The Dry Heat Expedition (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Disneyland)--UPDATE 6/12 (KSC and DTD)

[eandesmom]

5:35 p.m.—We’ve arrived. Are you all sitting down? No? I’ll wait.

5:36 p.m.—Everyone ready? We’re eating at a burger joint. I know, it’s a bit of a shock to me as well. And yet, here we are. This place is actually a little different. It’s an Asian spin on a burger joint called Bachi Burger. We’d seen it featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives a while back and noted it as a place to try if we ever happened to be in Las Vegas.

I know I’ve made myself an easy target with the number of burger joints we patronize, but that’s how we roll. We’re not the most adventurous eaters in the world. Actually, we like to make fun of frou-frou gourmet stuff. And when you have a family as large as ours, you can’t afford to eat steak entrees every night, anyway. Sandwiches get a lot of play because they’re usually the cheapest items on the menu.

Also, I really love burgers.
Anyway, we pile out of the car and turn the corner, and already there’s a bad sign: people waiting outside. I curse the rental car company, not for the first time on this particular afternoon. The restaurant is actually fairly small, and popular due to its TV exposure. The hostess tells us it’s a 40-45 minute wait. Baby Drew is getting grumpy and wants to eat. Julie tries to tell him it’s a 40-45 minute wait, but Drew doesn’t want to hear it.

We end up trying to use the time as best we can. Julie will feed the baby, while I take the van and check into our hotel and haul some bags into the room. I know from Google Earth that the hotel is on the main road just one exit down on the interstate, so I should easily be able to make it there and back. I ask the kids if they want to wait with Mommy or come along with me. As expected, they elect to wait. I can never, ever, convince any of them to come along with me when running an errand. It’s shocking how fast Dad drops in his kids’ eyes from being the Coolest and Most Fun Person Ever to Total Dweeb. I think hanging out with me now ranks somewhere behind visits to the dentist on my kids’ list of desirable activities. So, I climb into the minivan alone and set off on the short drive to the hotel, relying once again on my superb navigational skills.

5:54 p.m.—I can’t find the stupid hotel.

5:57 p.m.—Seriously. I should have seen it by now. I think I’ve driven too far down this road. I’m turning around.

6:08 p.m.—It’s got to be here somewhere.

6:17 p.m.—Ok, I’ve been up and down the street and it’s nowhere to be found. My time’s almost up. I guess I’ll have to head back to the restaurant and admit defeat. We’ll dig out the map and directions and figure it out from there. I’ll just turn around on this cross street here.

6:18 p.m.—THERE’S the stupid hotel. It’s down that way on the cross street. I missed one turn. I knew I didn’t need directions! Still, time’s up. I’d better get back to Julie.

6:18:30 p.m.—Crap. I’m getting old.

6:27 p.m.—I arrive back at Bachi Burger, not having checked into the hotel or offloaded any bags. Mission failure. Julie’s still trying to nurse a grumpy baby. The kids are sitting on the curb in the parking lot, looking both bored and grumpy. Julie’s giving me some major stinkeye. Uh oh.

“It’s been awful,” she says. “Drew keeps getting distracted with all the noise out here. The kids keep whining about how hungry they are. I just want to sit down and eat.” She’s still shooting daggers with her eyes. I am informed later that this condition is known as being “hangry”.

Hangry is NOT a fun place for anyone to be!

UGH on finding the hotel. It happens to the best of us.

I mean

GUYS

Who don't need directions.

Ahem.

Sarah’s first order of business was to take off her orthopedic brace. She was recently diagnosed with scoliosis (curvature of the spine) and as a result has to wear a brace for 20 hours a day. She typically gets 4 hours of blessed relief in the afternoon, but due to the flight she had been wearing it for longer than usual and needed the break. So she took it off and placed it under the table.

Oh poor Sarah! I am so sorry, that's horrid.

But oh....under the table, not a good idea.

