Day 29 - The Grand Canyon

OMG!!!
What a day we had today! At 8:15 this morning, we checked in for our flight to the Grand Canyon and today's adventure began. About 8:30, we boarded our Cessna single engine plane for our flight to the Grand Canyon. There was only one other passenger on the flight and we hit it off right away with him and the pilot, Isaih (as in the bible). Isaih could be Matt Damon's twin and was a great pilot and was our guide for this day's adventure.

Sheila flew in the right front seat and everything went well until she turned to take some photos and accidentally stepped on the rudder pedals, thereby taking control over our directions during our approach to the Grand Canyon air field. Interesting change in approach for a landing, but we made it without additional problems. From the air, the airport looked a lot like what I would expect a Navy aircraft carrier would look like. It was a postage stamp!

When we landed, we were taken to the helipad for our flight to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The pilot took off and we flew just a short ways before we started descending into the canyon for a landing next to the Colorado River. We landed on a spot that just about cleared the helicopter rotor and disembarked (That's helicopter speakese for "Get the heck out of my aircraft"). From the landing pad, we had to walk, climb down, and stumble over to a pontoon boat for a ride up the Colorado River and then to drift back to the dock.

From the dock, we had to walk, climb up, and stumble back to the landing pad for our flight back to the airport. Have to admit that the paths we had to take from the landing pad to the boat and back were worse and more dangerous than the paths we had to take to the Indian ruins yesterday.

From the airport, we were loaded on a bus to take us to the Sky Walk over the canyon. If you have never been to the Grand Canyon, it is hard to imagine how high and how wide the canyon is. With nothing to gauge distance, its hard to believe that you are 4000 feet above the bottom of the canyon and the opposite side of the canyon is 4 miles distant. There are also NO guard rails next to the shear walls of the canyon, and that's scary, especially when a woman from Germany was allowing her 4-year old daughter to run away from her without supervision.

Looking over the edges of the canyon, all you can see are vertical walls extending that dizzying 4000 feet in elevation. I'm glad we were able to see the canyon from both above and below.

The Sky Walk was the reason we came to Arizona and we were able to walk on the glass floor without fear. Well, at last Sheila was - I have to admit the height, looking through the glass floor, wasn't as scary as I thought it would be, but I found myself inadvertently holding on to the rails as we walked around on the platform. I think it would have really been a lot worse if you could have a reference that would help you gauge the distance from the platform to the bottom of the canyon below. I suggested to one of the guides that they should place a silhouette of a human body below the walkway, but they didn't think that would stimulate viewing.

The Grand Canyon was an incredible experience, but for all its majesty, I have to admit the colors weren't as spectacular as I had expected. Returning on our flight, with the pilot having instructed Sheila not to try to control the plane's directions again, it was nice to see the magical colors of the Sedona landscapes. This entire time in Arizona has really been an experience, but again, all of our adventures on this trip have been worth a lifetime of memories. Tomorrow, we head out again for new adventures. K

I agree with Ken, what a day!!!! I can't believe I was able to hop in and out of small planes, helicopters, and trek down rock slides to get into a boat. Ken was wonderful and helped me navigate the steep slopes. The skywalk was everything I thought it might be and more it really felt as though we were communing with nature, so beautiful!
We had lunch at the Guano Cafe, yes thats right, Spanish for bat poop, go figure. Apparently the Native Americans mined bat poop for organic fertilizer, also used in the 40's and 50's in womans makeup. The menu was braised beef and chicken, no mention of bat, but I just had vegetables, have to be on the safe side. The Indian tribe is the Huallapi, pronounced wall o pie, no who couldn't like something at has to do with a wall of pie.
Flew back to Sedona, returned to the hotel, swam for awhile, then changed clothes and Ken and I went out for supper. While at the restaurant I realized I wasn't wearing my engagaement ring, panic city ensued. We finished eating and then back to the hotel, rushed to our room, and started searching, thank God, found the ring. I have no idea why it fell off but am now wearing it under my wedding ring.
Tomorrow on the road again. S