More Landscapes and More Culture… and More Fun!

When planning our trip this morning, we intended to visit the highest dam in the world (highest in elevation).  The Grand Dixence is the dam at the highest elevation in the world.  Its base is an astounding 200 meters (>650 ft.) thick and they used a whopping 6 million cubic meters (>210 million cubic feet) of concrete in its construction.  Shockingly, the dam contains 400 million cubic meters of water.  That’s over 14 trillion cubic feet of water!  The snow on the trail stymied us, however, and we found that the trail did not open until June.  Finding an open tourism office, we decided, based on what they told us, to drive up to Thyon and  experience the elevated view of the dam.  When we arrived, we found a playground and a stunning view of the Alps, including Mt. Blanc and the Matterhorn, but no view of the dam.  We even hiked half-way up the snowy slope and couldn't catch a glimpse.  After we munched our lunch on the side of the mountain, we coasted down to the valley to explore a castle on a knoll.  It possessed a wonderful panoramic view of the valley.  We encountered a student from my grandparent's (and therefore my mom's) hometown.  After many photo ops, we climbed down to the cathedral on the adjoining knoll.  All of our bodies were screaming to drive home, so our cathedral tour was brief.  We silently creeped into the main cathedral and wondered at the intricate art on the walls.  It intrigued me to note that although there was a crucifix in the center of the cathedral, the front of the cathedral housed a statue of Mary.

We could see the dam from the road!  Its colossal!

See the dam in between the mountains?

The view from Thyon (notice we can't see the dam!)

Mt. Blanc on the right and the Matterhorn on the left.

He insisted "that I drive"!

Imagine looking through this gate when all the houses were little thatched roofed structures under a green mountain-side.

My attempt at a 360˚ panorama turned out in two parts.

The inside of the catholic cathedral at the top of the adjoining knoll

Throughout this Saturday, we have experienced more handsome landscapes and more European history and culture, as we playfully amuse ourselves at a random playground on a mountain!