Las Vegas Trip - Day 2

Hoover Dam

The next morning started early.  I had read the Hoover dam tours filled up quickly; and with a hour and a half drive to get there, we had to get moving. Dave left the hotel around 6:30am to get our rental car from the airport, and we were on the road to the Hoover dam around 7:30am.  

We arrived at 8:30am, about a half hour before the park store opened.  There was already a decent line for tickets.  

Unfortunately, the park was under renovations, so the only tour offered was the Power Plant tour, and not the longer, more extensive Dam tour. We were the third tour to head down, and we were very glad we arrived early, because the was already a two and a half hour wait for tours at that point!

The Power Plant tour took us down a long elevator and into the turbine portion of the Dam.  As yuoc an see in the photo above, the turbines are huge - and most of the device is under the floor!

The whole dam was built with the idea of hosting visitors, so the floor is made from nice tile, and there are decorative accents all around the place!

After the Power Plant tour, we explored the two visitor centers.  The first was an old-school demonstration, with a topographic map of the entire western United

States. A recorded voice and animated lights explained the whole history of flooding, and the reasons the dam was built.  

While we heard some others in the crowd were less the impressed, we actually really enjoyed the whole demonstration and it really brought home the topography the caused the dam to be built.

We then headed over to the Hoover Dam visitor center - and spent a good hour exploring and learning.  There was an in-depth history of the incredible undertaking and engineering feat of building the dam. 

There was an explanation of the dam was built using small blocks that allowed the cement to cure quicker

There were examples of how the turbines worked to created energy.  

There were details about the various parts of the dam.  One display showed the various jobs employed by the dam, with salaries included.  One interesting fact was that the dam employed 5,000 people, but 20,000 showed up to apply for the positions.  

The final section of the Visitors Center was an observation deck at the top, where we marveled at everything we saw - the electric wires, the pulley system that was still in place.  As we were leaving, we noticed a guard by the stairwell down (holding a huge rifle).  As we headed down the stairway, he asked if Dave was an engineer because "he'd never seen anyone take such an interest in the dam".  Dave called that Read style :)

From there, we explored the side of the dam; we had learned in the Visitor Center that the sides of the dam contained overflow drains, and we wanted to check them out. Once again, we were amazed by the engineering marvel.  

Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

We then headed back to our car to an upper parking lot to explore the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge that had been built in 2010... Another engineering marvel.  We enjoyed walking across the bridge, and the viewpoint it gave us of the dam.

Boulder City
We then went into Boulder City, right outside the Hoover dam, to grab some pizza for lunch.  

Historic Railroad Trail

When we had finished, we headed back toward the Hoover Dam for one more stop.

 I had read about a trail that led through the huge tunnels that had been carved out of the mountain to allow the trains to get to the Hoover dam. While we were all pretty exhausted by that point, the boys willing tromped along with me to check the tunnels out.



The trail out to the tunnels had some pretty views of cliffs and Lake Mead.

Exhausted, having once again walked ten miles, but thrilled with what we had seen, we headed back to the hotel, following the trail with the setting sun.

Paris Casino Eiffel Tower

After a brief rest in our hotel room, we went to the Paris Casino to ride the Eiffel tower, something Dylan really wanted to do.  

We waited about half an hour in line, then took the elevator up. We arrived at the top and enjoyed the view of the city of lights as well as another Bellagio Fountain show.

Las Vegas Sign

No trip to Las Vegas is complete without a photo in front of the Fabulous Las Vegas sign.  So we briefly stopped here to grab a photo. 

And after having toured the Neon museum, we now had a better understanding of the neon in the museum, and were familiar with the owner of the sign:  YESCO.

Fremont Street - sort of
Then came the lowest part of our trip. Tired and hungry, we headed to an off-strip buffet I had read about... Only to arrive at 8:40, and find the buffet had closed at 8:30.  Disgruntled, we found a close by Taco Bell; not an ideal dining spot, and a particular dislike of Dylan's, but it was what we found. We really wanted to show the boys Fremont street, and since the following evening was New Year's Eve, and Fremont street was closed for a NYE party, if we wanted to see it, tonight was our last chance. So we went to visit it that evening.  The street was crowded, there was an incredibly loud band playing, lots of cigarette smoke and we were incredibly tired... A perfect storm. Let's just say we lasted about five minutes on Fremont street, Kyle threw up, we grabbed a brisket sandwich for Dylan, and then left to return to the hotel. An unfortunate end to an amazing day.