As regular readers of the Viator Travel Blog will know, I recently took a trip to the US and had my first ever visit to Las Vegas. Now what is the one big thing you HAVE to do when you visit this part of America? The Grand Canyon of course!
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| Our trusty ride for the day |
There are many ways to “do the Canyon”. You can take a plane or helicopter ride out there, join a bus tour or in the case of my friends and I, a self guided Hummer tour.
Arriving at the collection point for our vehicle of the day, I laughed at the size of some of the mini monster trucks parked in the yard and wondered to myself at the number of large vehicles on Las Vegas roads. Who could possibly need a car that big in a town so small? Well, apparently we do because one of those monster trucks was for us…so that’s what a Hummer is!
Almost needing a step ladder to get in, I hoisted myself into the black leather back seat and got comfortable for the ride. I have to admit, for a vehicle the size of an armored tank, it was pretty darn comfortable. We hit the road and in no time had left the bright lights of Las Vegas behind and were approaching Hoover Dam. This engineering feat marks the border between the states of Arizona and Nevada and is worth a stop for the photo opportunity. I guess if you are into building and engineering and other such “boy things” you may want to take a tour of the dam, however we were happy to take our happy snaps and move on.
After a few miles of very long and very straight roads through an uninspiring landscape, we made the right turn onto Diamond Bar Road, the only road to the Grand Canyon West Rim. OK, now I understand the need for a vehicle which could safely transport a priceless Ming vase through a mine field during an earthquake. Did I say comfortable? I hit my head on the roof once or twice and was tossed about the back seat like a rag doll, but hey, that’s all part of the fun right? 14 miles unpaved, bumpy, dusty fun to be precise…
Two and a half hours after leaving Las Vegas, we pulled into the parking lot of the Destination Grand Canyon center for a day of exploring one of nature’s greatest achievements. Our guide for the day was one Wilfred Whatoname, as featured on a previous blog by Rod, and whose likeness appears on the shuttle buses in the park. He is a member of the local Hualapai tribe and one of the nicest people I have ever met.
First on the to do list was the obligatory helicopter ride. It’s just the way it is, the best views of the Grand Canyon are from the air. Now I’m not the happiest of flyers even in the relative comfort and safety of a jumbo jet, so the prospect of climbing into a helicopter was more than a little daunting. Never mind, when would I ever get the chance again?
Being a big fan of the life theory “Do something that scares you every day”, I joined my friends in the small helicopter, thrilled with my front seat next to the full length glass door position (I hope you detected the tinge of sarcasm there…). As we took off I believed that by holding on to a hand rail with a death like grip would somehow make the flight safer. Thankfully it didn’t take long to settle my nerves and realize we were not really all that high off the ground, I could still see people after all, nothing to be scared of.
Oh that’s right, the helicopter flight was to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, silly me…
I’m not ashamed to admit I screamed as we dropped over the edge of the canyon and descended to the base - 4,000 feet below. Yes, I was paying attention as profanities escaped my mouth and the pilot laughed some more. Happily landing at the bottom we enjoyed a short cruise on the Colorado River. Then it was time to fly again, because in this case, what goes down, has to come up. To my delight it was the same pilot who had flown us to the bottom (no really I’m not being sarcastic this time, the pilot was cute - I was thrilled to see him again!).
With feet back on the ground it was time to head to the newest Grand Canyon “must do” - the Grand Canyon Skywalk. Despite all I had heard about crowds and queues, we pretty much walked straight onto the new attraction. With shower caps on our feet (they are called booties and are meant to stop the glass from being scratched, but I think its just to make tourist look stupid) we shuffled onto the multi million dollar structure that juts out over the top of the canyon for unrivaled views. Now you may guess from my dislike of flying that I’m not so fond of heights, so here’s was my chance to catch up on any days I missed out on doing something that scares me. Considering how high up we were, the transparent glass floor and factoring in the slightly disconcerting movement of the Skywalk in the wind, I didn’t find this experiencing completely terrifying. Once you take the first step out, its not so bad and the view is spectacular. Be a little brave and lean your head out over the edge so you can’t see anything else from the corner of your eye and its like flying over the Canyon.
Next on the agenda was lunch at Guano Point, well worth the visit for the views alone. We spent a bit of time here enjoying the view and eventually all split off on our own to enjoy the various vantage points. It was here that the most unexpected thing happened to me. I cried. I don’t know why, I wasn’t sad, I was actually quite happily enjoying the day. There was just something about the solitude and beauty of the place that gave me a moment of reflection on my life and before I knew it, the tears were rolling down my cheeks. At this point Wilfred came over to spoke quiet words to me that were perfect and left me amazed that he knew what I was feeling. Now despite my love of yoga and organic food I’m not really an “at one with nature” type of person, so I still don’t quite know what happened, but the Grand Canyon will forever be a spiritual place for me.
To finish the day Wilfred loaded us into his Hummer (so big it put our Hummer to shame!) and took us on a 20 minute off road tour. As we approached the very edge of the canyon it momentarily seemed less spiritual as the 4,000 foot drop loomed. However with meters to spare, Wilfred made a sharp left instead giving us another great view of the canyon from the rim. One last heart stopper before the day was through was a sharp descent into a ridge, followed by a surprisingly fast ascent up the other side.
At the end of the day, Wilfred gave us all a souvenir of the day and hugged us like old friends. Emotionally drained yet uplifted at the same time we were ready to return to the crazy world of Las Vegas. Back in the hummer we started back on our way, bumping along that dirt road again through the Joshua Tree Forest. Once we hit the smooth straight highway it was time to sit back and reflect on the day while scrolling through all the photos taken. It was then I realized that while in the helicopter I had accidentally switched the dial on my camera to video mode as we took the plunge into the canyon. The resulting 30 second video clip of the helicopter floor accompanied with a soundtrack of me screaming and swearing would be my second precious souvenir of the day!
Planning a trip? Browse Viator’s complete list of Grand Canyon tours.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:30 am
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September 26th, 2007 at 7:48 am
I just wanted to make a quick comment to the article. Very well said. My wife and I just got back from the same tour (although we did not do the helicopter ride to my regret), but we did the hummer ride,Guano point, and the Skywalk. And to my delight one of the highlights of the trip was sharing the ride back to Vegas with Wilfred Whatoname, your Hualapai tribe Indian guide. His company and conversation was a real treat. (I agree, he was one of the most cool, gracious, and interesting persons I have ever met). This trip is a “must do” if you ever go to Las Vegas.