Grand Canyon Revisited

What a blast! Judy and I aren’t all that attracted to the glitzy, showy things you see advertised in Las Vegas. At our core, that’s just not who we are. But one thing hit me between the eyes as something I had to do: take a helicopter ride into the Grand Canyon. Judy decided she’d rather stay on the ground and shop, so I was on my own for this little side trip.

If you’re interested in doing this yourself, know ahead of time that there are several different options. One option is to leave directly from the roof of your hotel–or one nearly–and fly directly into the canyon. Being just a little more conservative, fiscally, at least, I took a van out to a nearby airfield with several other members of our tour group. There we were weighed and sorted out into different seemingly too-small helicopters to balance the load evenly. Right there in front of everyone. We stated our weight when we checked in, but we still stepped up on the scales to have that number verified.

I have to admit, when I looked at the tiny little machines, I had a momentary sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach. After all, I’ve had a few uncomfortable times on the water, caused by motion-induced vertigo, and this looked like another bout of that waiting to happen. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried. Unlike taking off in a jet, or even a single engine two-seater, we just floated off the ground. Noisy, yes, but no sense of motion at all. Even when we reached cruising level and the forward speed increased, it felt like it would if I were sitting in the back seat riding along a highway on level ground. My only regret was not being to ride shot-gun. I guess I weighed too much to balance the pilot. Or any of the pilots we saw, actually.

The flight path took us into east from the airfield into the western part of the canyon, doing a “fly-by” of the Skywalk. Actually, maybe a “fly-under” of the Skywalk. What fun!

We landed somewhere–I have no idea where on a map–on a flat area above the river, but well below the rim of the canyon. The company had an open-sided pavilion all set up, with a champagne snack set up and ready. Really!? It was 118 in the shade, and they served alcohol? I did have a sip, “just to be sociable,” but it seemed like a good idea at the wrong time of day to indulge. I did drain a bottle of water while we were there.

Would I do it again? In a heart beat! Maybe the next time, Judy and I can take the sunset flight. The views weren’t bad at all when I was there, but the idea of sunset in that spot is intriguing. And it would have to be cooler!