We survided the night! Our RV withstood the elements with honor, and after keeping the heat on low and heating up the holding tanks, the water runs in the pipes this morning. Nothing can stop your valiant and intrepid adventurers now! Everything today has clicked like clockwork. We have been wanting to take a helicopter or plane tour of the Grand Canyon for a long time, so we leave the campground early with the Vespa to get to the Grand Canyon Airport and enquire. Without advance reservation, we are not sure we can do it. Instead, there is availability on the 10:00am flight, for a 45-50 minute tour by airplane above the canyon. And we both get window seats! Petr is videotaping the whole thing, I am in charge of the photos. It's a breathtaking experience, and definitely worth the money. Since we cannot view the canyon from the bottom (many services are closed already, and a mule ride is out of question, Petr would touch the ground with his long legs and help the mule walk!), we might as well see it well from the top. The forest is thick and flat, immense and criss-crossed by dirt roads that lead to the edge of the canyon. I bet these are mountain bike trails. Note taken. We get a better look at the Colorado river, and we even see some of the rapids that make it so famous. Some are rated X, or most difficult, on a scale I to X. Many rafting tours are available during the summer. We return to the campground to unload our gear and continue the tour along the rim towards the east side. We hit the major overlooks at Mather Point (and the new Visitor Center), and Grand View, where we timidly walk the start of a steep 8-mile hike to the bottom of the canyon. A solo hiker from Vermont is emerging from it, after having spent the night somewhere out there.
The new IMAX theater in the town of Tusayan is showing a special 35-minute feature of the Grand Canyon. After detecting a hotspot in town to check our mail, we catch the 3:30pm show. It's very well done, and well worth the time. We don't buy the DVD simply because it wouldn't give you the same impression on a smaller TV screen. Back to camp, it's close to sunset, I have work to do and I am planning to get up early to watch the sunrise for a change. |
The small airplane we flew in. |
The profile of our plane just after takeoff. |
The town of Tusayan from above. |
Ponderosa pines, ad infinitum. |
More pines and the start of the canyon. |
The pictures taken from the plane are not perfect, but they give the idea. |
The canyon, as it still is being carved by the Colorado river, 1 foot deeper every 100 years. |
The river which caused all this. |
Another view. |
I liked the lines of different colored rocks, from above they look like sand dunes. |
Another panorama. |
Flying over the north rim. |
A closer look at some of the rapids. |
Some people are really wacky. This parked RV is pulling a house boat! Just when I thought I had seen it all... |
View from Mather Point. |
More view from Mather Point. |
View from Grand View. |
It's supposedly the best spot to catch the sunrise. |
Panorama. |
More panorama. |
Your adventurous couple. |
Laura sitting on a rock ledge, with feet suspended in the air. |
The view down below. |
Laura still putting her luck to the test. |
Distant view. |
Close-up view. |