Grand Canyon ...

The suburbs of Las Vegas

When C invited me along on his work trip to Las Vegas, my first thought was to do a day trip out to the Grand Canyon.  After much research into the various tours on offer, I decided upon an 8 hour tour with Maverick Helicopters on their 'Canyon Dream' tour, which consisted of a flight to the Canyon's South Rim, followed by a helicopter ride into the Canyon and then a short drive into the Grand Canyon National Park where some time was allowed for exploration.  As I've often mentioned, I'm not a 'follow-the-flag' kind of person, but with limited time available, this proved to be the best option.  It's hard to describe just how mighty and magnificent the Grand Canyon is ... 365 kilometres long, maximum width of 29 kilometres and an average depth of 1.6 kilometres ... it's kind of hard to take it all in.  As was to be expected, the views from the plane and helicopter were spectacular, but it was the walking along the rim and down into the Canyon that was even more awe-inspiring.  We had an hour to explore inside the national park and I used this time to head down the Bright Angel trail towards the bottom of the Canyon.  It was here that I began to formulate a plan (to add to my 'places to go' list) to return and hike in the Grand Canyon.  Enjoy these pictures (and forgive my indulgence in sharing so many ... I had a lot of fun experimenting with my new camera!)

Views from the plane ride ... 

Views from the 30 minute helicopter ride ... 

Just to prove that I was actually at the Grand Canyon!

Views from a walk along the South Rim, near Bright Angel Lodge ... 

Bright Angel trail ... 5 hour walk to the bottom of the Canyon

Watch out for the mules!

Mules heading back to the ranch after a 2 day trip to the bottom of the Canyon