Eastern Europe Trip

Woke up early and excited, as yesterday when we arrived at the motel, I had searched the Internet comparing companies that offer helicopter flights over the Grand Canyon, and booked one for a 9am flight this morning. Tracy was a bit nervous, as she’s not the best when it comes to heights (have I ever mentioned that before?), but it didn’t stop us going in search of the complimentary breakfast, which, oddly, is served in a hotel room in the main part of the hotel. It was very crowded, with lots of greedy Americans piling their plates high with muffins, bagels, toast, yoghurt, etc. We settled for a Danish pastry and a coffee each, and managed to find a small table in the corner where we could eat and watch the ‘mercans gorging themselves…

When finished, we made our way back to the room, grabbed our stuff and jumped in Sally (as the Mustang had become known for obvious reasons!) for the short drive to the airport, which is situated just at the edge of Tusayan. Watching lots of helicopters coming and going was certainly getting us excited and we checked in with the woman I’d spoken to on the phone – her opening words were “It’s Paul, isn’t it?” – like I was a regular… wonder how she knew it was me? Anyway, we were weighed (didn’t like to ask what our weight was, as we’ve been stuffing ourselves silly for over a week) so they can balance the aircraft properly, and then sat getting more nervous whilst watching the safety briefing. I half expected this to be along the lines of “it doesn’t have wings, so in the event of engine failure, it won’t glide but come crashing down, so you best stick your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye” but it wasn’t…






When we were suitably terrified, they called out our names and we joined the other 4 passengers on the short walk to the helicopter. Here they stopped us in turn and took our photos – I guess so they’d have something to show the next of kin – and we were boarded and belted up, then cocooned in our headsets so we couldn’t hear each other scream. All we could actually hear was Coldplay on the in-flight music system, and the pilot talking us through the emergency procedures again “for those that missed the briefing”. I think it was all a ploy to ensure we were full of adrenalin before take-off.

When it came, take off was pretty uneventful, by which I mean we took off. And then turned and headed out over the forest, flying pretty low and affording us excellent views of the trees below. By now, Tracy’s smile was so big it almost didn’t fit in the helicopter, and I was able to relax, safe in the knowledge that if she was happy, then I’d be a wuss if I was anything but. And to be truthful, it was brilliant, much smoother than a small airplane and skimming just above the trees was really cool.






After a few minutes, the pilot spoke to tell us we’d be banking and then flying over the canyon. And that’s when it got really exciting, like flying off the end of the world.






The view of the canyon from up here – probably no more than 100ft above the canyon rim – was absolutely stunning. We flew for around half an hour doing a tour of the canyon (the flights are restricted to certain canyon areas in order to preserve the peace, but it doesn’t mean it’s any less spectacular). Again, the photos probably speak louder than my words ever could…






















Before long it was time to head back towards Tusayan, which meant once again flying over the forest, and this afforded me the chance to take a photo showing how the canyon has carved out its place on the Colorado Plateau – it just seems to be a massive gash in the forest, like a crack in the surface of the world…






On the way back to the airport we flew parallel to the main road through Tusayan, and past our lodge, which meant the inevitable “you can see our room from here” comment (although Tracy later told me she was glad she had the headphones on as she couldn’t hear me!).






And so back to terra firma, where Tracy’s newly “blade-swept” hairstyle gained admiring comments, before we were ushered away to make way for the next lucky group to take this spectacular trip. We both agreed that the flight had been the highlight of the trip so far, and with so many great experiences, that shows how brilliant it really was…






As we made our way to the car, the helicopter that had whisked us safely over the canyon took off again… Now all I need to do is save up and learn to fly one, and then I’ve found my ideal job…






By now gibbering like fools following the overdose of adrenalin and excitement, we made our way back to the hotel to grab our gear for a short hike we’d got planned for the afternoon. First, though, we decided to go in search of a new day-sack as we’d only brought Tracy’s and it was a bit too small for me, meaning I’d got a rash under my arms (and besides, I like buying stuff!). We searched in the general stores in Tusayan before finding the market place at the Grand Canyon where there is a large store selling all sorts of exciting stuff (and not too expensive). Here we found an ideal day-sack, with an in-built 3ltr Camelback that would be perfect for carrying the water we need when waking in the desert heat. And so I parted with some more dollars, and we made our way to the car park at the start of the walk, only to discover that the dozy shop assistant hadn’t removed the security tag, so we had to go all the way back again. And then I got held up in the queue behind a large black American lady who had been buying the shops entire collection of tasteless garbage – here’s what I can recall from watching as the shop assistant rang them through the till… 3 wooden thermometer plagues with copper angels, 3 cheap tee-shirts, a decorated candle, 2 jars full of bubble-bath rocks, a sack of ‘gemstones’, 5 fridge magnets (all the same), 2 big bags of sweets (presumably for the journey to the bus), 6 litre bottles of water, 2 decorated carrier bags – and I’ve probably forgotten half of it…. Anyway, by now time was getting on, and it was getting even hotter outside. When Tracy and I finally made it to the start of the walk, and transferred everything from one day-sack to the other, the sun was well and truly baking… so we took the path through the wood at the side of the road to the trailhead. On the way, we saw a sight that we’ve been arguing about ever since. I reckon it’s a young Coyote, but Tracy disagrees (even though she doesn’t offer up an alternative explanation). It’s in the picture below, crossing the path just in front of us…






Soon we reached the canyon rim and headed down the steep, and rather exposed, trail. This was the first time in a long time Tracy’s been anywhere that exposed, and I think the combination of the steepness of the trail, the heat, and the very, very, long drop freaked her out a bit. But we continued down for a while, stopping frequently to admire the view, before finally calling it a day when we rounded a corner and saw the trail continuing on down for mile after mile (knowing that out here, what goes down must go back up!).










On the way back up out of the canyon, I noticed that Tracy’s breathing was uneven, and commented that the secret to making walking in the mountains easier is to establish a rhythm with your breathing that matches your walking. I also remarked about the signs at the start of the trail that had advised that “if you’re able to hold a conversation and walk, your pace is good”. They also gave lots of examples of people who had died trying to do too much, but I didn’t comment on them (as they’d freaked us both out). To help establish a breathing rhythm, I asked Tracy to speak. In fact, I asked her to recite some nursery rhymes. What other hikers thought as they passed this crazy English couple going up to the sound of “Mary had a little lamb its fleece and white as snow ” is anyone’s guess…

Still, it worked, and Tracy mentioned that it would have been helpful if I’d told her that when we were hiking in Zion or Bryce… can’t win, can I?!

Back at the car we took a short drive to some of the overlooks, and stood admiring the view and taking yet more photos… We even managed to cajole a passer-by into taking one of both of us…

And then it was time to head back to the lodge and get showered and changed and head out in search of food. This time we went to the “Spaghetti Western”, a themed Italian restaurant across the road from the lodge. The food was ok, nothing special, and the service was dire. The only memorable part of the meal was desert, and that’s only because I ordered the cheesecake and Tracy a lemon meringue pie. The desert itself wasn’t memorable, but what was, was quite why Tracy’s portion was so much larger than mine which was the subject of debate long into the night…

posted by DoctorZippy  # 23:00