Day 2 - Hoover Daaaaaammmm

One of the seven wonders of the modern world, the Hoover Dam was our first stop of the day. We woke early, our bodies still accustomed to eastern time and prepped for a hot day.

The sharp, red rocky mountains punctured the azure blue sky as heat shimmered in waves across the dry landscape. We wound our way down to the dam's visitor centre, and geeked out with informational panels, interactive tables, informative movies and intelligent tour guides :) I love stats, so... The dam is 660 feet thick at its base (thats more than 2 statues of liberty, lying end to end!), and is built of enough concrete to pave a 4 foot wide pathway around the equator. Also, try this on for some hard work: the labourers were paid $4/day and had 2 days off/year!

Afterwards we headed out onto the dam itself. Of course Becky 'shriek whistled' while we let off a few cooees into the 1200+ ft wide (and 726 ft high) dam wall. The inviting, turqouise water of lake mead was a stark contrast to the rust coloured canyon walls, but the drop to the water wasn't at all tempting. We're determined to swim in lake mead though, so stay tuned!

It was hot. Like Nebuchadnezzar's furnace with a side of ghost peppers hot. But it's a nice reminder that underneath this Canadian PR label, I'm still a true blue Aussie because I revelled in the heat. Sure, I melted a little, but some things are worth melting for. Our resident polar bear was keen to walk in the shade and with nary a cloud in the sky and a temp of 43/44 (110 for the Americans among us :P), can't say I really blamed her.

We drove the dam, crossed the ggggiiiiaant Memorial Bridge, took some pics by random sign posts (why not, we might forget we were here!), marveled at the view and the Creator who made the forces that shaped these canyons and headed back to the hotel. The pool is calling our names!
- NomesRead more