7:30 p.m.—After unloading some bags, we picked up the girls and Drew from Target. And Sarah promptly informed us that she had left her brace back at Bachi Burger.

Sigh.

So we pile the groceries into the van and head once more down the highway, making this my third separate trip to the restaurant.

8:12 p.m.— The boys are all excited to show off the suite to the girls, but they seem less than impressed upon entering. Maybe we’re all tired. Soon everyone is getting ready for bed. We set up the pop-tent for Drew while he nurses one more time, and pretty soon it’s lights-out.

11:20 p.m.—Drew wakes up crying, wanting to eat. Julie grumbles and goes to feed him.

1:47 a.m.—Drew starts to fuss. I grumble and go give him his binky to calm him down. It seems to work.

2:29 a.m—Drew wakes up crying, wanting to eat. Julie grumbles and goes to feed him. Somebody forgot to inform Drew that we are on vacation now.

Coming Up Next: One of the best dam engineering achievements known to man!

Oh boy. I am exhausted just reading this. But hey, those burgers looked good AND the brace was still there!

And hopefully with the 2 bedroom mojo...it was only you and Julie being woken by Drew. That is something.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Interesting good. There’s some odd stuff floating around there but I’d hit the place if the opportunity availed itself. Like several others, I ain’t so sure about fried eggs on burgers, but I may need to give it a chance. It’s the fried part that troubles me. I’m rather fond of steak and eggs so long as the eggs are scrambled or in omelet form… egg whites by themselves are nasty but maybe the other elements of the sandwich will drown that fact out.

I'm learning through this chapter that I seem to like eggs more than your average person. They don't bother me on a burger in the least.

Nice job on the frugality part of the equation, but that behavior is also a precursor and warning sign toward habitually showing up for the Early Bird Special.

I guess you are getting old.

I should point out that I'm fine with waiting to eat until 8-9 p.m. as well. It's just that it doesn't go over as well with the kids. I'm happy to go off-schedule in order to avoid crowds. It's all about efficiency.

Yah, God laughs at us silly folk right often, don’t he?
That you even considered asking…
Now that has me laughing.

I'm an idiot. But you knew that.

No, no… it written: “YAY!”
Remember, you actually have wonderful young’ens that will all grow up to be mortified by you.

Our mission as dads is to ensure that there’s good reason for that sense of impending social ostracism and outright embarrassment to exist in the first place. Challenge accepted!

Somebody's got to be the uncool lame-o with the dumb jokes around here.

How long were y’all there?
Obviously I’ve underestimated your other super-power of running a joke into the ground.
So are we talking a generally more colossal range, say like 173, or are we streaking ever skyward toward the more herculean realms near something like 764?

We were there a good 2-3 hours. And I'm a Dad, and this most definitely qualifies as a "Dad joke".

The wonderful packing skills of Julie are truly amazing.

You survived a long plane ride with a baby!!!!! Awesome. Even with the diaper change.

He really did great on the plane! We were thrilled with that.

slot machines in the airport yup nice first impression.

Classy, don't you think?

Very brave to drive down the strip. Sorry to hear about he eternal wait for the rental van. I am sure being a bit hungry did not help.

Well, we ended up with a van and full tummies. Eventually.

Now your search for the hotel was not in vain. Probably if you did find earlier and could check in would have had the room you booked. By getting to know the area a bit you got a great room and a straight shot from dinner to the hotel.

Could be. Hard to look at it as a positive, but maybe you're right!

Eh Having to go back for the back brace just got that out of the way early.

But we've never forgotten stuff before.

Burgers, burgers, hey I like burgers and those looked good. Not sure about he sprinkled fish guts on my burger but the fried egg I could do.

Thank you! For a second I thought I was losing it there.

Ahh the interrupted sleep. Babies are for the young that's for sure.

I agree 100%. Why do we have one again?

Now get on with the dam update!!!!!

One dam update coming up!

