GRAND CANYON, USA - Let The Grand Journey Begins!

18:49 Travel Bunny 4 Comments

DSCF8209
The Grand Canyon located entirely in northern Arizona, is one of United State's most famous landmarks and stretches an incredible 322km. The Grand Canyon is cut through by the Colorado River and the exposed rock layers have been preserved almost perfectly like they were layers of cake.

The national park is itself divided into two main areas: the remote North Rim and the more accessible South Rim. In addition, there are two Indian reservations: the Havasupai Indian Reservation and the Hualapai Indian Reservation (also known as Grand Canyon West).


The part of Grand Canyon that I visited is Grand Canyon West. What better way to see the Grand Canyon other than from the sky? I booked the Papillion Grand Canyon flight tour which departs from their airport near Las Vegas. A bus picked me up in the morning from my hotel in Las Vegas to the airport. The package includes scenic flight, admission to the Grand Canyon West and a lunch meal. The tour cost me around USD 200 per person but it was worth every penny.


DSCF1460DSCF1461
Souvenir shop inside the terminal building.


DSCF1457
A giant fan at the waiting hall.


DSCF1467
Every passenger must be weighed so that they could arrange the seatings based on weight. Then we were divided into groups, differentiated by a coloured sticker on our shirt. The pilot and co-pilot are both very friendly.


DSCF1469
Woohoo helicopter tour. Well...... I wish. They also offer helicopter tour to the Grand Canyon.


DSCF1597
I'm actually taking the plane. It's cheaper.


DSCF1473
Its a small plane and has three seats per row. The window panels were larger than normal plane allowing passengers to get a good view of the scenery.


DSCF1476DSCF8100
The co-pilot explaining the rules and regulations to be followed during the flight.


DSCF1566
If you want a window seat, you need to top up another USD 10 but it is not guaranteed that you’ll get one. It all depends on the weight distribution of the plane. If you didn’t get the window seat, they will refund your money.


DSCF1482
Buckled up and put the headphone on. I had butterflies in my stomach as the plane took off and soared to the sky. Grabbed my camera and started taking pictures as the plane flew across the desert highlands of northern Arizona.


DSCF1554

DSCF1504
View of Lake Mead.


DSCF1494

DSCF1497
The sight of Hover Dam from the sky. Simply magnificent.
Completed in 1936, Hoover Dam is a National Historic Site and Civil Engineering Wonder of the Modern World. The dam impounds Lake Mead and provides hydroelectric power to Nevada, Arizona, and California.


DSCF8113
The Colorado river.


DSCF8138DSCF1586DSCF1592
After a 45minutes flight, the Grand Canyon is finally in sight!


DSCF1595
Getting down from the plane. Grand Canyon here I come!


DSCF1600
The site map of Grand Canyon West.

Welcome to Grand Canyon West, the land of the Hualapai Tribe. The Hualapai, meaning 'People of The Tall Pines', are native people of the Southwest. Only in 1988, did they open their land to visitors, thus creating Grand Canyon West.


DSCF1604
Waiting for a shuttle bus to take us to the view points.
Hop-On-Hop-Off shuttle bus operates very frequently (like every 5 minutes), giving me the freedom to choose the sights and the time to spend at each one.


DSCF8149DSCF8156DSCF8155DSCF8153
Beautiful view on the way to Eagle Point.


DSCF1591
Eagle Point, The Grand Canyon Skywalk and Native American Village.

DSCF1629
DSCF1660
Eagle point is home to the Skywalk, the glass bridge that suspends more than 4,000 feet above the Grand Canyon.
I skipped the tour to the Skywalk. Their admission fee was quite expensive, USD 25 per person just to walk on it. You are not allowed to take pictures on the Skywalk itself. Visitors can only purchase photographs of themselves at the gift shop.


DSCF1635DSCF1636
Why walk on the Skywalk when you can pretend to serve it on a platter or eat it? Hehe.


DSCF1639DSCF1694
Eagle Point. A panoramic views of the canyon walls where the Heaven and Earth meet with such magnificence.


