Wild, Wild, West; Grand Canyon and Las Vegas
May 27th, 2009 by Brigitte Siebert
Brigitte Siebert joins us again with the second half of her Flight Centre Travel blog post about her Contiki Tour of the western United States. Brigitte brings us vacation and holiday tips from the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas.
Day Four: Phoenix to the Grand Canyon
4 AM wakeup call – yikes! We headed off for our champagne breakfast while the crew gassed up our hot air balloon. As the sun rose we took an amazing balloon ride over Phoenix. The scenery was spectacular and I felt like I was on top of the world. We came back to earth and started driving to “Red Rock” country in Sedona which felt like we were in an untouched part of the world. Giant red rock mountains surrounded us as well as real life cowboys and I felt like I was on the set of a Clint Eastwood movie. We had lunch and tried buffalo meat, rattlesnake, and cactus french fries; definitely a once in a lifetime meal. We hopped into back country jeeps, headed off into the mountains for a bumpy ride, and stopped at an old abandoned shack where a bootlegger was murdered back in the day. It was time to head back to reality so we got back on the coach and drove to the Grand Canyon where we took a quick stop to watch the IMAX Grand Canyon movie to see what we were in for. Once we arrived we were all eager to get off the coach and experience it firsthand. I couldn’t have imagined how spectacular it actually was. Speechless, I just stared for a long while and tried to wrap my head around the amazing scenery. I could have sat and stared for days.
Day Five: Grand Canyon to Las Vegas
Today I took my first helicopter ride and hands down this was my favourite experience of the entire trip. The sun was rising and we were flying over top of this amazing wonder of the world. Again, I was speechless – it was indescribable! We continued to soar above the treetops of the canyon with our mouths open in awe as Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful World” blasted into our headsets. This experience topped walking on the Great Wall of China for me and I wanted to stay here in this moment forever. We hopped back on the Contiki coach and headed on to the infamous “Route 66″ towards Las Vegas. On the way I had my first taste of an In-N-Out burger and was instantly addicted. A fresh and juicy burger for $1.49; I love the US.
Day Six: Las Vegas
Viva Las Vegas! Time to do some tanning by the pool and take advantage of the staggering heat! After lounging in the sun for awhile we walked down the strip taking in the mountainous hotels and all the excitement that surrounds the strip. That evening we headed to Planet Hollywood to check out “V: variety show” and watched jugglers, comedians, gymnasts, and body builders; something for everyone. Next, we were off to dance the night away and have a wild Vegas night. We hit up Ghostbar and then Pure with each one getting better than the next thanks to the occasional celebrity sighting. I danced until there were blisters on my toes and decided at 6am that I was finally ready for sleep.
Day Seven: Time to Go Home
After a good 4 hours of sleep I woke up and lounged by the pool to finish my tan. At the pool we were all buzzing about our favourite moments, laughs, and highlights of the trip. No one was ready to leave but we were all too exhausted to stay. A few Coronas later it was time to hit the airport. We stopped in Portland for a few hours and exhaustion kicked in. Hundreds of photos, hundreds of miles driven and flown, and a hundred good memories later I was home.
Las Vegas is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.
Brigitte Siebert is a Assistant Manager and Sandals Resort Specialist at the Yaletown Flight Centre in Vancouver, BC and can be reached at 604 689 3590.
Categories: Destinations
