We went to see the Hoover Dam.  It was our first "excursion" in Las Vegas.  We took a bus tour that took us to the:

   
           Hoover Dam - initially           The Cactus Gardens...            And Boulder City - the home of
         named Boulder Dam.                                                           the workers who built the dam.

Now, here is where I make alot of cheesy "dam" jokes... What did you expect?

How do you get to the Hoover Dam?  You go out the Dam road, make a Dam left...
(Ok..I don't take responsibility for that one..it is the tour guide's doing)

While we were trying to take a picture of the Hoover Dam, I made a completely innocent comment like.."We can't fit the whole dam in the picture.  It's too DAM big!" Ha! *slaps her knee*

<Insert your favorite Dam joke here>

Now, I enlighten all of you about some of the history I learned about the Hoover Dam:

Why did they build the Hoover Dam in the first place?
Well, the Colorado River flows on a 1,400 mile path from the Colorado's Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of California.  In the 1800s and early 1900s, the river would often flood low-lying communities and farmlands when it surged with the water from melting snow.  It was decided that the river needed to be controlled so that there would be a steady supply of water from the river all year round.

When did they start building the Hoover Dam?
Construction began in 1931, and the last bit of concrete was poured in 1935.  Amazingly enough, this GOVERNMENT project was completed two years ahead of schedule and under budget!

Where is the Hoover Dam?
It was built in the Black Canyon, near Las Vegas, Nevada.  It holds back a man-made reservoir - Lake Mead.  The reservoir can hold 28.5 million acre-feet (or 9.2 trillion gallons) of water.  This translates to almost two years of the average flow of the Colorado River.

How did the Hoover Dam get its name?
It is named for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States.  It was named the Boulder Dam initially, but the name was officially changed to the Hoover Dam in 1947.

Where did you get all of this nifty information?
From a pamphlet I grabbed on my way back to the tour bus.  This information was provided by the:

What about the pictures?
Here you go...

   
Our first view of Lake   Another view of Lake Mead.  Isn't it                                Me standing on Hoover Dam.
Mead.                                amazing?                                                                               Lake Mead is behind me.
 
 

    
The Hoover Dam!  Its pretty dam big,              A view from the top           A view of the bottom          The turbines
isn't it? ;)                                                             of the Dam.                         of the Dam- looking           Dam - used to generate
                                                                                                                            away from it.                        lots of electricity!

   
Me standing next to a               Another large cactus formation.  I don't think there                           M&M world!  They make
large cactus - holding              any connection between the cactus and the                                            you feel like a murderer
a bag of chocolate.                    chocolate factory...?                                                                                   if you eat M&Ms!
Mmm