This morning we were up around 8, Vegas time to head out to the Hoover Dam. (We had a pretty early morning view out of our hotel room I thought I would share).
Then we got in the rental car and headed out to Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. It's about half an hour from our hotel, but it offered a different landscape for the boys to check out.
Asa and I made a trip out to the Hoover Dam last time we were here, but that was sans kids, so I knew I wanted them to check it out. It was a hot one out there today, but they were troopers.
Our first stop was inside anyway, to pick up our tour tickets. For whatever reason, the Dam Tour wasn't available today, so we had to settle for the Powerplant Tour instead. I had never done it before, because it warns against people with claustrophobia taking the tour, but our friend Jen told me it was pretty much just the elevator, and that I could totally do it. (And I was fine, so thanks for the pro-tip, Jen!) We watched the short movie and then boarded the elevator (which to be fair, is a tight squeeze, but nothing too terrible).
They take you all the way down so you can see the inside of the dam. We stopped first at the Penstock Veiwing, where you can see the pipes that transport a huge amount of water (I forget the number- but it's a crazy number) from Lake Mead to the hydroelectric generators.
Our tour guide, Zane did a great job explaining in the simplest terms exactly how the water travels through the dam.
The tunnels you get to walk through are the original tunnels that were built to divert the water while they built the dam. We also learned that the water the drips along the side and into the gutters is not called 'leaks' but rather 'spillage'.
We also got to go see the Nevada side of the generators and got a quick lesson on how those work.
Afterwards, they drop you off up in the museum where you can see the original concrete poured for the dam, replicas of the inside of the generators, and play some hands on games to learn about the power that comes from the dam.
Then you can take the stairs up to the observation deck to get a good view of the dam.
After that you can walk across the dam, but we were sure to stop at every drinking fountain along the way today- it was hot and super dry. Us Floridians have a hard time without the humidity.
Walking across the dam you can stick your hand out over the edge, and feel the wind coming up from it, and you can always lean over a bit to look all the way down (Peyton refused to do such things, he may love roller coasters, but he is a scaredy cat when it comes to heights.)
On the other side of the dam, you could see how low the water is- but beyond that, you also get to check out the Nevada/Arizona State Line. Walking across the bridge you can 'walk to Arizona' which the boys thought was fun.
Halfway inbetween there is a little monument to show the state line.
Of course we couldn't leave without rubbing the feet of the statues for good luck, and stopping by the gift shop.
We headed back towards our hotel around lunch time. In-N-Out was such a hit last night, everyone wanted to go there again today.
There were milkshakes and animal style fries for all. Why can't In-N-Out be in Florida? Or anywhere on the east coast?
Back at the hotel, we changed and headed down to our cabana rental that came with our room. I've never had a cabana, but it sounded fun, and it was most of the reason the boys picked this hotel over any place on the strip. It didn't disappoint. Most of the cabanas were taken by the time we got there, but we had our choice of the last three.
The cabana has a tv, radio, a fan, a couch, and comes with a fridge that has some essentials in it, and they come free with the cabana.
Plus at our hotel, there is a long skinny pool only available for the use of people in the cabanas. The boys thought the other pool looked fun, but spent most of their time in the cabana pool, because then they could come and go from our cabana, plus our pool was much less crowded than the big one.
It was only 3 and a half feet deep, but it had a lovely seat on the edge to sit and relax. (Tomorrow we'll hit the big pool before we have to check out.)
We basically spent our afternoon going between the pool and the cabana. The boys watched TV, had some drinks, and happily went back and forth.
We didn't order any food, but there were some Shirley Temples to be had.
And there was a big inflatable flamingo, among other fun inflatables in our little cabana pool.
Overall, we loved our day with the cabana. It was an amazing package that I'd be happy to have again (along with it, we get a 1pm check out tomorrow, so yay!)
Around dinner time, we headed up to the room to change and then down to the buffet for dinner, because you have to have a buffet in Vegas.
After dinner we took the boys back up to the room and got them set up with some episodes of the Office. (Fun fact: our hotel room has a doorbell and a pretty sunset view).
Then Asa and I each took $5 to go down and play penny slots. Peyton told Asa he wanted us to bet $5 for him as well, but he knows my luck, so he specifically asked Asa to do it.
Well, Peyton was wrong about my luck- because while I was down to like $1 left, I spun big and won $35! Off penny slots! Asa lost his $5 but turned Peyton's $5 into $11 before cashing out.
I've got to find something fun to spend my winnings on, because all of that off of penny slots is pretty awesome.
Next Up: One more morning in Vegas, and then we're headed to Hawaii tomorrow evening!
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