Driving further into the desert when it is already 110 degrees outside is a daunting task. When we know we have already covered over 3,000 miles of distance between us and home, we sure hope that we will make it before melting. Do we have enough water in the car, just in case?
By the way, did you know that the Mc Donald's in Tusayan has a pretty nice gig being the only fast food in town that serves breakfast? Prices are 3x more than they are in a normal Chez McDo. That's the last time we pay $2 for a hash brown! What that town needs is a little competition. I suggest a Starbucks so there could be a decent cup of coffee to be had before entering the park. They would make a mint!
On our way west we could see another forest fire in the mountains near Kingman, AZ. I don't know if we have gone a day without seeing evidence of forest fires on this trip!
This was our plan...we wanted to drive along Route 66 to Oatman, AZ. It's a little ghost town that was once a mining area but now caters to tourists. They have tours of the area, a Wild West shootout and even a cowboy cookout for little cowpokes to get some grub. However, after only 2 miles on this famous byway we hit a sign indicating "ROAD CLOSED TO OATMAN". Well, that ended our little sojourn down Route 66. At least we got a photo op.
Our next stop was Hoover Dam. We decided to cross the dam via car, turn around and go back just to show the girls that we crossed the AZ/NV state line. It is still a marvel to look at and hasn't much changed since I was a kid (except for the white line around the reservoir edge to indicate a severe drop in the water table over the last twelve years and the dam parking ramp). Hoover Dam is a testimony to our country's ability to construct monolithic projects in the midst of adverse conditions (the Depression and in desert conditions).
Quite a change in the water table over time. Las Vegas is in serious trouble if this drops any further!
Driving over the dam.
No doubt!
After parking in the dam lot, we went to the dam visitor's center. However, the dam security guard wouldn't let Jennifer in due to her Swiss Army knife in her purse. So she doubled back to the dam parking lot and left it in the car. Upon returning to the dam visitor's center, Chris and the girls got dam hot dogs for lunch and ate them in the 115 degree heat. We made a stop in the dam gift shop before returning to the dam visitor's center. We decided not to take any dam tour, but instead walked through the dam exhibits. Emma had a great time taking dam pictures (see the dam model above) but Nora was getting a bit antsy. We finished by going to the dam observatory before we went back to the dam parking lot. We decided not to try hiking up to the new dam bridge to take a dam photo since it was too hot. So, on the way back to the car we got the girls dam Slurpees to try to beat the damn heat!
Only a half an hour away from Hoover Dam was our final destination! Vegas baby! However what happened in Vegas won't stay there. It will all be documented in the next post. So stay tuned...
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