Nevada, home to the Grand Canyon is a mere 45 minute plane ride away from Las Vegas. I have wanted to visit The Grand Canyon ever since I saw a picture of it in my childhood Atlas of the World.
Thankfully it is relatively easy to get to see the Canyon from Vegas. We flew to Grand Canyon Airport from the Vegas airstrip in a 12 seater Cessna (and an incredibly cute pilot) to the South Rim of the canyon for a morning. It is harder to see the enormity of the Hoover Dam which is a pit stop on the driving route, but we did catch a glimpse from the air.
Once at the airport, we boarded a shuttle to take us up to Grand Canyon National Park, the main entry point to the trail that leads to several viewpoints. We specifically chose the South Rim as it is rumoured to be deeper than the West Rim and has a diverse array of strata of rock. The rumours are not unfounded. The Grand Canyon is phenomenal. Viewing the unfolding panorama of the gorge, with its layers and layers of different coloured rock, from deep reds and oranges to purple and green all the way to the very bottom, where you can just about catch a glimpse of the Colorado River snaking its way through the canyon really is breathtaking. The fact that this river cut out a mighty gorge, one of the seven wonders of the natural world, is quite amazing. The width, the depth, the colour, the sheer size…reminds you that you are but a speck on this mighty planet.
We went to the Canyon in the middle of May, which must have been off peak season because it wasn’t packed with tourists. We were able to sit at the rim and absorb the view for well over an hour, before getting back onto the bus and heading out to the Bright Angel lodge, situated on the edge of the canyon for a packed lunch with our new found friend Kate. We could walk down a short way, enough to catch a glimpse of the green Colorado river.
Taking off from Grand Canyon Airport, we were able to get some amazing aerial shots of the green Colorado river snaking its way through the gorge and catch some last glimpses of the majestic wonder.
