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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

USA Day 5- Grand Canyon

USA TRAVAGANZA DAY 5!- Las Vegas (GRAND CANYON)

the next morning, we were on the tour to Grand Canyon.
We joined Papillon Tours (www.papillon.com)- Canyon Connoisseur tour package.

i spent weeks searching for the right tour company to bring us to this tour, there were so many other cheaper tour companies doing the same tour but i read really horrifying reviews about them, like not picking up customers last minute, having bus drivers from hell, drivers not waiting for customers and driving off!!

Therefore i decided not to put myself at such risks and paid a little more for a better and more reputable company with no such nonsense reviews.


on the way to the 'airport'.


we caught sight of the plane we were going to board later on!


walking to the check in counter.
extremely dry and hot weather here.



Campbell for breakfast?
didn't really felt like it.


Burritos sounded more ideal!
(i really love Mexican!)


our boarding pass.


audio tour equipment that would guide and accompany us when we reach the Grand Canyon.



inside the small luxury plane that can sit only 12 people or so.


the pilots!


yay, we're flying again!


the different places where we're gonna stop for different views of the Canyon.


see, we're really in desert area.
this is really what Las Vegas is.


The Colarado River


This is HOOVER DAM!

Originally called Boulder Dam, this engineering marvel was re-named for Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States. As a conservationist, he was a strong proponent of preserving our natural resources and protecting the nation's lands from misuse and from destruction by disastrous floods. As an engineer, he strongly supported construction of a high concrete dam on the Colorado River to control the river, and to provide irrigation water to the rich farmlands nearby, and a dependable supply of water for Southern California communities.


When completed in 1935, it was both the world's largest electric power producing facility and the world's largest concrete structure. It was surpassed in both respects by the Grand Coulee Dam in 1945. It is currently the world's 34th largest hydroelectric generating station.

it was a little frightening at first to be flying on a small aircraft above the deep blue vast ocean, but after a few minutes we got used to it and enjoyed the captivating landscapes beneath.


look at what nature has created.




do they look any different to you?
haha, they look almost the same to me but i'm really marvelled by their beauty, i've never seen anything like these before.




if i'm not wrong, that should still be the Colarado river running alongside the canyon.
if you're adventurous, you can even go water rafting here.


trees amidst the desert!!


these are the trees from closer view.
we're about to land!

(it was approximately an hour's flight and someone passed out on board, i think smaller planes have greater turbulence)


We're in ARIZONA.
The tour guide says it's the City of Confusion.
Why? i have no idea too.


our first top in Arizona was the Imax Theatre.
the screen itself is about 6 storeys high!


tickets to the Imax movie that introduces Grand Canyon and the people who stayed there before and also who held expeditions there, some of which were never seen again, lost forever in the mysterious Canyon.


interesting popcorn seasonings!


map of grand canyon




next stop was lunch buffet and they only gave us a miserable 30 minutes which wasn't even enough for me.







on the way to Grand Canyon National Park, was a short drive from the place we had lunch.



finally we reached our first view point!!
it was sunny here but the breeze was a little chilly and super dry.
no matter how sunny, i will not perspire at all.




cactus!


isn't this breath taking??
it looks so picturesque!!




we saw more people at the other side and decided to go there as well.


messy hair










it was actually quite scary to be up here, if you're afraid of heights, you would definitely not go near the edge.

i wonder if anyone accidentally fell from here before??



BRIGHT ANGEL LODGE, another view point.


i saw a chipmunk!!!


view from Bright Angel Lodge

Accomodations for tourists in Grand Canyon.
What a great place to stay, imagine opening the door to such a scenic landscape every morning.







at this point, a condor (the largest flying land birds in the western hemisphere) was soaring above us, the people around us were busy capturing pics of the condor, but i was more busy taking my own pics.

thinking about it now, i really regretted not taking a pic of the condor which is actually quite rare and hardly found in other parts of the world.














horses just outside bright angel lodge!


Bye Arizona and pretty Grand Canyon!


Hi Monte Carlo!! (we're back at Las Vegas)


New york new york


Paris


Flowers by the road


Dinner at a restaurant in Imperial Palace.
Bing says this restaurant looks like those old restaurants from the 80s.


CHicken Fajitas!
i SUPER LOVE this!
especially the green Guacamole sauce plus the Salsa, it's simply HEAVENLY!!
where can i find good mexican food like this in Singapore?



'Dealertainers' at Imperial Palace.
Did i already mention that they're really fun to play cards with?
They will sing and dance while dealing cards and they really can make the players laugh and have a good time.


Imperial Palace's drive way.




convenience store


their disco pub




we were opposite at Caesars Palace (again), wanted to get my Gucci waist pouch but they were closed.
They closed at 12 midnight (all the stores there!) on weekends, on weekdays they close at around 10pm.

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