Tour bus arrives about 4:55 and takes us out to Boulder airport, just outside the city. We are checked in, where we are both weighed, then given a coloured sticker to wear. Then, along with about 11 others we are called to the gate. A bus takes us a short way to a smallish aircraft. It has 3 seats across and about a foot wide gangway. They don't use the middle seat though, so everyone has a window. We belt up, put on our guide headphones, then before you know it the twin engined aircraft is in the sky. It flies out over the Hoover Dam for a photoshoot then heads out across the Mojave desert towards the west rim of the Grand Canyon. We touch down about 40 minutes later on Hulapai Indian (Native American) territory. We are transferred to a bus and then bused out to Eagle Point. This is the home of the Skywalk. For those that don't know (google it) this is a glass horseshoe shaped bridge that extends out over the edge of the canyon. We take some pictures of the canyon, then Cath and I make our way in the Skywalk entrance. We are the first. All personal belongings have to be left in a locker and we have to go through a scanner. Next we have to put overshoes on, so as not to scratch the glass. Then we are at the skywalk itself. Given Cath's fear of heights, what happens next is quite amazing. Well, next, next. First of all she steps on the glass, looks down and steps back immediately. The guy there points out that the rock is only 10 feet below. We then both move out onto the glass, Cath leading the way. I'm so proud of her. We move out over the glass and look down at the rocks below. There is a photographer with us and he tells us the floor is 3000ft below. The scale of things here means you lose perspective. Cath knows it's a long way down but it's not that apparent, so she's OK. We catch a sight of the Colorado river. It is, apparently, 3 miles away. Again it doesn't appear that far away. Cath even manages to sit down on the glass and look down. By the time we come off it, last to do so from our party, she is a little shakey but she has achieved something quite remarkable for someone with her fear.
We take a few more snaps and catch a bus to Guano Point. Named after 'bat turds' we are told. Here we have our breakfast, for me that's shredded beef and rice, Cath, corn, rice and vegetables. Whilst we're eating we are visited by an Albert squirrel. It's a bit bigger than a grey, with a redish back, almost matching the red rock.
We walk out onto an outcrop and take some more photos, then we catch the coach back to the airport terminal. The flight back is a little shorter than going, as they bypass the Hoover Dam. We touch down and are transferred to the terminal building, then onward to our hotel. Back in the room and TV on, Argentina are beating Mexico and the commentator makes a statement about how will they cope with Germany. I guess we lost then. Later the humiliation becomes clear.
Cath takes a nap whilst I catch up with the blog and uploading photos. We then get ready to go out. We have a rendezvous planned with the destruction of Atlantis in the Caesar's Forum. It seems like you are walking for miles inside before you reach the spot. We take up our positions and wait. The show itself is quite stunning. Animatronic figures wave swords at each other, then dancing waters and flames ensue. Finally a beast appears to swallow everything up and there is darkness.
That over with we step into the Cheesecake Factory for our dinner. I have a blue cheese burger and fries, Cath an omelette with potato cubes and tomato. It's decent enough grub and reasonably priced. We leave there to do the rounds of the Caesar's Palace and Bellagio. The latter having a botanical garden, with real flowers and olive trees but in the setting of a giant garden. There are massive bronze ants, a huge flower pot and trowel and other creatures such as ladybirds and bees. Out of the Bellagio we stop to watch the dancing waters once more. Unfortunately some loud yank girl stands next to Cath and insists on bellowing down her ear. As the music begins Cath asks her if we can listen to the music, she replies we can hear it. Cath's retort is short and to the point, "not with your mouth, we can't" That quietens her down a bit.
Finally we make our way back to The Mirage and watch the volcano erupting again (we saw it the previous night), this time from the road side. It's better but still not up to some of the other free shows we've seen.
We head inside and do a few more slots. I win $10 on a roulette machine, then promptly lose $5 on a blackjack machine. We make our way to bed.
Tomorrow is our last day. I have checked us onto our flight, so we can guarantee sitting together. The flight is scheduled for 20:40, so we still have most of the day to do some more sightseeing, even after we've packed.
The next and final blog will be from back in the UK.
Neill
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