And when you're there, be sure to leave your car in the dam parking garage.
Then visit the dam souvenir shop.
Or have a quick bite at the dam coffee shop overlooking the dam.
After a while, the whole theme becomes dam annoying.
Although I must admit, the dam itself is pretty dam cool...
And the view is dam spectacular...
Yes, this was our visit to the remarkable engineering marvel known as the Hoover Dam. At the top, the dam is some 45 feet across. However, at the base of the dam, the cement is 660 feet thick!
The dam's construction required excavation of some 6.48 million cubic yards of rock and dirt to build the tunnels and way for the dam. Over 96 million pounds of steel was needed and some 4.4 million cubic yards of concrete was used over a four year period through its completion in 1935.
The water pressure from the Colorado River places some 45,000 pounds of pressure per square foot at the base of the dam!
Hoover Dam is also a major entry point into Nevada from Arizona. As one who grew up in Hawaii, I still am amazed by the fact that you can drive from one state to another. Remember, it's some 2,000 miles to travel from Hawaii to California, the next nearest state.
Obviously, I'm not the only one who thinks the closeness of one state to another is really neat...
Yes, this is my father standing in two states at once. The left side of the picture is Nevada and the right side is Arizona. He's standing on the line that divides the two states -- which is smack dab in the middle of the dam -- in the middle of the Colorado River!
Unfortunately, the Colorado River is not what it used to be. Lake Mead (which was created by the construction of Hoover Dam) is fed by the melting snows from Utah and Colorado. A sustained drought in those states and less than spectacular snow falls over the last five years have dramatically lowered the water levels on Lake Mead. Note the discoloration on the sides of the cavern walls which show you how high the water used to be...
Of course all our friends from Marietta will notice is that somehow a sternwheel found its way to Nevada. See, who said that a low river has to mean the cancellation of the Sternwheel Festival.
No matter how remarkable or majestic something like the Hoover Dam might be, nothing could excite our boys quite like the next place we visited (click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the conveyor belt in the background)...
Yep, nirvana.
A donut factory. Chocolate covered, to be precise.
Unfortunately, little Malia doesn't get to eat many donuts, she's stuck learning to adjust to basic table foods. Grandpa Bernie thought he'd undertake the challenge of trying to feed her a bit.
Well, after one completely covered shirt and one overwhelmed Grandpa, here's Malia finally proclaiming victory over dinner time...
Ah, the wonders of our six children -- here with Grandma Betty and Grandpa Bernie.
Yes, the doll freaked me out the first time I saw this picture as well. I thought maybe Cari went and had another baby and I missed it.
Hey, it's hard to keep track of that many kids when my hand has only five fingers.
Posts
