No Fear

Without a doubt the highlight of our vacation was the helicopter ride out over the Grand Canyon. I was a little apprehensive at first (fear of heights), but soon became engrossed by the view. This area is so different from Arkansas; it almost looked like the surface of some other planet. I am still trying to figure out how anyone could live in this area or even travel through it. It is so barren.

Does my initial fear show? I had come this far and was not going to chicken out now. Let's go!

Debbie had no problem with the heights even though this was the first time either of us have flown in a helicopter. Of course, she loves riding roller coaster and anything else that goes fast and high.

We lifted off from the Boulder City Airport which was about 30 minutes from our hotel, but they ran a shuttle from our hotel in Las Vegas to the airport. Best thing about Boulder City. . . NO GAMBLING and NO DRINKING!

Above is the Muddy River, which is one of three rivers that now empty into Lake Mead; the Virgin River and Colorado River are the other two rivers. Before Hoover Dam made Lake Mead, the Muddy River ran into the Virgin River before emptying into the Colorado.

The texture of the mountains and hills were constantly changing. Here is a section that is laid on its side relative to the Grand Canyon. This area must be a geologists dream come true. All I can say was there were some major forces at work (wind, water, earth, etc.) here.

Now I know and can envision what is meant by the "painted" desert. The colors from the different minerals in the soil are just amazing.

Roads looked like they went to nowhere. I will ask it again, how did people survive the trip to California? How did they make it across places like this especially without GPS, Google Earth, or even a detailed map?

Boulder City on the left. The town started as dormitories for the hundreds of workers who were constructing the dam. Now it is a very clean, well-maintained town of mostly artists who have shops up and down main street.

This small landing strip was used in WWII as a training field for Navy pilots who were learning how to land on air craft carriers at sea.

A Grand Canyon, indeed.

A helicopter ride was the best way to see the western end of the Grand Canyon. We were in a position to at least see more of it at a time. However, to try to absorb the sight mentally was impossible; it was so magnificent.

This glass deck built out from the canyon wall called the "skywalk" is owned by the Hualapai Indian Nation. This glass deck sticks out 70' from the side of the canyon and 4000' above the canyon floor. Standard price is $90 per person and no refunds for those who chicken out. We didn't go to the skywalk but we took some pics from our chopper. See the pic above for a closeup and the pic below for an idea of the scale of things.

Colorado River

The Colorado River (meaning "Red" River) is approximately 1,500 miles long and has a watershed that covers parts of 7 different U.S. states and 2 Mexican states. Unfortunately, it no longer makes it to the Sea of Cortez due to irrigation and human consumption of the river. I know it is the life's blood of this arid region and little or no life could exist in this area without it. Note all the green around it's edges. We flew over the last stretch of the river before it emptied into Lake Mead.

Lake Mead

We were amazed at the variety of colors that could be seen in Lake Mead. We were told the blue-green color was due to copper and of course, all the sediment being washed into the lake accounts for the chocolate color where the Colorado River enters the lake. This is truly a sight to see-- a lake in the middle of the desert! We flew . . .

from one end of the Lake (Colorado River entering the lake) to . . .

the Hoover Dam at the other end of the lake.

Shock and Awe

Yes, Tabitha pulled one over on us on Saturday. A surprise 30th Anniversary Party (and we thought we were going to a photo shoot)! I am just amazed at how many of our friends and family were able to keep this a secret from us because we honestly had no idea until we pulled up to the DeRoche church house. We really want to thank all our friends and family for sharing in this experience with us. Many guests who were there saturday attended or were part of our original wedding party, which took place at DeRoche church. And of course, there were also many guests who were not even born yet. Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye for me; they were very busy years. But Debbie and I have emptied the nest and are enjoying the grandkids and our time together. Lord willing, we might even see our 50th if we keep this up. Thanks Tabitha and Sean; we enjoyed the afternoon.