To the Grand Canyon

Two questions for the cab driver taking us to Treasure Island to pick up our hire car:
Are the tops of some of the big buildings actually dummy? Yes, the bank collapsed and they ran out of money.
Where does Las Vegas get its water? Lake Mead. They say it will all be gone in four years. Then all this will be gone.
Hmmm.
Talking of which, Hoover Dam (i.e. Lake Mead) is first stop on our way and we see the drop in level for ourselves.

Three-lane freeway arrows and then narrows mile after mile through rocky, desert landscape, busy with heavy trucks and Ford Mustangs. Vegetation gradually increasing. Untidy buildings scattered  at random across open plains. Jagged hills all around. Snow capped mountain in the distance. Signs say we are at 4,000, then 5,000. We guess feet.
Our little wooden heritage cabin at Bright Angel Lodge, booked nine months ago, is a perfect gem. By a miracle a parking space next to it comes free just when we need it.

We walk a hundred paces to the canyon brim and both feel emotional.

</a