A Grand Canyon Tour: There’s been plenty of “Top Ten Places You Must See Before You Die” lists written over the years, and I think The Grand Canyon has been in pretty much every one of them. Reviewing such an awesome natural monument is almost impossible, but I’ll do my humble best?

I visited the Grand Canyon in January 2002 ? a group of four young guys on their first trip to America. We drove from Los Angeles up to Las Vegas (couldn’t stand either of those cities personally, but then I might have liked LA more if I’d had a chance to see more of it), stayed in a Travel Lodge for just $30 for the night ($7.5 per person wasn’t bad even if the “breakfast” they gave you in the price was a stale cookie and carton of stale orange juice!), and got a trip to the Grand Canyon for about $150 (can’t remember the exact price). This trip included being picked up in the morning by coach and taken to the aerodrome, flying in to the Grand Canyon in a 10-seater Cessna, a buffet lunch near a Native Indian reservation, and the return journey ? about 6 hours in total. (Also on offer was a helicopter trip, which I think was about $200 ? this didn’t offer the lunch etc and lasted about 4 hours in total, but it did take you right into the GC, so if I’d had the money I would have liked to do both trips.) The company that offered these trips was right next to the Travel Lodge, but you wouldn’t be able to walk down the main part of Vegas for very long without being offered a similar package.

The coach came on time and it was only about 15-20 minutes before we were at the aerodrome. We had our picture taken in front of the Cessna with the pilot before boarding the plane, which while obviously being another money-spinner (I think it was $10) for them did actually make a very nice souvenir. I’ve never been in a Cessna before and boy was it interesting! If, like me, you’ve only ever been on large commercial airliners, you’re in for a bit of a shock. The tiny plane is buffeted by the slightest winds and of course is much more prone to air pockets, so every few seconds it felt like you were going to drop out of the sky. It was fantastic! It really was the most amazing ride of my life.

There was on-board commentary about what was below us, which at one point early on included the Hoover Dam. (On the way back the pilot opted for U2 instead, which wasn’t bad either?) The commentary was quite interesting although to be honest the feeling of flying / being about to fall out of the sky, combined with the mind-blowing view, would have been more than enough to keep your senses overloaded, let alone busy. Seeing these amazing aerial views of the Grand Canyon will be something I will never forget.

Upon landing there was short wait for the coach, which took us to a sort of large, open cafeteria that served traditional Native Indian food (at least that was what they claimed, and I have no particular reason not to believe them ? anyway, it tasted good). It was “eat-as-much-as-you-want” too, though stuffing yourself would not be particularly recommended as looking over the side of any of the immense cliffs is severely vertigo-inducing. Out of the coach load I was with, only myself and one other person were brave (stupid?) enough to stand right on the edge. I think my bravery lasted, ooh, at least 2 seconds before I felt an overwhelming need to step back! Well, that was the first time ? I think I managed the amazing feat of 5 seconds the second time round? Apart from breathtaking scenery everywhere you looked, the local Indians also has some handicraft ? jewellery, “dreamcatchers”, and so on -to sell. From what I saw it looked pretty good quality and fairly priced, but what they were selling wasn’t really my sort of thing. Now if they’d been selling carvings of eagles and suchlike, I might have taken more notice. (Yes, I am strange. But I don’t care.)

The Tour Guide on the coach on the way back (with another stop to survey one of the most impressive chasms) told us a little about this history of the local tribe (she was a member of the tribe herself), which unfortunately I can’t remember the name of - all I can remember is it wasn’t one of the very well known ones ? I think it may have been “Shawnee” but I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong! ? and then we went back and plunged through the air again in the little Cessna.

I can’t describe my overall impression in simple words, even as I’m typing this huge gestures are flying from my hands (and believe me, that makes typing rather difficult?). It’s one of the most impressive things you will ever see, and like most impressive things, seeing pictures of it just doesn’t convey anything truly pertinent about how it looks when you’re actually there.

Superlatives fail me. This isn’t a place that I recommend - it’s a place you must go to!

