Hoover Dam, Mamma Mia!

Our choice for Sunday morning was a tour of Hoover Dam, an engineering masterpiece that all four of us were interested in seeing. After only about a 35 minute drive from our hotel, we arrived at this truly impressive structure. Constructed over a 5 year period from 1931 to 1935, the dam is 726 ft high, 1244 ft long, 660 ft thick at the base and 45 ft thick at the top. A two lane highway with sidewalks on either side enables cars and people to traverse the top. 4.36 million cubic yards of concrete were used during its construction and, had the concrete simply been continuously poured, it would have taken 125 years to cure, obviously an unacceptable situation. To enable faster curing, the concrete was poured in interlocking 5 foot blocks. The forms for the blocks contained cooling coils that were hooked up to what was at the time the world’s largest refrigeration plant. This enabled the concrete to cure at a much faster rate. Amazingly, even today, the concrete continues to cure. The total cost for Hoover Dam was $49 million which, adjusted for inflation, amounts to $676 million in today’s dollars. Although the primary purpose of the dam was to control flooding on the Colorado River, a power plant was also built as a means of paying for the dam. Today, its 17 huge generators produce up to 2.08 gigawatts of power annually. The profits derived from the power have paid off the cost of the dam and continue to pay for all of its maintenance.

After purchasing tickets for a tour of the power station, we were escorted (much like the Japanese are escorted into a bullet train!) into an elevator capable of holding 40 people for the 560 foot 70 second journey down to the power station. The power station actually has two sides, one in Nevada where we were, and one in Arizona. For some reason, the Arizona side has 9 generators and the Nevada side 8. No one seems to know why. At one point on the tour we were standing in a room built over top of one of the main penstocks. The whole room was vibrating from the force of the water. All of the water from the Colorado River passes through the penstocks reaching a speed of 85 miles an hour by the time it reaches the generators. And yet, with all of that going on, it is still possible to talk in a normal voice while standing in a huge room with 8 huge generators rotating almost silently. An awe inspiring experience! Afterward, we all walked across the dam and the magnitude of the accomplishments of all those workers who had none of today’s construction technologies, really struck us.























On the way out to the dam, Patricia was working the LV ticket agents via cell phone to see what shows were available for the evening. We had hoped to see one of the Cirque de Soleil programs but all were sold out until Tuesday. However, Patricia did score 4 tickets to see Mamma Mia! at Mandalay Bay. And what a show it was. The theatre at Mandalay Bay is a 1,600 seat showroom with one of the best sound systems we’ve ever experienced. The show, as you probably know, is a musical built around the songs of Abba. All the old favourites are included in the production but many of the arrangements are interesting and new. It was a terrific show with a very talented cast and a very energetic audience. It’s one of those shows that have you smiling from the first beat and still smiling when you exit. A great evening, a great finish to a very full day and, at 60 bucks, one of the best entertainment values we’ve had in a long time.