Week of November 19, 2023 | Week 5 Map
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Sunday Night
Well, if you guessed the Hoover Dam - you are correct! Louie's clue meant the Hoover Dam. We are staying at a hotel right outside of downtown Las Vegas. We just arrived tonight. The Hoover Dam is very closeby to Las Vegas. Holy Idaho! I am so excited to get out and explore in the morning!
It is amazing! Even though it is 10pm and dark outside - the city is all lit up. Las Vegas is the most populated city in Nevada. Las Vegas is known all around the world as a top tourist attraction offering casinos, wonderful entertainment, and family vacation fun. It is actually located in a desert - the Mohave Desert. Such a busy city right in the middle of a desert! Geo didn't understand how a big city could be built in the middle of a desert. I explained to him, it was all thanks to the Hoover Dam (see my picture of the Hoover Dam below). A dam is basically a wall that is built to hold back the water of a creek, stream, or river. The Hoover Dam holds back the Colorado River. A dam may also be used to generate hydroelectric power, for flood control, to provide a water supply to towns and cities, and even to create recreational areas or habitats for wildlife. The Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression (1931-1935) when people were desperate for work and were willing to travel to the canyon near Las Vegas to earn money for their families. These brave people faced extreme heat, choking dust, and dangerous heights - all so that electricity and water could be brought to millions of people across the southwest. Why do you think having a dam would make a city grow in the middle of a desert? I wonder if the Hoover Dam helped to create our great home city of Phoenix, too?
Louie is speaking at another energy conference here tomorrow. He surely does make a lot of speeches. This speech is virtual, so he had to come to the conference center - but people are viewing the speech all across the world. There are no "in-person" attendees. I feel like we have been playing a big game of cat and mouse! Or shall I say "Cat and Louie," constantly missing Louie at each stop along the way. We did leave him a voicemail on his cell today (he didn't answer - as usual). Geo said:
Hello Louie, this is Geo. My sister and I have been trying to get in contact with you. We mean you no harm. Is there any way that we can meet up tomorrow after your speech at the conference center? We will plan to be there at 4pm. Please consider meeting us. Thank you
It is amazing! Even though it is 10pm and dark outside - the city is all lit up. Las Vegas is the most populated city in Nevada. Las Vegas is known all around the world as a top tourist attraction offering casinos, wonderful entertainment, and family vacation fun. It is actually located in a desert - the Mohave Desert. Such a busy city right in the middle of a desert! Geo didn't understand how a big city could be built in the middle of a desert. I explained to him, it was all thanks to the Hoover Dam (see my picture of the Hoover Dam below). A dam is basically a wall that is built to hold back the water of a creek, stream, or river. The Hoover Dam holds back the Colorado River. A dam may also be used to generate hydroelectric power, for flood control, to provide a water supply to towns and cities, and even to create recreational areas or habitats for wildlife. The Hoover Dam was built during the Great Depression (1931-1935) when people were desperate for work and were willing to travel to the canyon near Las Vegas to earn money for their families. These brave people faced extreme heat, choking dust, and dangerous heights - all so that electricity and water could be brought to millions of people across the southwest. Why do you think having a dam would make a city grow in the middle of a desert? I wonder if the Hoover Dam helped to create our great home city of Phoenix, too?
Louie is speaking at another energy conference here tomorrow. He surely does make a lot of speeches. This speech is virtual, so he had to come to the conference center - but people are viewing the speech all across the world. There are no "in-person" attendees. I feel like we have been playing a big game of cat and mouse! Or shall I say "Cat and Louie," constantly missing Louie at each stop along the way. We did leave him a voicemail on his cell today (he didn't answer - as usual). Geo said:
Hello Louie, this is Geo. My sister and I have been trying to get in contact with you. We mean you no harm. Is there any way that we can meet up tomorrow after your speech at the conference center? We will plan to be there at 4pm. Please consider meeting us. Thank you
- Meri
Downtown Las Vegas
Vegas in the dark
Welcome to Las Vegas
Map of Nevada
Check out this map of Las Vegas. What state is Las Vegas in? What states border Las Vegas? Can you tell that Las Vegas is located in a desert? If so, how?
Monday
Did you ever hear that saying that "nice guys finish last?" Well, today was one of those days. Meri and I explored Las Vegas and even visited the Hoover Dam today (see our pictures). The Hoover Dam was nothing like I had expected. We learned so many interesting facts about the dam. The dam itself is 200 feet taller than the Washington Monument (in DC, where we were recently). There are tons of concrete in the Hoover Dam (4.5 million cubic yards, to be exact). That is enough to build a two lane road from Miami, Florida all the way up to Seattle, Washington. Or enough cement to build a 4-foot sidewalk around the entire Earth at the equator. Do you know what the equator is? Take a look at the map, can you find Miami, Florida and Seattle, Washington? Can you use the map scale to tell how many miles apart they are? Is Miami in the northern or southern part of the USA? How about Seattle: northern or southern? Remember the northern part would be the top half, while the southern part is the bottom half. What cardinal direction would you travel going from Miami to Seattle?
