Holidays - Grand Canyon

Whilst we were in Vegas, we had arranged a day trip flight out to the Grand Canyon. It meant getting out of bed at 4am so we'd be ready in time to be picked up by the bus at 5, but was well worth it. We drove out to Boulder Airfield, and took off just as the sun broke over the surrounding mountains.

The flight out lasted about an hour, and took us from the middle of the desert over mountain ranges, forests, gorges and the canyon itself. We had assumed that since we were heading out into the Nevada desert, being winter the morning would be cold, but the day would warm up quickly. As such, we were dressed reasonably lightly. What we hadn't accounted for was that the canyon rim is on a plateau, at roughly 7,000ft elevation. As we were nearing our destination, it could be clearly seen that there was still considerable snow on the ground from the falls the week before. Obviously it's not been above 0 degrees since then!

As soon as we landed, Jess and I shuffled from our nice heated plane and into the small airfield terminal, where we proceeded to fine the two warmest jackets we could get our hands on. Having already bought jackets once this holiday, we didn't really need any more, but I was determined to enjoy the day, and you can't do that if you've for hypothermia! The day did warm up, but it was never what you would call "warm". Thankfully though we had perfect weather - not a cloud in the sky, and visibility for miles.

Suitable rugged up, we jumped on our bus and were taken out to the canyon rim, and the most unimaginable vistas you've ever experienced. It's breathtakingly beautiful, and the photos we took cannot capture the immense effect it has on you. Everywhere you look, it's different. As the sun rises, the colours change, and the shadows move. It's completely stunning - you could sit and watch one section all day, and still be noticing new things when you've finished. The scale is deceiving - it doesn't look that big until you are able to make out a faint walking track 2/3rds the way down the canyon, and then everything falls into perspective.

Suffice to say, this was one of the standout highlights of the trip, and was well worth experiencing yourself if you can. We were a bit disappointed, as we had booked a tour that included a helicopter flight through the canyon - something that I was excitedly looking forward to, and had been the whole trip. However, on the day, there had been some sort of mixup, and we had been booked on their normal tour, which didn't include the chopper flight. Very, very disappointing.

So, without further adue, here's the photos of the Grand Canyon!

2009-02-12, OS Holiday - 5 - Grand Canyon