The Hoover Dam is a marvel in and of itself so it was amazing to say the least as we arrived. But in addition to all this, it is also another film site for the movie Transformers, so Becca was beside herself, of course.
This giant structure was completed in the 1930s and men worked around the clock, 365 days a year for five years until the dam was finished. Only 2 days off were optional - Christmas and July 4th. That's insane to think about! Here are some other facts about the Hoover Dam that may peak your interest (or not, but I'm gonna list them anyway...):
- Construction began September 30, 1930 and the last concrete was poured in 1935
- It was first single structure to contain more masonry than the Great Pyramid at Giza.
- The concrete used to make the dam was set with cooling tubes - this sped up the process by 95 years! (The heat from the concrete would have taken a total of 100 years to cool if not of those refrigeration tubes)
- It can store up to 9.2 trillion gallons of the Colorado River in its reservoir - Lake Mead
- Hoover Dam is part of a system which provides water to over 25 million people in the southwest US.
While we were there, we took a tour of the power plant which took us 530 feet underground. Rebecca asked the tour guide where they kept the AllSpark (the energy cube in the Transformers movie) and she actually answered! She told us lots of info about where they filmed the movie at the dam and showed us (or at least pointed to) a few of those.
After the tour came one of the funnier and more surprising moments of the trip. Before each tour begins, everyone takes a souvenir picture in which they superimpose a photo of the Hoover Dam behind you later on. Well, on our way out of the tour area, a representative from the Hoover Dam stopped Rebecca and I to ask if they would use our picture for their brochures, souvenir pic display, etc. The very first thing we did was laugh! haha But then we realized she was serious, so we said why not. If you're planning to visit the Hoover Dam anytime soon, look for our faces!
From there, we drove to Las Vegas for the night. We got yet another great hotel deal and ended up staying at the Las Vegas Hilton (now called LVH). This is the hotel that Wayne Newton headlined at for so many years, and Elvis Presley before him. It was great of course!
That night we went to the strip (where all the hotels, restaurants, etc are in Las Vegas for those who haven't been yet) and walked around in shops, took pics and finally stopped to eat at Serendipity 3 in front of Caesar's Palace. Most people know this cafe by it's famous first location in NYC. But there's one in Vegas too and we took advantage. They are known for their Frozen Hot Chocolate drink and you can be sure we had one.
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| Las Vegas Strip |
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| The Strip |
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| She's back y'all! |
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| Frrrozen Hot Chocolate |
We ended the night by watching one of the water and light shows in front of the Bellagio resort and then jumping back on the monorail to LVH. More Vegas tomorrow and then on to LA!
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| The Bellagio |
Water Show at the Bellagio
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