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"HOOVER DAM," Thalia said. "It's huge."
They stood at the river's edge, staring up at the concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking over it, so far over Kalani, that to her they looked more like ants.
Tiny ants, spreading in every direction and skittering over the dam. To sightsee, take photos and videos. It was weird to think the people there had their own lives. Normal, mortal lives, so vastly different in comparison to the wildly dangerous life Kalani and the other questers led. They didn't have to worry about monsters chasing after them and killing them. Just, what are they getting from the gift shop? How long are they going to stay at the dam before returning to their hotel? It was so strange.
"Seven hundred feet tall," Percy said. "Built in the 1930s."
"Five million cubic acres of water," Thalia said.
Kalani said, "An arch-gravity dam, built curved to direct the water pressure."
Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."
Zoë stared at them. "How do you know all that?"
"Annabeth," Percy said. "She liked architecture."
"She was nuts about monuments," Thalia said.
"Loved giving us whole tours whenever we came across one." Kalani blinked.
"Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffled. "So annoying."
"I wish she was here," Percy said.
The others nodded.
Zoë kept looking at them strangely.
Kalani just felt bad that they came to Hoover Dam without Annabeth. She'd always been so excited about monuments like the dam, and would've loved to continuously ramble about the history of the dam, the design behind it, and other facts nobody else cared for.
"We should go up there," Percy said. "For her sake. Just to say we've been."
"You are mad," Zoë decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."
—•—
They were walking for almost an hour before they found a path leading up to the road. It went around on the river's east side. Then they straggled back to the dam. It was freezing cold and windy on top. One side of the dam had a large lake spread out, ringed by barren desert mountains. The other side had a huge dip, going sharply down to the river, which was nearly seven hundred feet down.
Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover was sniffing the wind again, as if there might be traces of Pan in the air again— which Kalani had a feeling there wasn't. And then she realized he was probably smelling monsters.
