GRAND CANYON & Las Vegas

After the late night getting into Vegas, the 5:50AM start was a bit of a shock to the system, but I had to be outside the hotel at 6:10AM for the bus to pick me up for the Grand Canyon tour. Its about a 600 mile (900k) round trip out to the North rim from Las Vegas, so it was going to be a lot of time travelling. Since I was doing it in a bus (coach) I didn’t mind cause I didn’t have to drive and be focused and concentrated, so it was a little more relaxing than I expected it to be.

One the way out the first thing to see was the Hoover Dam. This rather impressive structure is also the Arizona and Nevada state line. We had to go through security checks each way as the main road goes across the top of the dam. These security checks started after September 11. Currently they are building a new bridge so in a few months time the main road will not go across the dam and it will be closed to traffic.

The Grand Canyon... one word Wow! Its one amazing hole in the ground. Its just so big. Pictures do not do it justice. If you ever plan to travel to America make sure the Grand Canyon is on your list of things to do. It truly is amazing, and I am glad I got to see it and experience it. I also managed to get a shot of a condor while there and the usual Squirrel pictures. One thing that suprised me, was there was no fence around the sides of the Grand Canyon in some places. The spot you can see me standing on is like a bit that sticks out 100 metres or so, with a sheer drop down each side. Scary stuff seeing people wandering around so close. I was also interested to notice there is also a historic railroad that runs out to the grand canyon... Next time.

We arrive back to the hotels latish in the evening, but I still wanted to see the Las Vegas strip. There were people everywhere, and lights. I took pictures for 20 minutes or so but then had had enough and beat a hasty retreat back to the hotel.





Hoover Dam



Condor at The Grand Canyon



The Grand Canyon



Me at the Grand Canyon







Las Vegas Strip