Grand Canyon!!!

Today (Thursday 26) we had to wake up EARLY!!! Our shuttle bus to Grand Canyon was picking us up at 6:45 am at the Excalibur and before we needed to check out and store our bags at the hotel. I was so tired after yesterdays long walk so I was happy that we were gonna be in a bus for 3 hours!

We bought expensive breakfast at Starbucks, everything was like $1 more then usual, and then went out to wait for the bus. It was still hot but not as crazy as yesterday but I had the backpack filled with water just in case.

When the bus arrived we didn't realize it was the one so we just sat there for a while before we thought that we maybe should go and check, and it was the right one ;)

There was a lot of Germans on the bus so Kadda was irritated cause it felt like home for here ;)First we had to go to the company's headquarter to sign in and get our tickets and then we could jump back in the bus and it was good that we'd brought Kadda's blanket cause it was freezing thanks to the AC but the driver told us that we would be thankful later when it got hotter so we just cuddled up under the blanket, put the music in the ears and fell asleep.

The bus driver was a real talker so he told us stuff about the canyon and the surroundings where we were driving. It's good but when U are tired and want to sleep, it's irritating.

Our first stop was after one hour when we reached Hoover dam. It was so cool and I've seen it in many movies and it actually is that huge as it looks. We couldn't stop at the dam, which I'd wanted, so the pictures aren't that great.

Now was also the point were we drove in to Arizona, another state on my list ;) As we came closer and closer to the canyon the environment got more desert like and fewer houses were along the road. The last town didn't even have running water!! Who wants to live like that? Crazy!!

The canyon is on a reservation belong to the Hualapai Indians and they live there and take care of the Canyon. It's such a big cultural difference for me to see these people and their small villages and tents and there was also a ranch U could visit, it's like from a western movie. Just so fascinating! But I felt a bit bad that I, as a tourist, wanted to come and take pictures of them like they're some kind of attraction. I mean, it's just who they are and they live like that. I guess they would like to come and take pictures of me and how I'm living. But on the other hand I'm glad that they are so open and willing to share their culture with us.

One part of the road was not paved so we had to go slow but it was still a bumpy ride, felt like home ;) It was funny when suddenly we saw cattle at the side of the road. Once again, like in a western movie but real life!

OK, the canyon then....it was HUGE!!!! The bus stopped at the visitor center where we had to take a shuttle out to the canyon. Our first stop was called Eagle Point cause out in the canyon was a cliff shaped as a eagle. There was also one shaped as a dog ;) Cute!! We could go all the way to the edge and that was scary cause it's a long way down! I was to afraid to go close and I was scared just looking at Kadda while she leaned over!!!

Here was also the Sky bridge located which is a bridge made of glass that allowed U to go out a bit in the canyon with just the glass under your feet. They told us that the glass was strong enough to hold 6 full Boeing airplanes so I felt pretty secure when I walked out. But it has to break some time, right? It was a cool feeling to " Walk in the sky" and U got a pretty good perspective of how deep it was.

With our tickets, lunch was included so Kadda had hers here while I wanted to wait to the next stop.

We jumped on the shuttle again and went to the other point called Guano Point where we also could see the Colorado river far down in the canyon and it was really beautiful. Here we had a bit of a hurry cause we only had 3 hours on our own before the bus would go back so I started with my lunch which was a BBQ with pork, rice, corn, vegetables and brownie as dessert. It was jummy!!!

Then we took a lot of great pictures but it was so hot on the rocks so it was hard to sit or lay down. Kadda jumped out to a cliff but I was to afraid ;)

This was really one of the coolest things I've done in my life this far. It was like a Hallelujah moment cause of the greatness of the canyon and I felt really small thinking of how a wonder like this can become. Moder nature is my new idol, she rocks!!

The native Americans showed some of their hand crafts and they had beautiful jewelery and dream catchers.

We took the shuttle back to the visitor center where we wanted to buy some kind of souvenir but they didn't have so much good stuff so we only got a certification that we had visit so that we can proof to people that we really been here ;)

We arrived earlier than planned in Las Vegas so we had time to take some pictures of the hotel and the strip when it still was bright outside which was good cause then U can really see how it looks like. Then we ate at McDonald's again and after, we grabbed our bags to go and find the location of the Greyhound bus station for our ride to Los Angeles.

They had a Monorail here so we used that as far as we could and then we walked the rest. We hadn't really looked up how far it was but it couldn't be that far, or? I think we walked for about one hour if not more and it was so exhausting with all the bags and in the heat!! OMG!! And we didn't have cash for a cab or bus so we just kept on walking.

Finally we reached the station and the first thing we did was to change in to soft pants and try to freshen up in the restrooms but that was not easy.

We had around 1 hour before the bus would leave, at midnight, so it was good that we had left the hotel when we did.

We asked if there was WiFi on the bus and they said: "Yes, we have WiFi on all of our buses, except yours!"....of course! We were so tired that we just laughed and didn't know where to go.

When they finally started boarding, the security guy wanted to look through our carry on and Kadda didn't understand so she was like: "What do U want with my bag?" Panicking!!! Hahah...totally hilarious!

The bus was really old and scrappy. It was narrow and no place for the feet and the seats were not comfortable at all. It was warm and smelly and the AC was making this awful noise. Well, it's just a thing that will take us from one point to another so it was OK. I just tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible so that I could dream away to a warm and sunny beach ;)

We made a short stop when we were about half ways out in the desert ;) It was on a gas station so we could use the restroom which was nice. It was so weird and scary, I wanted some fresh air after being in that bus for 2 hours, but outside it was so warm and the air was just still so I could barely breathe. Then I felt like a baby and just wanted to lay down on the ground and scream cause I was tired and didn't get the air I wanted!! Take me home!!

Miss U all!

Love Sandra