Besides, drinking, gambling, eating, dancing, causing trouble and maybe seeing a show, if you wake up in the morning, not hung over and some time prior to 2 p.m., there are some cool things to do about town. One of the long-standing tourist attractions of sin city during daylight includes an amazing aerial view of the country’s largest crack in the ground, the Grand Canyon. As someone who has lived in California for more than 20 years, it seems almost a travesty that I have never been to or seen the Grand Canyon. So, I hit the Internet and found a plethora of options to explore the Grand Canyon.
After assessing all of the options, mostly between helicopter and light plane, I chose the light plane. Both of these modes of transport offer the opportunity to fly into the canyon for a brief hike and an even lighter lunch for an exorbitant fee. The light plane and turn-around trip are definitely the way to go, unless you have your heart set on putting a toe down in the canyon.
A 6 a.m. (well, maybe two snooze buttons later) we were up and on our way to Boulder City Airport, a cute little local airport about 20 miles Southeast of Las Vegas. Upon arrival we checked in for our flight, just like any other flight, except we were going to be boarded by weight. If you ever go on any helicopter or light plane tour, please expect to be weighed when you check in. Once all 16 people had checked in for the flight, seat assignments were handed out. Most couples were seated together, so no worries there. Upon being seated, it became clear that the plane was the way to go over the helicopter, as it was about half the price and you basically get a giant window to yourself to see the views, something not afforded to passengers of the helicopter.
The forty minute flight took off smoothly with the pilot and the co-pilot holding hands…not sure why, but there is a photo here for proof. Headphones were provided so that all on board could enjoy the audio tour in our preferred language and for my friend Johan, they have Swedish if you ever decide to do this tour! We reached a low level of only about 10,000 feet so as to maximize our views on the way to the Grand Canyon.
First up on our scenic flight was a pass over Lake Mead, an amazingly large and beautiful manmade lake just East of Las Vegas. You can see several large homes just a few miles off the lake. We were told that years before Lake Mead was built, a land owner was selling lake front property. Apparently his property was a few miles short of the completed lake. Rumor has it he knew this before he sold the land.
Next up is Hoover Dam, one of the country’s engineering wonders, and named a National landmark in 1985. If you follow popular culture, you’ll also recognize this massive concrete structure as the home of MBE1 a.k.a Megatron from Transformers. Currently they are building a road that will span the length of the dam from one end to the other.
Our flight over and through the Grand Canyon revealed one of the United State’s most amazing wonders. I really always thought it was just a giant hole in the ground, and maybe that’s why I never went, but the view from above and throughout was breathtaking. Remember we woke up at the crack of dawn for what is heralded as the tour of tours at Sunrise, when the suns first light bursts over the canyon and shadows seep into its sinewed walls. The rock seems to change its shape and color as we flew lower into the canyon revealing signs of life by way of trees growing out of the rock from the water of the Colorado running above and below the canyon floor.
A picture can say a thousand words, so I’ll let you enjoy the Grand Canyon as I did. Check out these photos and for your own light plane tour of the Grand Canyon out of Vegas, check out www.grandcanyonairlines.com