(See, Julie? It doesn't get old.)

Hangry is NOT a fun place for anyone to be!

So I've gathered!

UGH on finding the hotel. It happens to the best of us.

I mean

GUYS

Who don't need directions.

Ahem.

But I was close! And the sun was in my eyes. And I was hangry.

Oh poor Sarah! I am so sorry, that's horrid.

But oh....under the table, not a good idea.

I think we only had to learn that lesson once. Thankfully.

Oh boy. I am exhausted just reading this. But hey, those burgers looked good AND the brace was still there!

And hopefully with the 2 bedroom mojo...it was only you and Julie being woken by Drew. That is something.

True. And yes, the other kids got their sleep. They have a remarkable ability to sleep through the baby's cries. Julie and me...not so much.

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

I agree 100%. Why do we have one again?

Yeah...we're too old for this.

One dam update coming up!

(See, Julie? It doesn't get old.)

sigh...

But I was close! And the sun was in my eyes. And I was hangry.

Wait....so now you were hangry too?

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Wait....so now you were hangry too?

 

[dgbg100106]

So with three trips to the same restaurant, you have location down, and no need to worry about locations from that point.

Congrats on the upgrade, hope it helped with the jet lag and getting ready for the next day.

the food looked good and I am pretty sure we saw it on triple d also. Was anyone else seated with you in the other restaurant or did your family have it all?

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I'm an idiot. But you knew that.

But so am I.
That vast experience makes me a good judge of such.

I agree 100%. Why do we have one again?

Were you not you paying attention in Health class that day?

One dam update coming up!

OK… that’s 2

But I was close! And the sun was in my eyes. And I was hangry.

Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

I do believe that we’ve struck meme.

 

[MNtwinsplus1mom]

Which is why my one big complaint about Disney is the lack of cheap places to stay with larger families. Even the Art of Animation Resort says its "Value" family suites are $300/night.

I agree!! I recently heard that Caribbean Beach Resort is adding murphy beds, so they will fit 5. Until now, POR has been the best option for us. Families of 6 are tougher still. We have thought about doing the cabins, but sounds like transportation is not so great there. Anyway, renting DVC rooms is something we may try in the future, since Aulani went so well. I do wish they would offer more choices, though... We are trying an AOA Cars suite (for our arrival night only) in a few months, just for fun. The boys don't know.

Ours is a 2006 Odyssey, so it's getting up there in years. Runs just fine, though.

We win! Ours is a 2004. We only have around 66,000 miles on it and it works fine. I plan to drive it into the ground, saving the money for vacations (and orthodontic work apparently ).

We figured one day out of it wasn't going to kill her, especially if she had to wear it for the next 2+ years.

That makes good sense to me! Good parenting.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Yeah...we're too old for this.

GET OFF MY LAWN!

sigh...

Wait....so now you were hangry too?

Well, everybody else is using it as an excuse.

So with three trips to the same restaurant, you have location down, and no need to worry about locations from that point.

Right. And I'm sure I will learn from this and ask directions in the future.

Congrats on the upgrade, hope it helped with the jet lag and getting ready for the next day.

The king-size bed was nice. If only Drew had let us use it.

the food looked good and I am pretty sure we saw it on triple d also. Was anyone else seated with you in the other restaurant or did your family have it all?

That other restaurant was pretty empty. There were maybe 2 or 3 other tables occupied.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

But so am I.
That vast experience makes me a good judge of such.

In other words: takes one to know one.

Were you not you paying attention in Health class that day?

I didn't ask how, I asked why.

OK… that’s 2

Get that counter ready.

Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake. A terrible flood. Locusts! IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!

+1

I do believe that we’ve struck meme.

Maybe I need to re-title the TR!

