Monday, February 15-The West Rim Helifloat at the Grand Canyon

We were up early today for our Grand Canyon tour. We had to be in the hotel rotunda to get on our shuttle at 6:15 am. We then transferred to a Gray Line bus that transported us to the canyon's west rim. On the way we had a twenty minute stop to take photos of Hoover Dam. We were supposed to get to view the dam from the new bypass that also has a pedestrian walk way but it was closed for some reason.

The white above the river shows how much the water levels have dropped over the last 10 years.

 Two hours later we arrived at the west rim of the Grand Canyon and boarded a helicopter and rode to the canyon floor. This was part of the Helifloat package. Once we landed at the bottom we then boarded a pontoon boat and rode up the Colorado River. It was a great experience and the views of the canyon walls from all angles were beautiful.

Checking in at the Papillion office, weigh ins!

Our chopper

Landing on the bank of the Colorado

walking down to the pontoon boat

 Back on top, we hopped a shuttle to take us to the Sky Walk. Although I did enjoy the Skywalk and it is an architectural marvel with spectacular views of the canyon, it wasn't a favorite on my list of things that I have done. Everything here was very commercialized and hundreds of people everywhere. It didn't help that you weren't allowed to take cameras or phones out on the walkway. Way too many people for my taste but a great day just the same. The helicopter and boat were definitely my favorite!

 

Our $16 photo, I took a picture of it to post here. Looks like we're in front of a mural on a wall.

Tomorrow we hit the strip and we have tickets for a Cirque du Solei performance in the evening. The fun is almost over, Wednesday morning we fly back to Ohio and the cold and snow.

Sunday, February 14-From the desert to Sin City

Happy Valentines day! This morning we checked out the Oasis visitors center before our drive to Las Vegas. The drive through the Mohave Desert was a beautiful one. And Sharon and I both agree that the Las Vegas scene just isn't us. Tomorrow, though, we are taking a Grand Canyon tour that includes a visit to the Skywalk, a helicopter ride to the canyon floor and a boat ride on the Colorado river. We have to up early so I'm signing off.

A mural in 29 Palms

Saturday, February 13-Joshua Tree National Park & 29 Palms

Today we left California's Pacific coast and began our trek east to our Ext national park, Joshua Tree. We skirted around Los Angeles and back into the Santa Monica mountains. Once again I was truly amazed by the beauty of this desert landscape. I now know that not all deserts are created equal. Death Valley is a much dryer desert than the Mohave Desert of Joshua Tree. On average the Mohave desert gets 4-6" of rain annually compared to the 2-3" of Death Valley. It has something to do with the location of the mountains and how the winds evaporate the precipitation. At the risk of boring all of us, the extra rain means more vegetation, one of which is a yucca species called the Joshua tree.

This is a Joshua tree

Joshua Tree NP is a rock climbers paradise

Petroglyphs on the Barker Damn trail

Cholla Cactus Garden

As we left the park we opted to visit the Cholla (pronounced Choy-ya) Cactus Garden instead of watching the sunset from the highest point in the park. We did drive to the highest point and it was a great view but the cactus garden bathed in the afterglow of the sunset was unmatched in beauty. We were both so glad we decided on the garden. Our Best Western was located in the city of 29 Palms, named for the 29 palm trees that surrounded a lake that soon became a town. Dinner tonight was at the Rib Co. and the ribs were falling of the bone delicious.