Lisa's Letters from La La Land: Walking on the Sky...

Today was a day I got to tick off one of my major bucket list destinations.

Visiting the Grand Canyon has always been a dream of mine so it was with not a small amount of excited anticipation we boarded the bus at 6am from Bally’s Casino to head out to the rim of one of the 7 Wonders of the World.

And while its not the deepest canyon in the world (Kali Gandaki Gorge is far deeper ) nor the biggest canyon in the world ( Capertee Valley right her in Australia is actually 1km wider and for that matter, longer as well) it is however, the most spectacular with its plateaux and dramatic colourations.

Recently studies were shown to place the beginnings of the canyon at 17 million years ago, and the ancient information derived from the most complete geological columns on the planet is mind blowing.

But of course, this is all just ‘stuff’ to the Native Indians who have inhabited the area since around 1200 AD, and their presence on this ancient land is palpable and I found that to be a very moving part of my time there.

I felt a welcoming spirit in this place of wonder and felt blessed to have felt a connection to my totem in such a far off land. But I’ll keep the details of that encounter close as only a few who read this will appreciate its significance.

Anyway, back to the tour… So we were supplied with a continental breakfast of an apple, a muffin, juice and some weird combination of cheese crackers with peanut butter sticking them together… bleuchhh…. I don’t like peanut butter at the best of times and that was stretching the culinary boundaries further than I was willing to go.

So after a few hours, and a VERY corrugated dirt road section, we were filing out of the bus at the visitor centre for a brief loo break and of course, an opportunity to purchase some Grand Canyon merch. Most of which didn’t interest me, until I found the section of items made by the local Indians. Again, I contributed to the local economy by buying some locally made balm, soft–as-butter leather medicine bags and dream catchers.

Then it was off to our first viewing spot and a little stroll around the skywalk.

The first thing that shocked me was that there were no barriers between me and that 1800m drop to the base of the canyon, thus becoming vulture fodder and I was equally shocked by the proximity of some idiots to the edge of said drop, who were willing to risk their lives for the ‘money’ shot. Let me tell you… they’re ALL money shots from every way you point your camera… the vista is just beyond what a camera can ever capture with any authenticity. And you don’t need to stand with your toes hanging over the edge of the rock face to get it.

Apparently, from the West Rim at least, there have been no fatalities for many many years. The place for those it seems is the South Rim. Heartened by that, but still dubious about ‘bits falling off the edges while I’m on them’, I kept well away from the foreseeable drop zone and still got magic photos.

Doing the skywalk was totally confronting – even for someone that doesn’t have much of a fear of heights in normal circumstances. First you have to take all your belongings and put them in a locker – including camera, sunglasses and anything loose. Then you have to put slipper socks over your shoes so you don’t mark the glass plates that you will be walking on.

Then you walk out onto what appears to be open air with nothing between you and a grisly end but a plate of thick glass that is supposed to hold up to 800 people without giving way. I took it slowly, partially because I was finding it a little confronting and partially because I was the support person for one of my fellow travellers with a HUGE fear of heights that had made it her personal mission to get to the other side. She did a sterling job, but not without some hairy moments.

Of course, the end of the walk leads you into the gift shop, where I squished a penny with a commemorative picture of the skywalk on it all for the princely sum of 51 cents.

We wandered here for about an hour taking photos and marvelling at the scope of the view. Then it was back onto the bus for viewing stop 2 and lunch provided by the Hualapai Indians which was a spicy bbq chicken or beef casseroley-thing with mashed potatoes and a weird bean mix and a cob of corn.

I’m not too sure how ‘local’ some of the fare was, but anyway, it was part of the experience, if not really to my tastes.

This place was called Guano point – for obvious reasons. In the past, this place had been mined for guano and sold for who knows what – fertilizer I’m imagining. The abandoned mine equipment is still there to see, but the almost 360 degree vantage point is the drawcard now. The photos from here were spectacular, and any way you pointed your camera came out a winner.

This really was a dream day for me on many levels and something I will remember always.

From there it was a long bus ride home, passing the Hoover Dam ( if you were sitting on the right hand side of the bus – which I wasn’t) and then back to the casino we were picked up from.

Back at the Flamingo, we changed and walked up to the Venetian Casino for dinner at the Lux Café, which is a not to be missed restaurant if you are ever on the strip.

This casino so impressed that I would be keen to stay here if I ventured back to Vegas one day. The architecture alone made my heart beat a bit faster and the Sistine Chapel-like ceilings throughout had me with a crick in my neck even before we made it to the restaurant.

The food was extraordinary and I haven’t had such authentic Italian food since I lived in Melbourne and frequented Lygon Street for its cafes.

After dinner, we caught the monorail back to our casino and it being the last night to get some Vegas lights shots, I wandered out along the strip a ways to have another go at getting some snaps.

Another very long day and late night, despite vowing not to be awake so late.

Oh well, it’s the last night in Vegas and its too good to waste.