OUT WEST ADVENTURES Hoover Dam, Las Vegas

We pack up and are ready to go by 9:00!  We're getting pretty good at this.

Our first stop is an overlook with info on how bridges were built across the highway for the big horn sheep to cross safely.  This also helped the different herds to intermingle which makes them all healthier.  

Only a short distance more to Hoover Dam.  What an engineering feat! We decide on the tour that includes a movie of the making of the dam and going down into the dam to see the turbines. 

 Here we are atop one of the huge 30-foot-diameter pipes that can transport nearly 90,000 gallons of water each second from Lake Mead to the dam's hydroelectric generators.

 After taking an elevator down 500 some feet, we walk along a tunnel that was built for the construction of the dam.

We see 8 of the 17 huge generators.  The bridge across the top are actually 2 large cranes that are used to lift the generators out of their casing for maintenance.  The tour ends with an elevator back to the top to a viewing balcony.

A walk out on to the dam is next.  Cars drove across the dam until 2010 when the arch bridge opened.  

Here you can see the water intakes.  The last several years we've been using more water than is replaced and the water level of the lake is dropping about 5 feet a year.  

We load back into the van. We haven't had lunch yet so are on the look out for something quick.  A TacoBell on our side of the road.  Good enough.  This is a first for Paula.  She admits that it is better than she thought it would be.  

We get into Vegas about 4:00 and check in to Treasure Island Resort.  We are all on the same floor.  Betsy and Roddy are right across the hall from Nick and me but Paula, Jorge and Myra are about as far away as possible and still be on the same floor.  What a change from the nature that we've been immersed in for the last 10 days! Nick returns the van to the airport rental place.  When he gets back, we check to see if we can get any last minute tickets for one of the shows we want to see.  Ah! Success!  Half price tickets for Cirque du Soleil's  Mystere and it is at Treasure Island! We can make it!  The only problem is that there are only 6 tickets and there are 7 of us.  Jorge decides he will stay in the room and do some relaxing yoga.  As one would expect, a wonderful, entertaining show.  

After the show, we got some take-out pizza, brought it back to our room and enjoyed it with some beer and salad that we brought with us in the cooler.