The Grand Canyon

One of the objectives for this trip is to see as much of America as possible. So an unwritten list of things to do developed over time. One of those things was to visit the Grand Canyon, which is of course one of the '7 wonders of the world'. You can get a bus there but it was decided that it would be even better by air, so a helicopter trip was booked.

Marguerite and Jude are joined by Ann who was the pilot for the day. Does anyone look nervous here folks? Wha? Jude reckons the auld thumbs up number is a classic sign.

One of the largest man-made structures in the world is the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River. It was built in the 1930's and called after President Herbert Hoover. It provides electricity for the surrounding states of Nevada, Arizona, Utah and California. Here's a bird's eye view of the dam, to the left of the river is the state of Nevada and to the right is the state of Arizona.

And this is Lake Mead which is a reservoir providing water for these same states. It exists because of the Hoover Dam.

Ann and her co-pilot enjoy the views as the 35 minute outward journey nears the rim of the Canyon. At this point the nerves were really jangling and the gut heaving as the helicopter went from being 1000 ft above the ground to being 5000 ft up (the Grand Canyon being 4000 ft deep). Everyone was handed sick bags because at this point folk are usually sick. Thankfully this group survived, but only just. Everyone was terrified at this point but it was without doubt one of the greatest sights imaginable.


The Colorado river meanders it's way through the Grand Canyon and adds life to the vast landscape. Check out the green around the edges of the river.

Some of the views here were just stunning and as the helicopter landed in the canyon everyone was delighted to have their feet back on solid ground.

Phew, we made it!!!!

Marguerite is becoming accustomed to this helicopter lark, but at $2 million a go I think she'll have to stick to an MX-5.

Having a picnic and champagne at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is something Jude and Marguerite never thought they would ever have the opportunity to do. Well here is Jude doing just that. 'Ehh, don't be shy there now Ann, - keep 'er up now!' Check out the super cool wee picnic hampers there campers. Wha? A sandwich, an apple, a bag of crisps and a couple of glasses of champagne was a very nice wee surprise indeed.

Some pictures speak for themselves - just like this one.......














..........and this one.

Jude was fascinated by how the edges of the river were lined with green life. He commented on this from 5000ft up and was still going on about it when in the Canyon. Melter!

Marguerite loved the peace and tranquilty of this place......

...... as did Jude.

Marguerite has this uncanny ability of wearing outfits that completely blend in with the surroundings. Wha?

While Jude doesn't!

Soon enough Ann says it time to get up in the air again and our 45 minute stay at the bottom of the Canyon nears it's end. Who hired the yeti?

When waiting in the shop before the helicopter flight out to the Canyon Jude spied Grand Canyon stones for sale. Here he decides to get his own authentic souvenier.

The 35 min trip back to the helicopter joint was beautiful. It coincided with the setting of the sun and even though it was quite cloudy it was still pretty nice. Check out the propellar there.











Ann was a great tour guide. She was in complete control at all times and for the 2 hours we were with her she kept everyone informed of all the historical and geographical facts about the region.

This pic was taken through a window on the floor of the helicopter. The window was at Jude's feet. He had some difficulty pretending to himself that it was not actually there. He wondered what nut thought it would be a good idea to stick a window in the floor of this yoke? They must have been mad. However as the trip neared it's end he got brave and lent down to capture this shot.








Marguerite and Jude got the front seats, yeee haaa!! The folks in the back were all very nice and sure why wouldn't they be? 2 were from Nottingham and 2 were from New Jersey!








Here's a bird's eye view of the helicopter landing pads as the helicopter coomes into land.


And so ended one of those great experiences that will remain in the memory forever. Today truely was one of those days.