Vacation: Dam Bridge

This was taken through the window of our van.  No, there is not really a giant water bottle in the sky...

Near the end of our trip, we ventured to Nevada to spend time with my parents.  We had a great time and wondered why on earth we let 9 years pass since our last trip to the Silver State!  I guess my parents have always made it so easy on us by driving to Utah each time we head west.  This trip was no exception - my parents were in Utah the first weekend of our vacation, but we hardly got to spend time with them and we figured it was high time we headed to their little corner of the world for a change!  We are so glad we did!

One morning, before it got too terribly hot out, my dad took us to the Hoover Dam to walk across the new Memorial Bridge.  Completed in 2010 after 5 years of construction, it cuts a full 30 minutes off the drive to Arizona and is an impressive structure.  We walked halfway across - just past the Arizona state line - and admired the view of the dam before heading back. 

One foot in Nevada, one foot in Arizona

My dad and Jeff

The Hoover Dam as seen from the Memorial Bridge

The Nevada end of the bridge

I'm throwing this last photo in for my kids (left).  This is one of two angel statues that are mentioned in one of the Percy Jackson books.  The boys almost jumped out of their seats when they saw them.  From their reading, my kids learned that people rub the angels' feet for good luck.  Sure enough, the feet were much shinier than the rest of the statue.  Unfortunately, they are not located in a good stopping place so we had to be content with a picture through the window.  Fortunately, we didn't need the angels' good luck.  Our great days just kept on coming!