Las Vegas - Canyon Copter
Had a look around the MGM Grand this morning. By NZ standards its huge, 5000+ rooms, 170,000 sq ft (17000msq) of gaming. Have a nice room looking along the strip towards the Bellagio.
I have tickets for a couple of shows, George Carlin and Rita Rudner, later in the week. Didn't go too far as I was being picked up for a helicopter ride. Did not want to get lost and miss it!
(Photo: Flying over MGM Grand on the way out of Vegas)
I went with MAVERICK Helicopters. The "Dreamcatcher" tour has over 2 1/2 hours flying time. We flew over Vegas to the Grand Canyon and landed in the canyon by the river. Descending to the floor gave a true scale of how large it is.
After some champagne and snacks we flew back over the Hoover Dam as the sun set. Stunning views and great views of the dam. Was good to see knowing the history from the "Seven Wonders..." programme seen on Prime. (Photo: Canyon Landing Spot)
By this time the sun had set and we flew over "Old Las Vegas" and along The Strip as all the lights were now on. Awesome to see but strangely familiar.
Credit for that goes to the Flight Simulator 2004 team as I had "flown The Strip" in it before leaving home. It looked surprisingly similar! (Photo: The Strip: Real and FlightSim 2004)
I think this was the best way to see the Grand Canyon (given the time restrictions) as you get the aerial perspective but also, by landing in the canyon, a true ground level appreciation of the scale of the place.
Looking down from an aircraft it looks big but looking up from river level its enormous. Most of the Canyon photos came out ok but as the sun went down I ran out of light as we headed back to Vegas & the Strip.
Luckily they record a DVD as you fly (it's your actual trip not a "canned one") so I have that as a record.
It arrived about a week after I got home and is the full flight apart from the 30 minutes on the ground in the canyon complete with pilot commentary, passenger voice and even backing music.
If you get to Vegas and want to see the Grand Canyon I recommend the Maverick Dreamcatcher flight. There are a lot of tour companies operating there but somehow I think I stumbled on the best - the web works sometimes!
Near new machinery (it was only days old!), great itinerary, live not pre-recorded commentary and a friendly pilot who was happy to chat & answer any questions.
It was a real highlight of the trip. I really recommend the Maverick Dreamcatcher flight if you get the chance to do it.
