My trip to AZ! again (3rd trip this year)

Well, I just got back yesterday from the annual summer road trip with my mom! Unfortunately, she had to work in the middle of our trip so we had 2 "mini" vacations! On August 23, we went to the west part of the Grand Canyon. This is where the Sky Bridge is that you can walk out over the edge of the canyon. I wasn't sure that I could actually do it but hey, you only live once!

The adventure began with a crazy drive in the middle of no where! The last 15 miles are on a dirt (and incredibly bumpy) road. So we get to the gate and pay $20 to park. Then you have to go and buy a "pass" to see the canyon for another $30. But that doesn't include the sky bridge, so then we got to pay another $30 to walk on the bridge. When for those who know my mom, she said, "Look, we can get a package deal with all of that PLUS a helicopter ride to the bottom and a boat ride on the river for only $60 more. So there you go! Off we go to get on the helicopter! I am not afraid of heights or of flying at all but oh my gosh! it was crazy! You are flying along the ground and get to the edge of the canyon and then you zoom straight down over the edge of the canyon! I have to be honest, my stomach did a bit of a flip! Then the amazing view that you never could get otherwise.

They fly you right up against the sides of the canyon and thru the nooks and cranny's in the canyon! It was awesome! Then down to the bottom for a fun 5 mile trip on the river! The guide was great! The river was very muddy because of the canyon flooding further upstream. He said that the Indian village was washed out completely and they had to evacuate the people by helicopter! He said that all of the helicopters in the area were taking people out! Crazy!

Anyway, after that then we went over to the sky bridge! Definitely not for the people afraid of heights! It goes out over the canyon and you can look straight down 4000 ft! It took a bit of time to get brave enough to walk on the clear glass part but I did it and lived to tell!

Then back to Phoenix so my mom could work for a few days! On Friday, August 29th, we flew to Reno and then took a bus to Lake Tahoe for a fun filled 3 days/2 night vacation that my mom got for FREE! (Well free for me, not sure how much she had to gamble to get that FREE trip!) Anyway, we had a good dinner and then planned on taking a boat trip on Saturday! It was really fun because it was a "narrarated" tour with Mark Twain. I learned he spend several years in the Lake Tahoe area and LOVED IT! So he told stories and history of the area and it was fun! If you have never been, Lake Tahoe is the 2nd deepest lake in the U.S. It is 1600 ft deep and the water is so clear you can see down about 80 feet. It was very relaxing even though the wind was blowing the boat was very steady! (I am more afraid of boats than flying) Then back to the hotel for more "fun" (that means Carla gambling and me reading my book in the room!) Then back to Phoenix on Sunday!

All in all a very fun and relaxing trip! Oh by the way, I did see the movie, "Traitor" excellcent movie!

So now I have to plan the next great adventure!