Day 14 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 14 Sunday July 20 2008

Today we have another full schedule. We have booked a tour through Gray Line Bus Tours and are going to go and see The Hoover Dam. We saw the dam when we drove over it on our way from Sedona to Las Vegas and we saw the dam from our helicopter tour a couple of days ago. This will be an up close and personal guided tour. The tour company picked us up at The Golden Nugget which is just a couple of blocks from our hotel and drove us to the Bus Terminal where we met up with the rest of the guests on the larger tour bus.





The tour was a little dissapointing, most of the areas that used to be on the tour are now off limits since 9-11 , but we did wander through the museum, and did participate in the tour to see the generators, but if you have been to Niagara Falls and seen the generators at the Beck Generating Center, then you have a good idea of what to expect here at the Hoover Dam. Most of what you would want to see is off limits.

Here is a picture of the generating room.



After the Hoover Dam tour we boarded the bus and we were taken to The Hacienda Casino in Boulder City on the shores of Lake Mead for a free buffet lunch and some gambling.



After leaving the Hacienda Casino, our driver spotted some Long Horn Sheep in a park off to the side of the road so he pulled over so that we could get out and take pictures.





We got back on the bus and headed for the final stop of our tour. The Ethel M Chocolate Shop. As one would expect, this is a factory where they make chocolate. We got to sample and purchase chocolate and ice cream.



One thing that we were not expecting at the Chocolate Shop was a Cactus Garden. Karen's favourite cactus is the Saguaro Cactus, and we have spent a lot of time looking for one. Even when we were in Sedona Arizona we were told that saguaro's are not found that far north in Arizona, so it was a real surprise and a treat to find one here in Southern Nevada, even though it is not out in the wild, Karen was happy to have her picture taken in this garden with her favourite cactus.





That concluded our tour and the bus dropped us off back at The Golden Nugget.

After dinner this evening we decided that we should stick around and check out the Fremont Street Experience. Our hotel is located two blocks away from the entrance to The Fremont Street Experience so we have been spending a lot of time in this area during the day, but never at night. About a 5 block long section of Fremont Street is covered with a metal latice type of dome.



It is basically an open air conditioned pedestrian mall under this enclosed area, with dozens of casinos and lots of stores for shopping or browsing. At night time, the Fremont Street Experience comes to life with a video show performance displayed on the ceiling of the dome, the full length of the street.

It is hard to describe, but you can see for yourself what I am talking about if you click on the link to the VIDEO that I placed on You Tube.

Here are a few photos of the lights at night along Fremont Street









We enjoyed Fremont Street at night and if you are in Vegas, this is a must see.

You can click on my Flickr site to see all of our photos and videos from today.

Day 12 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 12 Friday July 18 2008

Well here we are in Las Vegas. I was glad to get the car parked safely at the hotel yesterday afternoon. I have never experienced such traffic in my life, but I did it. Now I am going to leave the car parked for the next 5 days and just rely on our feet and public transit. I have no desire to drive in this traffic. Our hotel is conveniently located (purposely chosen) on Fremont Street, only 2 blocks from the famous Las Vegas Strip.

Today is going to be an exciting day. We have booked a helicopter tour to The Grand Canyon. A limousine is to pick us up at the Golden Nugget Casino and take us out to the airport to meet with the helicopter.



We booked the tour through Sundance Helicopters.



The flight to the Grand Canyon took about an hour. As we lifted off from the airport, Las Vegas was spread out below us on the desert floor.



The pilot was very helpful in pointing out points of interest. We flew in low over the Hoover Dam and I got some great photos.



Although we had just been to the Grand Canyon several days ago through our tour that we booked in Flagstaff, this was a totally different experience and view as we approached the Canyon from the air. The flight down and through the canyon walls to the floor of the canyon was nothing short of breathtaking. Looking through the glass windows of the helicopter the camera cannot capture the beauty that we saw, but here are a few pictures anyways.







