Visit Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam via helicopter

The Hoover Dam borders Arizona and Nevada and was constructed during the Great Depression.    Several movies have been filmed at Hoover Dam, but the one I most remember (don't laugh) was "Fools Rush In" with Salma Hayek and Matthew Perry aka Chandler.  One of the most memorable moments of the movie was when Salma goes into labor and delivers her baby at Hoover Dam.

I had made several attempts to go to the Dam during prior Vegas visits, but either none of my friends were interested in going, or perhaps we were just too hungover from the night before to go.  The Dam was a short drive from Las Vegas, while only getting stuck in traffic near Lake Mead.  Once we passed Lake Mead the traffic sped up.  We drove through a mountain, and stopped at a check point before stopping at the Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge that had just opened.

 Claire & Missy almost blown away from the wind

The wind was insane.  I thought my little skinny friend Claire would be blown off the bridge.  We walked from the Nevada end of the bridge to the Arizona end.

 Thanks to the wind to make it look like I have a combover

We didn't stay very long, because their really wasn't much else to see since we weren't too interested in a tour, and it was much too cold and windy to stay any longer than we already did. 

 "A Walk To Remember" moment...two places at once, and the tattoo scene

Despite the new swanky bridge to get better views, it still doesn't beat seeing it from the air. 

Date Accomplished:  October 24th, 2010

Visit The Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is easily one of the most recognized locations on Earth, and rightfully labeled as one of the 'Seven Natural Wonders of the World.'  You probably would have expected that I had made several trips to the Grand Canyon growing up seeing as that Arizona is geographically so close to California.  But in actuality, I had visited several other continents before finally making my way to the Grand Canyon.

 The Grand Canyon and the Colorado River

I had a friend from Australia visiting the U.S.A. for the first time, and we had conveniently planned a trip to Las Vegas for my birthday.  She had expressed wanting to see the Grand Canyon, and I remember seeing helicopter tours from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon advertised online.  I went on Viator and found a great package to see the canyon.  We had a limo pick us up at our hotel, and then we took a 45 minute (each way) helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon (with a flight over the Hoover Dam on the way there).  Once landing at the bottom of the Canyon we had a champagne lunch overlooking the Colorado River.

Me and the Colorado River

 Having champagne at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with Aussie friend, Claire

It was absolutely stunning, and not your everyday Grand Canyon experience.  I think my favorite part of the trip was following the stream of the Colorado River via helicopter.  I saw tourists at the top of the Canyon thinking how lucky I was to see it from this perspective.   After lunch we headed back to Las Vegas airport, only after flying over the Las Vegas strip.  When we got back on the ground we had our limo waiting for us to take us back to our hotel.  :)  Talk about a first class experience!

A video of my Grand Canyon experience.....




Date Accomplished:  October 25th, 2010