A Backwards We Will Go

A Backwards We Will Go Originally uploaded by Gelatomettista2.

[jimlee]

So, like Ale, I can only recount the last two weeks in reverse. Although Ale and I hung out all weekend in Vegas, we did spend some quality time apart. Sunday morning at 8am, after 4 hours of sleep, tequila and cigar smoke still oozing out of my pores, I went on a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. You can get there from Sin City in about 45 minutes. On the way, we flew over enormous Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam and then dropped down half a mile into the Canyon and touched down for some champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

The contrast between the serene, peaceful, stone cliffs of the Canyon and the noisy, crowded, cacophonous turbulence that is the Strip in Vegas was very moving emotionally. You really felt humbled and insignificant in the face of the majesty of Nature. I had seen the Grand Canyon several times before from the Southern end but never wandered much from usual tourist viewing sites. This time, I got to sit and stare and meditate at the base of the Canyon itself. I walked off from the group a bit and felt like I was the only person in the entire universe--that's how dwarfed you feel by the Canyon. The ride back was eventful as well as we checked out numerous colorful sand/rock formations and then zipped down the Vegas Strip. Here is a shot of the Bellagio where we ate the night before.