Sunday, April 21, 2013

Hoover Dam

One of the items D wanted to check off his travel list when we went to Vegas was the Hoover Dam.  I had been when I was young.  My parents like to tell the story of how I was “dying” because it was so hot.  Yes, it is true, I do not do well in hot temps.  Fortunately for us, the weather was not too hot the day we went. 

On our way to Vegas, we actually ran into really heavy fog, which was kind of scary.  This picture does not show the worst of it.  People were driving with their emergency blinkers on.  I was so relieved when we turned a corner and the sun suddenly appeared!

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We ended up taking the Power Plant Tour (admission $11).  It started off with a short movie about the history of the dam.  It certainly is an engineering marvel. 

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I found it interesting that the dam was built with tourists in mind.  Check out the fancy flooring.

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Our tour guide was quite lively.  It’s nice when people at least appear to enjoy their job.

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The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial bridge, which was not there when I visited before, is impressive. 

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Lake Mead, a manmade lake, has a “bathtub ring” which shows how high the water used to be.

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Boulder City, where the Dam is located, had some interesting architecture.

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I’m pretty sure the kids would not have appreciated the amazing feat that the Hoover Dam is, so I really don’t have any regrets about not bringing them.  On to Vegas…

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