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| - I feel a little jerky giving a historic site/structure less than 5 stars but, although the history of the dam is fairly awesome, and the location itself is pretty damn cool, I wasn't as awed by the thing itself as other wonders of the world out there.
Is it worth visiting? You bet. But only once.
Should you take a tour? Yes, definitely. I took the longer tour because I figured this was my one and only (lifetime) visit. I learned a lot and saw some cool stuff on the tour and would recommend it. The guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and open to questions. They probably give 7 tours a day every day of their lives so they know everything there is to know.
Tip: Get there early, as in, when they open. Parking will be a breeze and you will avoid the traffic in and out. We went on a Monday morning (which, I assume, is probably the least popular of all days and times) and when we left, parking was a mess and there was a ton of traffic heading toward the dam. This is a tip you want to follow.
Also, set aside a little time after the tour to walk around on top of the dam. There are some very cool monuments and lots of picture taking opportunities.
Finally, I give negative 10 stars for the truly crappy gift shop. There are a few things for sale which actually have to do with the dam (book, DVD, whatever) and about 500 pieces of junk which look like the stuff you might find in almost any dumpy gift shop in Las Vegas. Maybe I'm a snob (well, ok, I AM a snob) but at historical places, I expect the gift shop to be somewhat classy and sell stuff actually related to the site itself. This tacky shop really was a dam downer. But you should still see the dam at least once in your life.
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