I agree!! I recently heard that Caribbean Beach Resort is adding murphy beds, so they will fit 5. Until now, POR has been the best option for us. Families of 6 are tougher still. We have thought about doing the cabins, but sounds like transportation is not so great there. Anyway, renting DVC rooms is something we may try in the future, since Aulani went so well. I do wish they would offer more choices, though... We are trying an AOA Cars suite (for our arrival night only) in a few months, just for fun. The boys don't know.

POR has been our go-to resort as well (and we've loved it). I think we'll probably end up in the Fort Wilderness Cabins now. We've stayed there before and FW is actually somewhat underappreciated. Yes, the bus system is a little annoying, but there is a LOT to do in the campground area. The cabins are pretty nice, too. Renting DVC points for the upper-end resorts still ends up being a little pricy compared to the cabins, if my memory is correct.

I'm sure your boys will LOVE the Cars suite!

We win! Ours is a 2004. We only have around 66,000 miles on it and it works fine. I plan to drive it into the ground, saving the money for vacations (and orthodontic work apparently ).

Wow! Such low mileage. We're pushing 100,000 miles now. We're also getting hit with the orthodontic bills, so I don't see us changing vehicles anytime soon either.

That makes good sense to me! Good parenting.

Naturally, it was Julie's idea.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Maybe I need to re-title the TR!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Or...not.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Or...not.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Well, if nothing else, I've made an albino gorilla happy today.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Captain’s Log: 20 July 2014.

6:29 a.m.—I guess that’s all the sleep we’re getting. Might as well get up and get moving. I sure hope the hotel has good coffee.

7:30 a.m.—we somehow managed to get dressed, showered (not in that order), fed, and all packed up and on the road. I’m not exactly sure how we managed to get the groceries packed into the minivan along with the bags, but it took a few tries to slam the back gate shut and I’m a little afraid to open it again. Next stop: Hoover Dam, about 30 miles east of the city and an easy drive in light Sunday morning traffic. You actually have to exit the highway a few miles before reaching the Colorado River (which serves as the border between Nevada and Arizona), but the signs are easy to follow and there’s not much chance of getting lost.

8:33 a.m.—no problems as we approach the Dam. You thought I was going to get lost again, didn’t you? We rounded one bend and got a nice glimpse of the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which was completed a few years ago and serves to carry U.S. 93 over the Colorado. Just a few more twists and turns in the road and we arrive at the parking garage. We find a nice shaded parking space and follow the signs to the visitor center, which doesn’t open until 9:00. There’s already a line, but it’s not too terrible.

We thought Julie would get to take the stroller on this cool elevator that is cut into the rock, but it wasn’t running at the time.

There are two tours available to the public: the Dam Tour and the Powerplant Tour. The Dam Tour is twice the price of the Powerplant Tour, and is age-restricted (no one under 8 allowed). It allows visitors to see some of the tunnels in the dam itself. Since we had the baby, we got tickets for the Powerplant Tour, which is 30 minutes and takes visitors through the portions of the dam dedicated to electric power generation. I’d bought tickets online ahead of time to make sure we had a spot, but judging from the crowds at opening you’d be fine if you just got there early and bought tickets the day of the tour.

I’m pretty excited to see this. Being 1) an engineer, and 2) a guy, it won’t be hard to geek out over the work that went into building the dam. Julie also reminds me that we are here for educational purposes, and for the kids to learn about both history and engineering, and this is not the time to be making endless juvenile “dam” jokes. Being 1) a guy, and 2) a dad, I have no idea what she is talking about. As always, I’m here to set a fine example for my children to follow.

9:15 a.m.—Time to start the dam tour. Excuse me, powerplant tour. We begin with a short film that tells the story of the construction of the dam. Construction began in 1931 and it was finished in 1936, which was actually more than 2 years ahead of schedule. It was the result of an agreement between 7 states that had a stake in the Colorado River watershed (and water supply), and provided thousands of jobs during the Depression (sadly, over 100 workers lost their lives during construction). We learned that the generation of electric power is actually a secondary function of the dam—the primary function is to control the water supply for the dry southwestern states.

