After a quick coffee fix, we headed toward the Hoover Dam. From there, it only got worse. It was brutally hot, the desert roads were solemn and seemed to lead toward scary and unforgiving places. We went through about six levels of federal security and dozens of randomly angry tourists until finally arriving at the Dam.
Aside from the stressful circumstances, the Dam itself was kind of cool. We came across a surprisingly friendly guide who gave us the scoop on the Dam's history. Can you believe it only took 5 years to build!? The bridge pictured somehow took 2 years longer to erect. The Dam was completed in 1935, ironically under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Administration. More than half of the electricity goes to my hometown in Los Angeles with the rest going to southern Nevada and northern Arizona and none of it powers the Vegas Strip - ha!
The Dam exudes spectacular human ingenuity while the Colorado River quietly divides Nevada and Arizona. Unfortunately, there is no picture of the dam itself because that would have likely involved walking over that really high bridge or staying at the Dam longer and we had no interest in either. We were quite thrilled to be leaving NV behind and head east. The most fun part of the whole experience was saying "DDDAAAAAAMMNNN!!!" as often and loudly as possible.
