Hilariously enough, we did NOT ask the tour guide that question at Hoover Dam...
..Upon M2's advice, we went to Boulder Dam (a.k.a. Hoover Dam) earlier in the day. I was there on a tour with Dad 11 years ago, and I was rather bored on said tour. I was 16 and could care less about Lake Mead and the dam and the cooling rods within the dam it self. Now, that I'm older and more curious, I retained more info from the tour. I found it interesting that Lake Mead was the largest man-made body of water in the U.S. They had men working on the construction of the dam, diverting of the river, and everything else 24/7 for 5 years. I don't want to give away the entire tour, but you can find more out here.
Vince really wanted to walk on top of the dam and see the Arizona/Nevada border. Unbeknownst to us, we could have done that without the tour, but it was interesting to learn about the dam and its power plant. We saw turbines and generators as far as the eye can see, it was actually a lot cooler than I remember it--probably because I am older and was awake for the whole thing!
Lake Mead was gorgeous, just glimmering in the sun. Our view atop of the dam helped that much more. Got some great views of the Colorado River meandering into the dam. The colour was so crisp and the lake looked so refreshing; We'd joked about jumping off the dam into Lake Mead, seeing as it was less than 14,000 feet! Alas, we did not and our knees, ankles, and spines are still intact...for now.
On the way back, we stopped at Best Buy to get a wireless router for M2's computer. It would make using the internet a lot easier on my laptop. Vince fell asleep in the car due to the heat and all that dam excitement we had just endured. Our evening plans were to go for dinner with Mom-Mom to a restaurant she likes called White Chocolate. After dinner, we were tentatively meeting up with Vince's cousin, Ron, who was living out in Las Vegas doing electrical work.
Dinner was delicious, as were the cocktails with it. We got Spinach & Artichoke dip for appetizer, along with a soup we split that sounded delicious: Tomato & Gin soup. The menu instructed that whomever ordered it had to be of drinking age (21). I inquired as to why if they were cooking with the Gin, knowing that the alcohol would cook out and all the liquid would be reduced to just the flavour. Apparently they add the gin after the cooking, and its flavour compliments the rest of the ingredients: bacon, tomatoes, and a cream base. After the 3 of us demolished that bowl of soup, we all agreed that it really was delicious.
We got back to M2's house and relaxed for a bit. Ron had fallen asleep and called Vince back apologizing that he would not be coming out since he has to get up at 3:30AM to start work. Vince and I decided to head downtown for a night on Freemont Street for some 'grown up' activities. We started at Fitzgeralds, probably my favourite stop on Freemont, then moved up and down hitting all sorts of black jack tables.
Opting to be awake early enough to actually leave on time, we made it an early evening. We both cleaned up and hit the hay within 25 minutes of our return. With a fun filled day of dams, power plants, and Las Vegas fun, we were asleep in no time.
Next stop: Sunny Los Angeles....stay tuned!
Rock & Roll, as always,
Uncle J.
P.S. Dad- just because I was sleeping through the tour last time, didn't mean I didn't enjoy it..also, I found a 'widescreen' setting on the camera that looks more panoramic...dig it!
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