May 17th - Hoover Dam and Lake Mead

Today we spent our time travelling to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory. I have to say that even though we went to a chocolate factory I was still more impressed with Hoover Dam. I have to say that I am amazed how the Hoover Dam was accomplished in the 1930s with no help from computers. Lake Mead is the largest man-made lake in the US and Park Rangers strive to take care of the lake and it's animal inhabitants. We visited the ranger station and watched a video on how hard it is to undo the damage that cars, boats and atvs and inflict on the areas around Lake Mead, due to the only four inches of rain that the area receives each year. Tire tracks can last for months or even years, so remember to stick to the paved surfaces if visiting Lake Mead. We also took a boat cruise of Lake Mead, which let us get very close to the actual top of Hoover Dam from the higher of the two sides. We did notice the new bypass bridge that is being built to replace the road that currently runs across the Hoover Dam today, yes it is still under construction with no guaranteed finish date. The Ethel M. Chocolate Factory was very interesting, because this factory was started by the same man that founded the Mars Chocolate Company, which makes M&Ms. Don't worry we bought a sampler of their chocolate bars... I will post our findings later.

Things we learned today:
* Hoover Dam has a great "Dam Hot Dog" (see picture below)
* The Hoover Dam was constructed 2 years early and under budget (Only in history so far)
* There are people who can't take your picture correctly. Beware to ask for references when asking someone to take a picture of you and your wife. One lady today took our picture twice and managed to cut half of one of our bodies in each of the photos.
* Boulder City, NV is the only city in Nevada that has outlawed gambling.
* Hoover Dam is also known as Boulder Dam.
* There are no bodies buried inside of the Hoover Dam (Contrary to popular belief)

Today's Best Photos: