The Grand Canyon. One word - AWESOME.

One of the first things I wanted to do once I got to Vegas - and actually pretty much for most of my life since I knew about it was to visit the awe-inspiring natural wonder that is the Grand Canyon.

So I merrily booked a 10 hour trip and decided that it would be worth the travel as actually it isn't that close to Vegas and boy was it worth the time. I'd heard the West rim was better than the South as less built up but having only been to one I really had and still have no clue. All I can tell you about was what I saw - incredible, breathtaking views of one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

En route we negotiated narrow, winding roads until we reached the the impressive Hoover Damn and stunning views over Lake Mead. This ain't known as an engineering wonder of the world for nothing and you don't need half a brain cell to work out why.

I have to say I fell in love with the Colorado River bridge which was so dramatic - you can get a little sense of how it felt to approach it in this vid...

Anyway that was really just an appetizer.

But I have to say the pics you are about to see really do not do the Grand Canyon justice.  I mean how would that even be possible when it is 18 miles wide, an average of 5,000 ft deep, is 227 miles long and takes up 1,218,376 acres of land?

What it crazy is that there are NO RAILS between you and the abyss that waits for you underneath. This is pretty scary and constantly buzzing in your mind as you carefully edge a little closer to the edge to try and see just how deep that fall really would be.

It's kind of surreal because when you're there you feel like you're looking at a wall or movie backdrop - that you can just reach out and touch it.  But in fact it's a complex combination of layers or rocks, cliffs, hills and valleys and once you get your head around that it is even more of a mind blowing experience.

And when you are just little thing siting on a very big rock, to say it's a very humbling experience is a gross underestimation.  

Anyway I'm hoping these vids will give you a better idea of the sheer awesome nature of the Grand Canyon....

After such an overwhelming experience of course one thing was in order - a beer! So we hit the road until we found this bolt-hole saloon bar called Rosie's bar.  I swear it was like walking into something out of a movie even down to this dude who served us and all the random characters propping up the bar.

The guys got a bit disgruntled when we said we were only staying for one, and we couldn't help but wonder whether that was because they wanted to slip something in our second! Well we made it out in one piece anyway.

Btw, can not recommend the tour organizers I booked this with enough, Avatar Tours. Small group, awesome guide Sean. The only thing that would have made it better is if they threw in a free helicopter ride over the canyon. ;)