Hoover Dam

Jeff and Tiffinie came over to pick us up for our trip to Hoover Dam. We chatted a while and gave Tiffinie the grand tour of Venture. Then we headed out for the dam, with Jeff driving his Durango. We had to wait in line maybe half an hour to get through the security checkpoint, which wasn't bad.

Here's a photo of the nearly complete Hoover Dam bypass bridge, which should make traffic flow much easier when it opens, as it is scheduled to do this October.

We took the Powerplant Tour, which includes an introductory movie, elevator ride down into one of the construction tunnels, where you can stand over one of the massive penstocks (pipes) through which the river is diverted, and then a trip to a balcony overlooking the eight turbines on the Nevada side of the river, and admission to the exhibit center. We took this same tour in February 2008 on our first trip through this area, but we learned a lot this time too. I was surprised to hear from our guide that the main purpose of the dam is to provide water for agriculture and people in seven western states and Mexico. The power generation is a bonus, and a very valuable one, and of course flood control is an essential function.

The sheer size of the concrete wall of the dam is impressive.

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, one of Jeff's favorite places because he really likes several of their signature sauces. We enjoyed the Spicy Garlic and the Southwestern. During the trip and lunch we learned more about Tiffinie. In addition to having a degree in psychology, she is also an esthetician who had her own business and a bartender. She enjoys both of these fields part time, but is looking for a focus for her masters program.

Ken installed the new door handle on our bathroom door--except that, oops, the package did not contain the one piece we really needed, so we'll have to call Peterson tomorrow. Never a dull moment.