December 23rd

The next morning we got up and had some breakfast.  We then found a grocery store to grab items that we would be able to use for sorta lunch for the week.  We didn't have a fridge and lots of times would be packing it with us on the strip.  We grabbed oranges, crackers, pretzels, water, and a few treats.  Then off to Hoover Dam. Dave always studies maps before we go places.  He had everything down.  We never got lost, and had short cut and back roads to lots of places we went.  Just like his dad always did :).  Hoover Dam was so neat.

Amazing how massive it all is.  It is almost a box.  Something like 650 feet wide and 705 feet tall. 

You can't really tell in this picture, but the water level is so low.  There was a white line on all the rock where you could tell the level had been years ago.  Whole islands uncovered.

Blake and Dave are in Nevada and Cora and Leah are in Arizona.  There was a tower on each side with a clock displaying the time.  Leah had grand fun jumping back and forth, declaring she was a time traveler. 

We wanted the kids to go on a tour of Hoover Dam.  Natalie had been a couple of months ago and warned me that there was a sign saying if you are claustrophobic not to go.  I had brought a book with me to sit in the glorious warm sun as they went down.  We had a two hour wait to take the grand tour, but only a few minutes for the Power Plant Tour. So that is the one we chose. Dave thought if I looked right at him in the elevator I would be okay.  We decided to chance it.  The elevator I did survive, barely.  Then got out and saw this big long tunnel.  I'm not sure what was said for most of it.  I was just concentrating on breathing.  Dave and the kids loved it.  At one point we went into see the turbines.  So massive!  Our tour guide said guess what is behind that wall behind you.  Here I panicked a little, kept whispering, 'don't say water, don't say water.'  Of course it was water.  Leah grabbed my arm and made sure I was OK.  It was onlya  1/2 hour tour.  Good thing, I am not sure I would have made it much longer.  It was neat to see though and I am glad I went.  It was really cool to see how they cured up the cement and how it was built.  Too bad they could not have done the bigger tour, Dave really wanted to, he loves that kind of stuff.

When we were done we headed to the Discovery Children's Museum.  This was a little different then I had thought.  When we arrived we found out it was a little more costly and geared to 2-12 year olds. And they where closing in and hour and a half until after Christmas.  Leah really wanted to go.  So we did. We had so much fun.  Water area was first.  We built dams and power plants.  Shot balls onto the roof with water pressure and played with lot of other stuff.  It was 5 floors tall.  We did not even get to the top floor.  One floor was wind.  Involved planes and pipe organs.  We made paper airplanes and put them in a few different tunnels with different 'wind pressure' to see how it would be effected.  We had a blast with that one.  As we were making planes and putting them in, we would quickly grab it from the top and stick it back in, one lady behind me leaned over to her husband and said, "That family is very easily entertained."  It totally made me laugh.  I can't even remember or describe everything they had.  Very glad we went.

Next we went to Freemont Street.  It was close by.

Biggest TV screen in the world.  After dinner at Tony Roma's it was darkand  the whole screen was a Christmas show with music.  Cool.

We finally found a Christmas tree!!

All down Freemont Street, which is pretty big, was a zip line.We would have really like to have the kids go on it, but we had already spent enough money for the day.  They flew right over the top of us.  Another day done.  We got back to late for a swim and went to bed.