In order to build the dam, large diversion channels were first cut into the slopes of the canyon on each side of the river. Then a smaller dam was built upstream to divert the flow of the river into these channels around the construction location. That cleared the way for all of the earthwork, followed by the pouring of almost 2.5 million cubic yards of concrete. Countless pipes had to be built into the concrete forms to allow cold water to flow through the structure—concrete heats as it dries, and the cooling was necessary to get these massive amounts of concrete to set properly so they could finish the dam in a reasonable amount of time. The end result was a massive structure over 700 feet high and 660 feet thick at its base.

9:30 a.m.—After the movie, we’re herded as a group to the dam elevators. The entire group gets into one elevator save for our family—the tour guide sees our stroller and moves us to a different elevator. I’m sure it was just for convenience and had nothing to do with anyone’s desire to isolate us from the rest of the nice people on the tour.

The elevator takes us 500 feet down into the canyon wall. We emerge into a tunnel carved into the rock. We all agree as a family that this dam tunnel is awesome.

9:35 a.m.—Here’s a schematic drawing showing the network of intake pipes that handle the flow of water. You can see the diversion channels that were used during construction. They can open or close those channels as needed, depending on flood/drought conditions. You can also see our dam tour guide.

We were standing right on top of a large intake pipe (called the “penstock”). Water flows through this pipe into the dam turbines at a rate of 90,000 gallons per second. Which makes me exclaim: well, you know. We can actually feel the pipe vibrating under our feet as the water gushes through it.

9:35:15 a.m.—Julie says my dam jokes are getting old. I say that’s not possible.

9:42 a.m.—We are led through another tunnel and into the powerplant, where we can see this line of turbines. Water from the river flows into each turbine, turning a while that spins a giant electromagnet, which generates electric current that can be sold to metropolitan areas for power. Three of the lights on top of the turbines are lit, meaning those three are currently active.

The floor is decorated with intricate tile art, which was designed to incorporate designs from the work of Navajo and Pueblo tribes. (It was hard to get a picture of it without people standing on it.)

Over on the side is a smaller brown turbine. We’re told that this turbine generates all of the power used for the dam facilities. The power of water is not to be underestimated.

10:00 a.m.—With that, the dam tour was over and we rode the dam elevator back up to the visitor center. There’s a small museum inside with a few exhibits showcasing everything you already learned on the tour. Here’s a slightly blurry photo of some of the blasting powder cans they used to carve away rock. Julie wanted to know why I needed a picture of this. Because explosions.

Model of the dam under construction:

They had a walk-in, full-size model of a turbine. Seemed as good a place as any to try and get a cute baby picture.*

*--Note: the baby is wearing a Wisconsin outfit. This was sent by a fellow DIS-er (FreezinRafiki) from Wisconsin, which sums up our total allegiance to the state. I’m just pointing this out to show that yes, we can be bought.**

**--Unless you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. That ain’t happening.

I took this picture to show that yes, Hoover Dam can indeed generate enough power to send you traveling through time (flux capacitor not included):

10:25 a.m.—David needs a potty break.

10:26 a.m.—We’re done with the dam museum and head out to the dam observation deck. Here’s Hoover Dam in all of its art deco majesty:

Looking out towards the bridge:

And here we see that baby Drew is already done with our dam pictures.

Wait, that’s better. Christmas card?

Old exhibit building:

Julie nominated me to be the one who leaned over the edge to get this dam picture. Maybe she really was sick of my jokes.

Looking out on the other side, we could see the Colorado River. Note the “bathtub ring” on the canyon walls that show where the water level has been in the past. Due to the ongoing drought in the area, the water level is at its lowest point since the 1960’s. To the left is one of the four penstock towers, where water flows into the pipes.

Just off the western edge of the dam is a memorial to the workers who built it. Again, you can see the prevalent art deco style:

CONTINUED NEXT POST

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

10:45 a.m.—We were finally ready to move on, but Scotty forced us to make one last stop on the way out at the dam gift shop.

