Stop 12 Part 2 - The Grand Canyon by air

For our last day in Vegas we had booked a helicopter flight over the desert and mountains and into the Grand Canyon. We'd seen it from the rim at Williams so now we wanted to see it from the bottom as we landed close to the Colorado river. Our whole day was spent in anticipation of this as we lolled on the beach (inside the hotel) and splashed about in the simulated sea complete with wave machines etc.

At 4.30pm we were picked up by our Serenity limousine and driven to the airport to pick up our flight. Serenity is an excellent company and I recommend them. I paid exactly £1,000 for this trip which at £250 per person is not extortionate and the service from them was good.  We were welcomed at the airport with drinks and snacks on the house (I had 2 bottles of Bud to calm the nerves and Pand had two mini bottles of wine to try and dampen the visible enthusiasm!), given a good video explanation of the rules and procedures and then loaded up very carefully into the waiting, blade-spinning helicopter. Then up we went. That in itself was quite a feeling.

 

 Once up there we flew over the sights we had hitherto only seen from the ground and it was as magnificent as one might have expected. We travelled first over the Hoover Dam. We flew low over this amazing structure so we could get a good appreciation of its size. The two statistics that I recall were that it is as thick with cement as it is tall (in order to hold back the volume of water that it needs to) and that its cement content was sufficient to lay a freeway all the way from New York to LA. In fact the cement was still drying and regular probes were made to check the wetness of the cement at the centre. This Dam was opened in 1936 so that in itself gives an idea of the size of the thing!

I took so many photos of it and of the view generally that I could take up the whole of my Blog allowance just posting them on here - so a few representative offerings is all I'm restricting myself to for now. The views came thick and fast.  We even flew over the very spot where Thelma and Louise had jumped off into the Canyon. Brilliant stuff!

And then we landed - in it.

 The boys of course loved the whole helicopter experience and since Cory actually flies them on his Flight Simulator on the computer he even managed to converse in "pilot speak" with our man. It lost me but he seemed to know what the dials were about!

We stayed at the bottom of the Canyon for long enough to drink a mini bottle of Champagne each and to eat the packed snack that came with it - then up went again and enjoyed an amazing drive between the walls of the Canyon itself. Yet more pictures of course.

When we returned to the airport we were offered (and duly received) yet more drinks before being chauffered back to our hotel. All in all from pick up to drop off the whole thing lasted 4 hours. We were back at the Mandalay by 8.30 pm.

Pand was on a high. There was no way she was going to bed yet. First thing was she had to try and win the $1,000,000 jackpot on the MegaBucks slot machine. So as Cory, Sean and I sat at the sides (remember children are not allowed near the gaming area) Pand went off to change our lives. Anyway minus $40 later we gave up on that idea. But there was still a hit needed! Where else but back to the House of Blues for more rock music. Off we went. I had the usual (lager) but Pand was on the "Electric Lemonade" whatever that is. She liked it though and down they were going! We knew we had to get an early start the next day as our last day's journey was going to be our longest - over 400 miles - so a late night was not really what was called for as Cory consistently reminded his mother. He really does have a very old head on those young shoulders! Sean of course thought it was great and I wasn't dicouraging it either as the Bud was going down OK. The entertainment on stage was good and watching Pand shout and dance was just as good too - although teh upturned eyebrows and gathered frown on Cory's young face suggested the essence of disapproval! To be honest it was me who eventually insisted we went to bed. Pand would have stayed for more and more. The experience had really hit home to her - and not in a glib or superficial way. When, during the helicopter ride, she had tears run down her face, then you know there was meaning in all of this - especially so shortly after her father's death. Just being where we were, doing what we were doing, seeing what we were seeing and feeling what we were all feeling was a hit in itself - a huge emotional hit and it made me feel good. I was happy for her.

As we walked through the gambling area on the way to our room Pand convinced me to have a quick go on the Blackjack table so as she took the boys up to bed I duly obliged. I won back what had been lost on the fruit machines earlier (plus a bit more!) so went up to bed a happy man! It was sleep time in anticipation of our last day. Early start tomorrow. Good day today!