My quick tips for visiting Hoover Dam:If you are looking to save some money at Hoover Dam:
*Park at the top of the hill on the Arizona side of the dam. Parking is free there but you do have to walk a ways. To the dam is easy -- downhill -- but at the end of the day you have to walk back up.
*The main museum is fairly inexpensive, is interesting and has great interactive exhibits for kids and adults.
*Mom and I didn't take the either of the two longer tours of the power house & the guided dam tour. Both are added expenses and involve a lot of walking & and more time than we were willing to devote to this attraction.
The photo above was taken from the observation deck available with museum admission. But there are other photo opportunities along the dam that do not require any expense.
One of the things I found most interesting about the dam was the construction. If you look in the above photo you can see sections -- each of these are individually poured sections of concrete. It was poured in section and allowed to dry. Because of the inherent properties of concrete, if the dam was completely poured it would take 125 years to cure.
These are the intake towers -- they take water into the power plant to create the energy. One of the other interesting things I learned was that the Hoover Dam powers much of the western United States. It was really amazing to me how far the power was distributed.
This photo is part the monument erected across the road from the visiter center. I love the art deco!
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