10:52 a.m.—Just up the road, there’s another parking area and a trail with several switchbacks that allows you to climb up onto the highway bridge. Not one to pass up a chance at a spectacular view, we decide to take the hike.

The sun is out in full force now, and the temperature is approaching 100 degrees. Insert “but it’s a dry heat” joke here.

A note on “dry heat”. As my fellow DISDad, DisneyFed, likes to say: “So is sticking your head in an oven.” 100 degrees is hot. Period. However, the lack of humidity does indeed make a difference. Back home in Delaware, our summers typically consist of 90-degree highs with 90% humidity. If a dry heat is sticking your head in an oven, then adding humidity means you’re being deep-fried. So personally, if it’s going to be 108 degrees, I prefer the lighter, drier desert air. That makes it feel like it’s only 103 degrees.

Anyway, was the hike worth it?

Depends on who you ask. The view was indeed spectacular, but Julie and David wanted no part of standing anywhere near the edge of the walkway. Not only were we very high up, but it was windy. We all held on tightly to our hats, cameras, and baby.

11:04 a.m.—Right around another corner, we find a pull-off for a spectacular view of Lake Mead, the man-made lake formed by Hoover Dam. Julie and I get out to take a look. The kids at this point are more interested in catching up on their video games. Anyway, the water is a gorgeous shade of blue. If you look closely at the islands, you can see the parts that are normally underwater.

11:17 a.m.—We enter the Lake Mead National Recreation Area. We could have either taken the highway back to Vegas to catch I-15 North, or take the lakeshore drive around Lake Mead and through the wilderness. We opted for the scenic route. I had bought a National Parks Annual Pass for $80 before leaving for the trip. Here it saved us the $10 entrance fee. We’ll add up the fees on the trip and see if it pays for itself.

11:43 a.m.—Somewhere along the way, we pull over and make our first gourmet lunch of the vacation. Long-time readers know that our vacations involve peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in some of the most beautiful locations on earth. Hey, we have to save money somewhere. Besides, it’s not about the meal. It’s about the view.

Coming Up Next: We make our way into Red Rock country. And Julie is forced to dredge up skills from her distant past. A past she thought was long-forgotten.

 

[KelleyK75]

You literally had me laughing out loud at the picture of baby Drew with his head down. And again that Julie volunteered you to lean over the edge to take the picture.

Beautiful pictures!! It looks like a fun morning and amazing scenary!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Is it bad that I kept looking for Cousin Eddie and his fishing gear in your pictures? You did a dam good job on the dam tour update. Seriously, the tour looked really interesting.

There's no way that I could have taken the picture leaning over and looking down. I'm too scared of heights to do something so stupid, I mean, something like that.

The picture with Drew with his head down cracked me up. He was like "ugh, I am sooooo over this".

 

[Flossbolna]

Being the daughter of a civil engineer, I know all about engineering sightseeing. I grew up with it! And it actually was successful in making me appreciate sights like that even more! What a fantastic project this dam was! However, it is sad to see, how much the draught is really affecting the water levels there. It is kind of scary thinking how long it will take to fill up the water again.

Seems like you had a very good start to your first vacation day and I think that the lunch spot you chose for your gourmet lunch was extremely pretty!!

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Thank You Mark for all the dam information.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

First off… 14
Well… 32, but 14 apply

You thought I was going to get lost again, didn’t you?

You certainly set up the scene so as to offer up the possibility.
But I wasn’t worried this time.
There are other destinations arising in the near future where I’m not so certain though.

We find a nice shaded parking space…

This one bit of foresight will make up for about half of the entendres to come.

Julie also reminds me that we are here for educational purposes, and for the kids to learn about both history and engineering, and this is not the time to be making endless juvenile “dam” jokes.

