to the first of five tunnels. How insane is it how tall these are? To think about the fact that a train actually traversed this exact path from Boulder City to where the Hoover Dam was created, carrying supplies. It's a really neat piece of American history. Check it out. And here we are at tunnel number two. These tunnels were built out of volcanic rock. Towards the end of tunnel number two, you run through a storage container, but if you notice directly above me, there is a timbered framework along the vertical walls and ceiling. The timbered framework is there to keep the tunnel from collapsing. There was a fire in 1990 where the timbers had to be replaced by the National Park Service. Tunnel number three, three, three, three, three. Hello, hello, hello. It's not that. Hi, hi, hi. We have made it to cave number four, which means we're getting really close to the Hoover Dam. But one thing to note about this trail in the summer, these caves are home to bats. You didn't say anything about a bat. If there's bats in here, that makes this officially the Bat Cave. If you're anything like me, I didn't know much about the history of the Hoover Dam before we came here. But what's really interesting to note is it was built during the Great Depression. And these tunnels were built in only five months. Pretty cool. And this is tunnel number five. Good thing we came first thing in the morning. Looks like if you're on this late afternoon, you might be running to make sure that they don't close this gate on you. And if you're thinking about bringing a firearm on the trail, that's a no-go. The only guns allowed are the two you bring with you. Attach the shoulders. If you want to do the entire railroad trail, it's another mile from here. And we've already gone 3.28. So for the sake of time, we're taking the shortcut, which is a little bit of a downhill slope, but we get to see the dam. Really interesting fact about the dam is that when it was built, it was named after President Herbert Hoover because it was actually his work in contract negotiations that made the dam possible. But everybody at the time knew it as Boulder Dam because it was so close to Boulder City where it was built. Apparently today, some people still call it Boulder Dam. I'm not really sure if I believe this. If that's you, leave a comment below. If you're coming to the recreational area and you're looking for some fun activities, this is definitely a damn good hike. He's been waiting to say that for at least the last three days. Want to see more of Hoover Dam? Be sure to click subscribe and hit that bell so you'll be notified when our next video drops. Because next Sunday, we are going to be driving over the Hoover Dam in an Airstream. All right, time to turn around and head back to Lake Mead, the National Recreation Area. Hike is officially complete and clocked in at just around 7.56 miles. So we're gonna head to the gift shop and see what we get back today. Success! Check out my Lake Mead National Recreational Area. Awesome patch. If you come and camp at Lake Mead, never forget leaving the park without your National Park Pass because they will charge you the $25 to get back in if you forget it. Hi. What's happening? Not much. Have a good day. Thanks a lot. Now that you've been a part of our experience here at Lake Mead, I'll finally let you in on the secret. So what's the difference between a National Park and a Recreation Area? It comes down to the purpose. So it's pretty easy to guess that Lake Mead Recreational Area is specifically built for recreation. Boating, hiking, fishing, kayaking, all things that you can do at a National Recreation Area. Some, of course, which you can do at a National Park too, but at the end of the day, the why for a National Park is about conservation. And so that's the difference. Conservation versus recreation. With Lake Mead under our belt, we have officially conquered our 17th state in the Airstream. And now it's time to head to California. Once again, if you want to check out our next damn video, be sure to click subscribe. That was a damn good joke. I'm just saying.