What can I say about the Grand Canyon except that it's a bloody big hole! Seeing the Grand Canyon was the one thing I had always said I wanted to do before I die.
Well, I've seen it.
Sure, it's extraordinary in size and scope and has a grandeur that is probably unique to it, but to be perfectly honest, it left me quite underwhelmed!
I was impressed, but not more than many other sites.
Even allowing time (about 4 weeks) to temper my thoughts, I still feel the same way
Maybe I was expecting too much, but I wouldn't bother going back unless I lived in Arizona and it was nearby.
I arrived in Phoenix, Arizona minus my luggage, which the airline had left in Cusco for some reason, so being dressed for 15 degrees celcius in Cusco, and arriving to 39 degrees at 7pm, I had to walk to the nearest Walmart the next morning at 7.30am, because it was already in the 30s, to buy a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. My bag arrived the next day, so all was ok.
From Phoenix, I bussed to Flagstaff where I was staying in a hostel. The following day I took a day tour to the Canyon, and stopped on the way to see Indian pueblo ruins from the 1200s, which I found almost as interesting as the Canyon itself.
Two days later, I had booked a helicopter flight over the Canyon, but the day was a windy as all get out. I was being taken to the heliport on a tour bus, which was going on to the Canyon again, but when I got to there, I was told that all flights had been cancelled for the day, so I continued on with the tour bus to the Canyon again.
This time we stopped at different places to the other tour, so at least I wasn't doing exactly the same thing over again.
Just as a BTW, from time to time, there is a guy at one of the viewing areas who has been involved in movies and he will take photos for you free of charge, using small models of Star Wars characters or dinosaurs so it looks as though you are interacting with them. A novel Grand Canyon pic, adding a bit of interest to the excursion.
The rest of the time I was there, I spent exploring Flagstaff (not that there's much to explore) before bussing to Phoenix airport for my flight to Vancouver.
