We tried to pack a lot into our trip and so the evening we showed up to Hoover Dam we decided to drive across the dam and take a look around. We could have gone farther and ended up in Las Vegas but it wasn't really a priority for me to see all the gambling hotels or to drive down the strip.  Hoover Dam however was high on both of our lists of things we wanted to see. So this was our reconnaissance trip.  We parked on the Arizona side in the free section and wandered all over. The Visitor Center and the tours were closed but that was something we were going to do on Day 2. Since I couldn't reserve tickets to tour the dam, I wanted to make sure we got up early enough to get tickets for the first time slot. So I awoke before dawn and headed outside while John was still asleep. It was so beautiful to see the sun rise over Lake Mead. Someday we may do the cheap Las Vegas tickets and spend time kayaking the river and the lake around the dam.  It was beautiful to watch the valley wake up and see the colors across the sky.
After breakfast we packed up our things and drove back to the dam. The Hoover Dam Lodge is the only hotel within 10 minutes of the dam and we stayed there for a reason.  Arriving at the dam around 8:30 we waiting in line until 9 am when the Visitor Center opened.  We were number 18 and 19 in a 20 person allowed 1 hour full dam tour.  I had visited the dam before the new visitor center was opened and so I remember the tour a little differently. This time we had to go through security very similar to airport security and for good reason. This dam supplies water to growers that supply 80% of our food.  Impressive but more impressive is that it took only 2 years to complete the dam and it has a life expectancy of 2000 years.  I'm not sure how they can figure that out but they have.  It's also as wide at the bottom as it is tall and it is really tall. It was so worth the $30 a person to take the tour. We were able to see the generators, the worker tunnels and ventilation shafts, the fully tiled visitor tunnels and all the Art Deco work in the floor, the elevator and the exit room.  We learned that only once had they used the spill ways and now the lake is down 150 ft.  It's a large lake so 150 is a lot of water. They say that they let out 5 ft of water more a year then they take in so the lake is continually shrinking each year.  We need a good amount of rain in this part. Once this tour was over we decided to push on to our next destination with planned stops along the way.  We did stop in Las Vegas but only to stock up on some needed stuff for the trip such as food, drinks, a pillow and an emergency car kit.  We were about to head into the Great Basin of Nevada in a car we really didn't know.