Day 10

18th May 2006

Grand Canyon AZ

28842 – 29021 (179 miles)

This is a day off so a return to Williams for the night after a day at the Grand Canyon. Some of us have a pre booked flight in a helicopter over the Canyon at 10 am this morning. A smaller group are going to travel up by train. We depart at 8am for the airport riding out of the mountains and onto the desert plains again. We ride east for a short while the first time since the trip began, nearly 2000 miles ago. The ride in is quick, arriving at the airport in plenty of time for the flight, its book in and get weighed, glad to say my weight has not gone up with all the eating that has been going on. Lift off is just after 10am and we head out to the east rim flying at 300’ above the tree level due to noise restrictions over the area.

We arrive at the rim and we behold an amazing sight, you just cannot believe the scene that is unfolding before you. Our route takes up towards the Colorado Rivers, flying generally north, the colours of the rock and the formations beyond belief. The canyon is a mile deep and we come to the rivers, the Little Colorado River is an amazing colour blue, and flows into the duller Colorado River, we are told that when it rains the blue turns to a muddy colour. We can see the rapids in the river and there is a raft making its way down the river. We fly over the North rim, which is higher into a rain shower, and head west for a short while before entering Bright Angel Canyon on our southern run back to the airport. The sights are changing time and time again, soon we are back where we started from and time has just flown by, (no pun intended), we have been up for almost an hour but is only seems like minutes.

Its back to the bikes for the ride into the National Park and a rid along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, on the way in an Elk was grazing in the woods. It was slow going getting into the park; goodness knows what it is like in the height of the season. One in we head for the first viewpoint, it is so crowded that we ride through and onto the next point, Yavapi Point that is less crowded. The views from this level are stunning the scale is breathtaking and distance incomprehensible. The distance between South and North Rim varies from about 8 miles to over 27 miles depending at which point you are standing and looking out across too.

A short visit to the Grand Canyon Village and met up with the group form the train, they had been entertained on route by cowboys staging a hold up, it has taken them about two and a half hours to get here. The view is taken over by squirrels that are very friendly and always looking for free handouts. The party split and go our own way to explore the area; I set off for Desert View at the far end of the park about 30 miles away and am joined by two others.

On route it starts to rain with lightening so we take shelter in a rest stop and soon joined by other bikers from our group and a couple from Virginia. The toilers here are just holes in the ground surrounded by a very nice building, which gives the impression of all mod cons. The shower soon passes and we move on stopping at one or two of the viewpoints, but is becomes apparent we would be better off going to the end and working our way back as each time we stop we are crossing over traffic twice.
We arrive at Desert View and there we see a viewing tower at the edge, we climb to the top and look down towards the Colorado Rivers, can just make out a raft on the river making its way towards some rapids. From here we head towards Mather Point our original stop off in the morning, but on route stop off at Navajo Point, Lipin Point, Moran Point and Grandview Point, taking lots of photographs at each stop, the views changing by the minute with the clouds casting shadows over the rock face. Finishing at Mather Point before the return to the hotel at Williams, we see some more wildlife on the way, Jack Rabbits and deer. The wind is picking up as we ride across the desert and tumbleweed rolls across the road.

Arriving at Williams we enter on the old Route 66, it is a one-way system so ride up one way and back the other, stores line the route on the way back. Williams was the last town to be by-passed by the highway, but far from dying out it has boomed as a historic stop for the old road.

It has been a fun day and the helicopter trip is well worth the cost. If you have seen the Grand Canyon, you know that words cannot describe it adequately if you have not seen it then its well worth putting on your place to visit list.

The evening meal was at the hotel we were staying in, a Holiday Inn, the restaurant was set out as a gambling saloon of Doc Holiday, and he was away from the table while we were there but he left his hand of cards on the table along with his hat and coat. Ordered a rack of beef spare ribs and wished I had gone for the smaller portion of three; they were enormous and just about made it through the meal.