Hoover Dam

DSC_4939, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

After the day spent at the Grand Canyon and the Route 66 Loop, we spent the night in Kingman, Arizona and ate at a very tasty Chinese Buffet restaurant. John proclaimed the food very authentic as there were flavors included which he's only previously encountered in the Orient. Unfortunately a number of us had stomach aches the next day.



I really like this picture taken from the top of Hoover Dam. It was very impressive and VERY touristy (MUCH more crowded than the Grand Canyon, probably because a. space available to people is extremely limited, b. the weather was nice and c. it's really close to Las Vegas).



The kids had way too much fun making "dam jokes". The impetus for getting to Hoover Dam was the Percy Jackson books, which meant that the dam jokes and the angel with the golden toes were high priorities.



We did bring David Macaulay's Building Big: Dams DVD with us, so we were able to pick up some of the historical and scientific details in an interesting and inexpensive fashion (many of the visitor areas at the dam required an entrance fee, so we didn't bother).

Dam Family Picture:

DSC_4963, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

The memorial bridge that frames this family picture is gorgeous, but the sides are so high that we didn't really have a sense of what we were going over until we saw it from below.


The kids got a big kick out of walking back and forth across the state line (Arizona/Nevada), which, of course, is right in the middle of the dam.

One More Picture Just Because:

DSC_5005, originally uploaded by Chez VH.

I really like this reflection/self-portrait taken by Bernie. This is taken outside the snack bar at Hoover Dam, which was, not surprisingly, overpriced and overcrowded. John braved the lines and got a few Gatorades for us to share.