A Grand Canyon Tour: There’s been plenty of “Top Ten Places You Must See Before You Die” lists written over the years, and I think The Grand Canyon has been in pretty much every one of them. Reviewing such an awesome natural monument is almost impossible, but I’ll do my humble best?

I visited the Grand Canyon in January 2002 ? a group of four young guys on their first trip to America. We drove from Los Angeles up to Las Vegas (couldn’t stand either of those cities personally, but then I might have liked LA more if I’d had a chance to see more of it), stayed in a Travel Lodge for just $30 for the night ($7.5 per person wasn’t bad even if the “breakfast” they gave you in the price was a stale cookie and carton of stale orange juice!), and got a trip to the Grand Canyon for about $150 (can’t remember the exact price). This trip included being picked up in the morning by coach and taken to the aerodrome, flying in to the Grand Canyon in a 10-seater Cessna, a buffet lunch near a Native Indian reservation, and the return journey ? about 6 hours in total. (Also on offer was a helicopter trip, which I think was about $200 ? this didn’t offer the lunch etc and lasted about 4 hours in total, but it did take you right into the GC, so if I’d had the money I would have liked to do both trips.) The company that offered these trips was right next to the Travel Lodge, but you wouldn’t be able to walk down the main part of Vegas for very long without being offered a similar package.

The coach came on time and it was only about 15-20 minutes before we were at the aerodrome. We had our picture taken in front of the Cessna with the pilot before boarding the plane, which while obviously being another money-spinner (I think it was $10) for them did actually make a very nice souvenir. I’ve never been in a Cessna before and boy was it interesting! If, like me, you’ve only ever been on large commercial airliners, you’re in for a bit of a shock. The tiny plane is buffeted by the slightest winds and of course is much more prone to air pockets, so every few seconds it felt like you were going to drop out of the sky. It was fantastic! It really was the most amazing ride of my life.

There was on-board commentary about what was below us, which at one point early on included the Hoover Dam. (On the way back the pilot opted for U2 instead, which wasn’t bad either?) The commentary was quite interesting although to be honest the feeling of flying / being about to fall out of the sky, combined with the mind-blowing view, would have been more than enough to keep your senses overloaded, let alone busy. Seeing these amazing aerial views of the Grand Canyon will be something I will never forget.

Upon landing there was short wait for the coach, which took us to a sort of large, open cafeteria that served traditional Native Indian food (at least that was what they claimed, and I have no particular reason not to believe them ? anyway, it tasted good). It was “eat-as-much-as-you-want” too, though stuffing yourself would not be particularly recommended as looking over the side of any of the immense cliffs is severely vertigo-inducing. Out of the coach load I was with, only myself and one other person were brave (stupid?) enough to stand right on the edge. I think my bravery lasted, ooh, at least 2 seconds before I felt an overwhelming need to step back! Well, that was the first time ? I think I managed the amazing feat of 5 seconds the second time round? Apart from breathtaking scenery everywhere you looked, the local Indians also has some handicraft ? jewellery, “dreamcatchers”, and so on -to sell. From what I saw it looked pretty good quality and fairly priced, but what they were selling wasn’t really my sort of thing. Now if they’d been selling carvings of eagles and suchlike, I might have taken more notice. (Yes, I am strange. But I don’t care.)

The Tour Guide on the coach on the way back (with another stop to survey one of the most impressive chasms) told us a little about this history of the local tribe (she was a member of the tribe herself), which unfortunately I can’t remember the name of - all I can remember is it wasn’t one of the very well known ones ? I think it may have been “Shawnee” but I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong! ? and then we went back and plunged through the air again in the little Cessna.

I can’t describe my overall impression in simple words, even as I’m typing this huge gestures are flying from my hands (and believe me, that makes typing rather difficult?). It’s one of the most impressive things you will ever see, and like most impressive things, seeing pictures of it just doesn’t convey anything truly pertinent about how it looks when you’re actually there.

Superlatives fail me. This isn’t a place that I recommend - it’s a place you must go to!