Here is a VIDEO that I posted on You Tube of our helicopter landing at the Grand Canyon

We landed on the floor of the Grand Canyon, right on the shore of the Colorado River.



The perspective from the bottom of the canyon, looking up, is so much different than being on top looking down.



We spent about an hour on the floor of the Grand Canyon and had a wonderfully delicious picnic lunch with champagne. On our flight back to Las Vegas, we flew right over our hotel and then turned to follow the Las Vegas Strip back to the airport. I think a night flight over the strip would be neat to see with all the buildings lit up.

Again, if you have not done this, I highly recommend spending the money and doing the helicopter flight to the Grand Canyon.

Click on my Flickr link to see all of our photos from today.

Day 11 Summer Vacation 2008

Today is Day 11 Thursday July 17 2008

Have you ever had to wake up at 4am when you were on vacation? This is a first for us having to get up at this hour, but also another first for us is the reason we are awake so early. We are waiting in the lobby of our hotel for the excursion van to pick us up and take us out to the launch site for our sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride. We booked this flight through Sky High Balloon Adventures. The air is only calm enough for balloons to fly at dawn as the sun rises, any other time of the day and the winds and directions are just too unstable for ballooning.



This flight is billed as a "Splash & Dash" where the pilot will maneauver the balloon in such a way that the basket is to touch down on the surface of the Verde River and then lift off again. However conditions have to be 100% perfect for this to occur. As good as our conditions were, we could not get lined up just right to make this happen. Oh well, did we really want to get our running shoes soaking wet? We learnt afterwards that only about 10 flights a year ever get to do the spash and dash.

The balloon is rolled out onto the ground and then a very large industrial fan starts to blow air into the opening to start the inflation process. Once enough air is inside, the pilot then lights the propane burners and starts heating the air. This causes the balloon to lift.



We then climbed into the basket, which holds 12 people, and we slowly lifted off into the sky, just as the sun was rising over the horizon.





As we looked down we could see bunny rabbits scurrying about, they had been startled by the noise of the propane burning to heat up the air of our balloon, and were dashing here, there and everywhere. As we gained height, we could start getting a sense of the surrounding terrain.



There was another hot air balloon following us a couple of miles back, my zoom lens brought it in to appear that it was very close to us.



We followed the riverbed of the Verde River, and saw plenty of wild life, including birds, otters, beaver and elk. The pilot said it was rare to see elk, but we had several opportunites to see them as they moved down the river at about the same pace as we were floating above them.




The flight was so quiet and peaceful, just floating along and enjoying every moment. I would highly recommend you to take a hot air balloon ride if you ever have the opportunity. One thing though, bring a hat. When the pilot turns on the propane burners to heat up the air in the balloon, the downdraft of heat that hits you on the top of the head is scorching. I didn't wear a hat, and so I was constantly ducking low everytime he hit the burners.

Here is a few more pictures of our flight.







After our flight, we were taken to a picnic area for breakfast and champagne. We were given certificates of accomplishment and the pilot and the chase crew were very hospitable.

To learn more about Sky High Balloon Adventures, you can click on the link.

After our hot air balloon ride, we are now ready to head north to Las Vegas. That is one advantage of getting up so early. We are on the road to Las Vegas at 9:30 am



The drive was very enjoyable, especially the section from Kingman AZ to The Hoover Dam. We got the first sense of being out in the middle of the desert, especially when looking at the thermometer on the dash of the car, it reached a high of 44 degrees celsius. That is hot. Driving across the Hoover Dam was really neat, in a few more years when the new bridge is built, it will not be possible to drive on top of the dam. We will be back in a few days on a guided excursion.
Now I have to suck up all my driving skills and courage and get us into Las Vegas. I am gaining driving confidence on this trip with all of the Interstate driving we have been doing, but considering that the last 30 years of my life have been spent on rural roads at home, this is a somewhat nerve wracking experience out here on this 16 lane interstate leading into Las Vegas. Nothing but concrete and cars travelling at 80 mph or faster for miles around me.

To see all of our photos from today, you can go to my Flickr site.