THE GRAND CANYON BY HELICOPTER

The Grand Canyon is truly one of the natural wonders of the world. To stand at the bottom of this colossal canyon was a real eye-opener to the true power and unstoppable force of nature. 5-6 million years of erosion from the Colorado River has left behind a great spectacle and one of the greatest views on the planet.

My family and I were lucky enough to take a helicopter ride from the Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon last December and it was a truly amazing experience. The trip started with a stretch limo pick up from our hotel which in itself was a fun trip and a first for me.

After driving through the Vegas strip for around 20 minutes we arrived at a small airport for helicopters and private jets. Sitting in the heliport lobby watching the views to come on a giant tv screen really got us excited about what we were about to experience and after being weighed and briefed it was time to fly.

I had never been in a helicopter before that day and I'm very thankful that I had the chance because it was awesome!. Everything from the vertical take-off and the low flight across Vegas made it already worth the money and the canyon was finally within reach.
Before we made it to the canyon we flew over lake mead and saw Stewie island which was named by the pilot because it was shaped just like Stewie from family guy. Shortly after flying over giant Stewie we flew over the Hoover dam which is an amazing piece of engineering and to see it with my own eyes instead of watching it in movies was very cool.

At last, it was time to witness the grand canyon and the flight into it was mind-blowing. We flew towards what seemed like the ice wall from Game of Thrones but without the ice, it was huge!. We flew closer and closer and then the pilot quickly pulled up. It was like flying into the heavens, as soon as we flew over the highest point of the cliff we saw it, the grand canyon in all its glory.

It was like nothing I had seen before, lit up by the blinding sun on a perfectly clear day the canyon was breathtaking and I could do nothing but stare out as far as the eye could see.

What I didn't know at this point is that my family had arranged for us to land in the canyon and have a picnic lunch. I was super excited as I have seen so many pictures of people looking out over the canyon from various areas at the top but I have never seen the view from the bottom.
It was mind blowing you really get a different sense of its size from when you are looking down on it. It's hard to explain but I felt like I was an ant in a world of giants.

After just walking around and taking pictures for a while we sat down and ate a delicious lunch prepared by the helicopter company with champaign to top it all off. Shortly after we had to set off as we were only allowed to land for a short time as the land is owned by the Native Americans there and they charge a hefty fee for those who want to land in the canyon, which I thought was strange, I mean how can anyone really claim to own something that has been in there for 6 million years.
Anyway, it was time to head out and the flight back was just as special as it was on the way in. We took off and started flying through the canyon, not above it and it was like being a scene from Top gun or something like that, you can call me goose now.

We flew a different route back to Vegas and the sites on the way back were breathtaking, valleys, lakes and desert as far as the eye could see and just as the sun was setting to make it look even better.
We saw some of the old gold mines there, the pilot told us some stories of people buying mines there and striking it rich.

To finish off this amazing trip we flew over the Vegas strip just as the sun was about to set and it looked great, I also had no idea how big Las Vegas really was.
Shortly after we landed and gave our thanks to Sam our pilot who really made it a special day. A free limo ride back to the hotel and it was all over. The whole trip took most of the day and wasn't cheap but well worth and if you want to splash out and experience the Grand Canyon in a truly amazing way then I would highly recommend this trip.

Thanks again for reading my blog I hope you enjoyed it. Please hook me up with an upvote and a re steem and I will post again very soon. Thanks again and happy steeming!