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Published: August 15th 2012
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We left Las Vegas on Friday and headed to our next destination; a little town called Tusayan, the function of which seems almost exclusively to be to hold tourists who are visiting the Grand Canyon. The drive through Nevada and Arizona was pretty cool, and was made even better by our stop at the Hoover Dam. The Dam itself is on the border of both states, and was built between 1931-5, during the Great Depression, when plenty of men were willing to up and move in order to find work to support themselves and their families. Even just the hour which we spent leisurely walking around the dam was made pretty uncomfortable due to the intense heat, so how anybody managed to survive the building of it is amazing to me. There's a memorial to commemorate those who didn't make it, as well as some pretty funky winged statues and, of course, a good old American flag.
The rest of the journey to Tusayan was reasonably uneventful, although the Sat-Nav we're using seems determined to get us lost. (Out of curiosity, has a horror movie been made yet about a possessed Sat-Nav that's hell-bent on killing it's owners by getting
them lost and stranded in the middle of nowhere? If not then I think this needs to happen. They could borrow the Sat-Nav that we've got). I should also mention that, on one of the stops we made to fill up the car, we had a little explore of the gas station shop. I thought that the junk food selection that we have in our shops back home was pretty extensive but we've got nothing on the USA. Seriously, the amount of cakes and chocolate bars and ice cream they've got going on. Also, I knew that peanut butter was a pretty big deal out here, and that's definately a good thing. But sweet jesus. There is peanut butter in EVERYTHING. Peanut butter cakes, cereal bars, chocolate bars. Winning. Anyway, carrying on with our story so far... Tusayan itself is basically just a collections of hotels, shops and restaurants, but it served as the perfect base for exploring the Grand Canyon, as it's located just 15-20 minutes away from the South Rim.
We had two full days to explore, so naturally we have an overabundance of photographs. As is always the case, however, the photos cannot do it justice.
Dad at the Grand Canyon
Taking in the awesome views Honestly, I'd expected the Canyon to be so unfathomably huge that it would feel somewhat impersonal, or, at the least, incomprehensible to us wee creatures. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that, with the variety of trails and overlooks from which to view it, you could actually appreciate its size and grandour.
The first time it came into view, on our first visit on Saturday morning, I have to admit that I was totally stunned. We spent this visit doing one of the easier walks around the South Rim up to the geology museum, which had the low-down on the various rocks that we were seeing. On Saturday evening we went on a longer walk around a different section and were once again blown away by the views. On the second day we woke up at stupid o'clock to go and see the sunrise over the canyon. The early morning was well worth it. Watching the sun rays gradually light up the canyon was just incredible.
In the afternoon we went on a helicopter ride which first of all flew over the Kaibab forest, which eventually drops away to reveal the canyon. The weather conditions were great:
first we flew through beaming sunshine, then choppy wind, and then heavy raid. The changing conditions meant that the colours of the canyon varied as the flight went on. The ride was just under an hour so it included not only the Painted Desert (which, in its entirety, measures about 7,500 square miles, though of course we didn't see all of it!), but also views of both the North and South Rim of the canyon, and many of the places in between, including the Colorado River. One other relatively important detail regarding the flight which I feel I ought to share is that it has prompted me to change my life plan slightly. New plan: become a helicopter pilot. The guy who was flying ours has been flying for 5 years, and he's only 25! That means I've lost 3 good years already, so I'd better get on that right away once I get home! The company we went with were called Maverick and I'd definately recommend them to anyone considering going on a helicopter ride here. That evening we went for a final walk across the Rim, again taking in other viewpoints. We also found a trail which went
Me and the Helicopter...
...which I need to learn to fly quite far down into the canyon, so that was a lot of fun.
I could probably go on for a lot longer about the Grand Canyon but I don't think my vocabulary is wide enough to paint a fair picture of it. Hopefully the photos I've put on here can illustrate to some extent the dramatic beauty of the beast which is the Grand Canyon. I think that the only other thing which I want to share with you all is that my dad seems to have set a challenge up for himself to spill as many different liquids and food stuffs over his t-shirts as is humanly possible. I think nearly every time we've gone out for food he's ended up taking some of it back with him on his clothes. At one point he actually surpassed himself by sitting in the only chair in the vicinity which was covered in water. Skills!
Well, that is all for now. Hasta luego!
Laura P
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Dad
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Not my fault.....!
I just can't help dribbling food and drink down my T-shirts ..... every time I think about the views across the Grand Canyon my mouth drops open again..... ;-)