Finally, we were off to the Grand Canyon. This was the view
out of the window (left side) not long after take off. Judging by the
sun angle, I'd say it's looking north.
On Thursday, June 16th, Peter and I had reservations with Scenic Airlines for a flight to the Grand Canyon. Yvonne decided to sit this one out, and had a delightful day shopping.
Peter and I were picked up at our hotel and delivered to Scenic Airlines at North Las Vegas airport - quite some distance from our hotel. There we waited for quite some time, as it became apparent that the schedule was, at best, advisary!
Note: these images have been manipulated to improve contrast and colour. This removes some of the consequences of looking through haze, and also aircraft windows. This process seems to change the colour balance and contrast of the images; your guess as to whether it's appropriate/correct.
Finally, we were off to the Grand Canyon. This was the view
out of the window (left side) not long after take off. Judging by the
sun angle, I'd say it's looking north.
Looking out the right side of the plane I see the Stratosphere,
which is pretty much at the northern end of the Strip.
The Strip is just visible in the upper left - the bright
red roof is part of "Circus Circus", and the "Eiffel Tower"
is just barely visible amongst the clutter.
The Las Vegas Speedway. I imagine the neighbours do not complain
about the noise, although I suppose some developer will build
houses right next door and then there'll be complaints. Obviously
we are now "out in the sticks" headed to the Canyon.
A flat piece of land, on the shores of Lake Mead, the water
accumulated behind the Hoover Dam.
The Hoover Dam - well, just the top of it, showing the roadworks
for the new high level bridge which will eliminate the traffic
congestion crossing the dam wall, as this is US93, the major route from
Las Vegas into Arizona.
Downstream from the dam - pretty barren country.
Full on view of the dam wall, and also the twisting roads leading
down to the wall and up the other side. Also visible are the
(now closed) diversion tunnels used to allow the water to bypass
the dam construction site.
The flight conituned onto Grand Canyon Airport. Unlike earlier times, planes may now not fly into the Canyon, so that aspect is no longer available.
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Grand Canyon Tour