This is an example of a literary allusion to the concept of futility

Being 1) a guy, and 2) a dad, I have no idea what she is talking about.

This proves my point.

As always, I’m here to set a fine example for my children to follow.

Example… Warning… Tomāto… Tomäto…
The words are interchangeable in this instance.

9:15 a.m.—Time to start the dam tour.

That’s one (and so early in the day)

9:30 a.m.—After the movie, we’re herded as a group to the dam elevators.

Off to a quick start: two

The entire group gets into one elevator save for our family—the tour guide sees our stroller and moves us to a different elevator. I’m sure it was just for convenience and had nothing to do with anyone’s desire to isolate us from the rest of the nice people on the tour.

Oh unquestionably.

…We all agree as a family that this dam tunnel is awesome.

…You can also see our dam tour guide.

… Water flows through this pipe into the dam turbines at a rate of 90,000 gallons per second.

3, 4, 5

9:35:15 a.m.—Julie says my dam jokes are getting old. I say that’s not possible.

And in the midst of an attempt to fight the good fight… six

The floor is decorated with intricate tile art, which was designed to incorporate designs from the work of Navajo and Pueblo tribes.

That’s a right cool additional detail.
I do like that they took time to consider art as part of the project.
But then they knew that this was going to be as much a national monument as a utilitarian edifice.

Over on the side is a smaller brown turbine. We’re told that this turbine generates all of the power used for the dam facilities.

Se7en

10:00 a.m.—With that, the dam tour was over and we rode the dam elevator back up to the visitor center.

Ocho, nueve…

There’s a small museum inside with a few exhibits showcasing everything you already learned on the tour.

And yet you missed making this one number ten.

Here’s a slightly blurry photo of some of the blasting powder cans they used to carve away rock. Julie wanted to know why I needed a picture of this. Because explosions.

Goes without sayin’

*--Note: the baby is wearing a Wisconsin outfit. This was sent by a fellow DIS-er (FreezinRafiki) from Wisconsin, which sums up our total allegiance to the state. I’m just pointing this out to show that yes, we can be bought.**

**--Unless you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan. That ain’t happening.

Uh, ah, almost. There are a few, uh, provisos. Ah, a couple of quid pro quo.

(but I must whole heartedly agree with your instance on this provision)

I took this picture to show that yes, Hoover Dam can indeed generate enough power to send you traveling through time (flux capacitor not included):

With nearly 0.8 to spare; give or take.
Impressive!

10:26 a.m.—We’re done with the dam museum and head out to the dam observation deck.

There’s ten, with number eleven tossed in just for added enjoyment.

And here we see that baby Drew is already done with our dam pictures.

And a glorious dozen.
Not to mention one absolutely hysterical partial family portrait.

Julie nominated me to be the one who leaned over the edge to get this dam picture.

Perfect!
The thirteenth occurrence comes equipped with the hint of potential mayhem.

Maybe she really was sick of my jokes.

Ya’ think?

10:45 a.m.—We were finally ready to move on, but Scotty forced us to make one last stop on the way out at the dam gift shop.

Annnnnnd… Fourteen!
I can only imagine just exactly how many your family actually had to endure.

A note on “dry heat”. As my fellow DISDad, DisneyFed, likes to say: “So is sticking your head in an oven.”

I remember the conversation.
Fed is a master of brevity.

(which I believe is considered to be the soul of something or other but I forget just exactly what at this point in time)

We opted for the scenic route.

Always the best choice…
If you have the time.

Long-time readers know that our vacations involve peanut butter & jelly sandwiches in some of the most beautiful locations on earth.

And we envy you greatly for every one of those sandwiches savored.


Great update and a successful morning outing. The state of Lake Mead is unfortunate and does not bode well. May we all figure out how to better maintain our resources. I very much appreciate that you let us join you on these wonderful adventures… bad jokes and all.



Oh, and sorry about the juvenile count there, but it had to be done.
It was a moral imperative.