BIG ADVENTURE - Grand Canyon

The other day we drove from Flagstaff to the South Rim of the Canyon and had a glimpse but yesterday we "DID THE CANYON!"

Early in the morning we drove the beautiful Oak Creek Canyon Road again to Sedona airport where we had booked a Sky Safari Tour.

Harold was our pilot and tour guide and as the day progressed my respect (maybe love?) for him grew. After all he got us there and back safely! He has 45 years of experience flying and also has a wealth of knowledge about the natives and the area. The Piper Navajo was an 8 passenger, twin engine plane. It was small but for some reason I felt safer and more comfortable than I do on large planes. Our fellow passengers included a young woman police officer from Germany, an elderly couple from Jersey and a retired commercial pilot and his wife from Albuqurque. Interesting and lovely companions.

The flight to Canyon West was about an hour and Harold pointed out landmarks along the way. Of course seeing the red rocks of Sedona and the vastness of the Canyon from the air is spectacular. We landed at a very small air strip on the edge of Canyon West deep in Hualapai (pronounce wal-a-pie) Territory. The Hualapai own the famous Grand Canyon Skywalk and organize the tour buses, lunch, helicopter and boat rides in this area. They are working their way out of destitution with this enterprise!

Once off the plane we weren't long getting in a helicopter to fly to the bottom of the Canyon! I want one! A helicopter that is; not a canyon. There were 5 passengers on our copter and the views as we worked our way along and down and later out of the canyon were incredible. The ride was quite smooth and the machine so maneuverable! This is the only place where you can take a helicopter below the rim of the canyon. The Indians are not subject to the same rules as the rest of the pilots (U.S. rules) and refused to follow them. Works in our favour!

We put down on a tiny spot near the muddy river. And I mean muddy! There have been heavy rains here which have caused this. I am glad we didn't go white water rafting...would have been more like brown water rafting! Our pontoon boat pilot was a riot. We all got turns driving and he was full of information and jokes. The ride out after the pontoon ride was even better than going down. We swooped by the rock faces. What's next in this most amazing adventure?

We boarded a coach bus and drove a short way to the Skywalk platform. I didn't come all this way to wimp out on this! The overview from the Skywalk is not much different than the view beside it. The exciting viewpoint is looking 4,000 feet down through the glass floor. No cameras or anything else were allowed out on the platform. Put on surgical slippers but with funky Skywalk designs. Not many people are on the platform at once and that was nice. My heart did a lurch at first but then settled down as curiosity took over.

Now we boarded a bus again for a drive over to Guano Lookout. Yes, Guano. It wasn't until Harold took us on a tour of this incredible vantage point that we realized it was named after bat poop. At one time a guano mine worked from here. What is guano used for? Girls, you may want to re-think your make-up. Guano is used to make mascara. Ick. Several movie shots have been filmed from here or nearby including the famous scene from Thelma and Louise. We had lunch made by the Hualapai. It was cafeteria style and not great but we were hungry.

Now, back on the Piper and heading for Sedona. The view was the same yet different. Changing daylight plays with the colours and shadows of the rocks and cliffs. What a great day!!