I just got an email from Pandora.
Hey Geo, can u give me more info about the equator. Where is it? What is it?
Pandora,
The equator is an imaginary line that goes around the entire Earth, kind of like its waistband. It is located at 0-degrees latitude. Countries that are right around the equator have tropical climates. The equator helps mapmakers and map users to know the exact coordinates (longitude and latitude) of various locations. We will talk more about all of those terms in another post. HTH. Geo
Now, back to our day. While we were downtown, we met a woman with a lot of children. I think there were six kids, but there were so many I lost count!! They were all under 5 or so and moving fast. We walked by the lady on our way to the convention center. We felt so badly for her: she was trying to put money into a meter on the street outside of the convention center. Every time she turned to the meter, a kid ran into the street or hit another kid or something. She seemed VERY frazzled. Meri and I knew we were on a tight schedule, but we couldn't just walk by. So we offered to help her. We asked if we could help with her children while she put her coins into the parking meter. She was THRILLED to have the help. It is funny how such a small act of kindness can mean so much sometimes. We played and sang with the kids while their mom paid the parking meter. She wanted to thank us but only had one thing to give us - a state quarter. She insisted that we take it. I hope it is a state that I don't already have in my collection back home in Phoenix. We shall see when we return.
We were about 30 minutes late arriving at the convention center. Remember what I said about "nice guys finishing last?" Well, we missed Louie. He was GONE by the time we arrived. He did send us a clue to his next stop. (We included his text message below). Boy, does this guy travel a lot. Hopefully, we can catch up with him in the next location. I wish he would have met up with us later tonight. It is almost as if he doesn't WANT us to catch him. Here is the text from Louie:
Sorry I missed U2. Big cty w big bell, E USA
Where could he be? It is a city on the eastern side of the US with a bell. I think we are going to have to call GT and get his help on this one. Can you all take a guess as to what major Eastern city has a bell? The bell must be famous or something. I am thinking about Eastern cities that are big, which one do you think we should try? Do any of these have a famous bell?
I just got an email from Pandora.
Hey Geo, can u give me more info about the equator. Where is it? What is it?
Pandora,
The equator is an imaginary line that goes around the entire Earth, kind of like its waistband. It is located at 0-degrees latitude. Countries that are right around the equator have tropical climates. The equator helps mapmakers and map users to know the exact coordinates (longitude and latitude) of various locations. We will talk more about all of those terms in another post. HTH. Geo
Now, back to our day. While we were downtown, we met a woman with a lot of children. I think there were six kids, but there were so many I lost count!! They were all under 5 or so and moving fast. We walked by the lady on our way to the convention center. We felt so badly for her: she was trying to put money into a meter on the street outside of the convention center. Every time she turned to the meter, a kid ran into the street or hit another kid or something. She seemed VERY frazzled. Meri and I knew we were on a tight schedule, but we couldn't just walk by. So we offered to help her. We asked if we could help with her children while she put her coins into the parking meter. She was THRILLED to have the help. It is funny how such a small act of kindness can mean so much sometimes. We played and sang with the kids while their mom paid the parking meter. She wanted to thank us but only had one thing to give us - a state quarter. She insisted that we take it. I hope it is a state that I don't already have in my collection back home in Phoenix. We shall see when we return.
We were about 30 minutes late arriving at the convention center. Remember what I said about "nice guys finishing last?" Well, we missed Louie. He was GONE by the time we arrived. He did send us a clue to his next stop. (We included his text message below). Boy, does this guy travel a lot. Hopefully, we can catch up with him in the next location. I wish he would have met up with us later tonight. It is almost as if he doesn't WANT us to catch him. Here is the text from Louie:
Sorry I missed U2. Big cty w big bell, E USA
Where could he be? It is a city on the eastern side of the US with a bell. I think we are going to have to call GT and get his help on this one. Can you all take a guess as to what major Eastern city has a bell? The bell must be famous or something. I am thinking about Eastern cities that are big, which one do you think we should try? Do any of these have a famous bell?
- Geo
Hoover Dam
Another shot of the Hoover Dam
Another great shot of the Hoover Dam - Amazing!
US Map
Take a look at the map, can you find Miami, Florida and Seattle, Washington? Can you use the map scale to tell how many miles apart they are? Is Miami in the northern or southern part of the USA? How about Seattle: northern or southern? What cardinal direction would you travel going from Miami to Seattle?
Vote Here:
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