DSCF1676
The main attraction of Eagle Point is not the Skywalk! The eagle image on the canyon wall is what brings us all here.


DSCF8199
The art work of Mother Nature is simply amazing! You can literally see a gigantic eagle spreading its wings in the canyon.


DSCF1646DSCF1628DSCF1649DSCF8159
DSCF8177
A girl sitting on the edge enjoying the view.Who needs the Grand Canyon Skywalk?


DSCF8197
My beau getting a better picture while walking near the edges. I kept reminding him to be careful. Over 50 death has occurred as result of falling over the canyon walls because of overly zealous photographic endeavours.


DSCF1685
DSCF1688


The Native American Village.
DSCF1669DSCF8190DSCF1671
Various Native American dwellings depicting multiple tribe.


DSCF1665DSCF1706
Large cactus plants can be found around the area.


DSCF1625
One last look at the Eagle Point, before proceeding to Guano Point.


DSCF1749
Next is the Guano Point. “Guano” means bat droppings. The U.S. Guano Corporation mined the Guano by utilizing cable cars until early 1960. The cable was later damaged by an Air Force Jet’s tail and never re-opened.


DSCF8220
The remnants of cable head house.


DSCF8250
All I need is to get from here to the highest point there.


DSCF8245
DSCF1741
'Highpoint Hike' offers breathtaking panoramic view of the Grand Canyon and Colorado River.


DSCF1720
DSCF1713
Beautiful scenic overlooks while hiking up to the 'Highpoint'.

DSCF1717
A soaring eagle in the sky.


DSCF1747
DSCF1711
DSCF1723
DSCF1735
DSCF1754
DSCF1773
DSCF1765
I felt like I was at the top of the world! The view from up here is just beautiful.

DSCF1728DSCF8232
It began to drizzle near noon.

DSCF8227DSCF1766
I didn’t notice it at first until someone pointed out that all our hair tips were “standing” up on its own!

DSCF1774
A guide explained that we were standing at the highest point and as the differences in electrostatic charges continue to increase in the thunderstorm cloud, positive charges move up to our body causing our hair tips to defy gravity. This is nature's way of warning you that lightning can strike very soon near you!


DSCF1776
It was funny to take pictures while our hair was sticking up like that. But the possibility of being struck by lightning was not so funny. So we got down soon after.

 
DSCF1786


DSCF1729
Such a spectacular view of Grand Canyon and Colorado River.


DSCF1785
Making my way down from Guano Point. Luckily for me there were not many people at the highpoint while I was there. Look at the people crowding at that highpoint.

DSCF1797
DSCF1777
DSCF8237
Having lunch while enjoying the view.

DSCF8242


DSCF1798
Home of the Hualapai.

After lunch, the rain started pouring causing all flights to delay departing from the canyon. I got stuck for 2 hours in the airport before the pilots were confident the weather was clear enough for them to fly again.

 
DSCF1816DSCF1829
After the heavy rain, rainbows appeared.


DSCF1846
The golden ray of sunshine and fluffy white clouds made the scenery all the more spectacular. I couldn’t help but kept snapping pictures on the journey back.


DSCF1860DSCF1859DSCF1865DSCF8311DSCF8316DSCF8325
DSCF1783
Goodbye, Grand Canyon. I feel so privileged to be able to witness the beauty of Grand Canyon on land and from the sky. After pondering the vastness of this place, Grand Canyon truly is a natural wonder of the world.

With that, I strike off another item on my bucket list. Next posting will be on Las Vegas! Stay tuned.



Previous<<

You Might Also Like

4 comments:

  1. I’m surely coming again to read these articles and blogs
    grand canyon vacations

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting blog.Existing information about the Las Vegas tours and travels.Good explanation and useful instructions.wonderful pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is a really good read for me, Must admit that you are one of the best bloggers I ever saw.Thanks for posting this informative article.Grand Canyon Helicopter Tours

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have been reading your posts frequently. I need to say that you are doing a fantastic work. Please keep up the great work.
    Immigration Consultant in Canada

    ReplyDelete