The Hoover Dam

We almost went to the Grand Canyon.  But we had already done that, and when I was looking at the map that morning, I realized that it would take us no longer if we took a different route and went to the Hoover Dam instead.  Since we had never done that before, we decided that's what we would do.

And so here we are at the Hoover Dam.

High Scaler

Going down for a tour of the power plant.



The power plant tour was really well done.  We toured the Nevada side.



Look at all those generators!



So, remember when we took the kids to see the movie San Andreas at the Chinese Theater?

Spoiler Alert!

At the beginning of the movie, there is a scene where there is an earthquake and the entire Hoover Dam is destroyed and people scream and get hurt and die.  Even though we had explained all about special effects, Connor did NOT want to go out on the dam.  He was pretty hesitant to go on the power plant tour, but one of the tour guides convinced him that it would be safe.  They had received training on the possible consequences of the movie the week before, but Connor was the first freaked out kid she had to deal with because of that movie.  Probably the first of many, this summer.

End Spoiler Alert!



For some reason that I cannot explain, Lex was pinching the back of my leg really hard while this photo was being taken.  It really hurt, and he wouldn't stop.



Little Stinker.

Look at how low the level of water is behind the dam.



It's supposed to be much higher, like in this model:




After our tour, we explored the exhibit area for a while.


Here is a great video of Connor making electricity.

And he really liked this time-lapse video of the dam being constructed:




The Hoover Dam!  It's one of the modern wonders of the world.

This is our *official* Hoover Dam family photo.  

I am pretty sure that every single one of us has our eyes closed.  Blink!  I think the sun must have been shining right in our eyes.