Tuesday 13th – Grand Canyon, Las Vegas
We woke early and had breakfast in the New York themed shopping complex inside the New York, New York casino. I took a couple of bold shots of the interior, despite a nagging feeling that photography inside might have been forbidden. Needless to say, no security approached or anything like that.
Inside New York, New York
We were picked up by shuttle bus which took us to another casino – Aladdin’s – where we had to check in with the tour company at their offices beneath the casino. We were told at this point that a snowstorm on the eastern grand canyon basin would prevent our tour from landing. We opted to continue on our journey regardless, albeit disappointed.
All hope was not lost, however. As we arrived at Carson City airport, we managed to talk the tour operators into switching us onto an alternate (though more expensive) tour which was clear to land – on the western basin.
We gladly paid the difference – which included a helicopter ride into the canyon itself – and were taken to the light plane to travel to the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon
As we flew east, we flew past the famed Hoover Dam and landed in an American Indian reserve in Arizona – in a different time zone! After a short wait, we gathered into a small group and waited for the helicopter ride down into the Grand Canyon, which was our first activity
Toni, nervous about light planes, let alone a helicopter outright refused to sit anywhere except right next to the pilot – which gave me the outside seat in the front (perfect for photos). The journey down was noisy, but spectacular!
Toni awaits boarding | The Famous Hoover Dam
View from the Light Plane | Landing at the bottom of the Grand Canyon in a Helicopter
At the bottom | Riding along the Colorado River
Once we landed and cleared the helicopter, we were guided to a small river craft which we took slowly along the Colorado river. Quite something, looking ahead in the distance at the great walls of earth and trying to fathom how millennia of erosion had worn down the Earth to its present state.
Beautiful..
A little while down the river we stopped and returned to the top via another Helicopter journey. Once we had returned, we climbed aboard a tour bus which drove us deeper into the reserve. We then ate lunch and spent some time exploring the local area which featured deathly drops and an abandoned mine shaft.
Now the unfortunate thing is that the new Skywalk (a bridge of glass) was due to be opened when we arrived – but it wasn’t finished. We missed out on a chance to walk out beyond the edge of the canyon 
Helicopter Returning | Abandoned Mineshaft
The Grand Canyon is truly quite breathtaking. It’s hard to imagine the distances involved, however if you consider that we were able to switch tours and land in a relatively safe area (before the storm hit), it might go some way to proving just how huge the Grand Canyon is.
The best views are from the top, looking towards the skyline, although the view from the Colorado river was also something we are unlikely to ever forget.
It was a very surreal experience eating lunch at a picnic table sitting only a few meters from a deadly drop.
Even lunch was a thrill
It was definitely worth the extra cost, and we would have been eternally disappointed had we not had the experience to visit and view it for ourselves. The snowstorm was encroaching westwards, so we were bundled back into the plane and whisked back to Carson City before the storm front hit.
Trick photography, no moggies were harmed in taking this photograph!
Snowstorm Approaching RAPIDLY!
Las Vegas
Back in Las Vegas, we had an afternoon to kill. We walked the famous Las Vegas strip taking in the grandeur of the famous casinos.
The Storm Followed us to Las Vegas! | Toni and the Blue Man Group
The Las Vegas Strip
A gondola ride in The Venetian | The amazing Bellagio water show
We started walking from New York, New York past Paris and Caesar’s Palace down past the Flamingo to the Bellagio. At about this time we ended up inside The Venetian, where we paid $30 for a full gondola ride complete with a serenade!
Outside the Mirage | Inside the Venetian
Once our ride had finished, we spent some time exploring the Venetian’s shops and admiring the attention to detail (including the faux skyline).
As we left The Venetian, we checked out a number of casinos nearby including the Mirage (home to Siegfried and Roy and their famous white lions) although the cost of admission to the zoo there was too much for our tastes.
Only one building in the Caesar’s Palace complex – it’s HUGE | Paris by night
We went back towards New York, New York stopping by the Bellagio for the 7pm water show which is fairly famous and quite a spectacle. It would have been an even better experience had the temperature not dropped significantly, in combination with a strong wind!
The show features jets of water which are choreographed to music and light, swirling around in synchronised patterns. The jets can achieve actually very decent heights, and makes use of the full width of the location.
More of the Bellagio’s water show
After the water show, we made our way through the humongous Caesar’s Palace complex – it’s unbelievably massive – en route to New York, as we had to eat and then catch the 9pm session of Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Ka’ at the MGM Grand (opposite New York, New York).
We ate dinner at the Harley Davidson restaurant (where the prices were a lot more reasonable), and Toni bought a shot glass. Afterwards, we checked out the massive M & M shop which had a wall of candies – a veritable rainbow of M & Ms.
Culture at Caesar’s Palace | A rainbow of M & Ms
After dinner, we went to the MGM Grand and took our places for the show. Unfortunately, despite Toni’s suggestion Rob should drink a cup of coffee (which he declined, stupidly) Rob ended up falling asleep during the presentation.
From the parts we do recall, it was amazing and the set was unbelievable. Some of the aerobatics were breathtaking.
After the show finished, we returned to the hotel as we had yet another early morning departure – for San Francisco.
Related Post: http://aussietravelling.com/post/Travel-Flashback-e28093-Grand-Canyon-2007.aspx