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.