Hoover Dam Sunset Tour with BBQ Dinner

This is the evening version of Annie Bananie's small-group Hoover Dam run, and the order is the point: dinner first, dam at sunset. The 14-passenger van leaves Treasure Island at 6 PM daily from the benches along Mystère Dreams Avenue, heads downtown for a barbecue plate at Rick's Rollin Smoke, the tavern next to the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop of Pawn Stars fame, then drives out to Boulder City. The plate is St. Louis ribs, a chopped brisket slider, smoked mac and cheese and pickles with one well shot, domestic beer or soft drink; vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free plates can be requested. After dinner the route stops at Hemenway Park, where desert bighorn sheep often graze the lawns, the Lake Mead overlook, a guided walk across the top of Hoover Dam, and the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, which stands about 900 feet above the Colorado River with the dam lit below.

The whole thing takes about four hours and costs $99 a head, the same price the operator lists itself. The operator recommends ages 5 and up and allows no lap children, walking is light to moderate, and large backpacks, luggage and coolers are banned because the dam's security checkpoint will not pass them. The tour runs only when a minimum number of guests have booked.

What you give up for the evening slot is the inside of the dam: there is no power plant or visitor center on this itinerary, and in winter the 6 PM departure means you arrive after dark, so the sunset in the name is a spring-to-fall feature. In July and August, when the daytime dam is a 105-degree walk, the evening timing is the better deal. The sister daytime tour with BBQ lunch follows the same stops in daylight.