RIDING THE CANYON

Yee Haa!  Ride ‘em cowboy! 

Rides have been the theme of today - in the air and on land.  My butt cheeks are so sore I can barely sit to type this entry.  I feel that tomorrow will be a day of pain but hey, it’ll be the pain of unforgettable memories and I can live with that.

Honestly I think we’ve seen the Grand Canyon from all angles in the past couple of days.  It’s just as spectacular from the air as it is on foot. 

View from the chopper

Up at the crack of dawn for a 9.00 am helicopter ride with Papillon Helicopter Tours based at the Grand Canyon Airport which, as luck would have it, was just a 5 minute drive from the hotel.

Papillon Helicopter Tours

We chose the shorter North Canyon Tour, a 30 minute flight making a loop of what is called the Dragon Corridor.  A very scenic part of the canyon but wait a minute, haven’t we already seen these rocks before?  Is it me or is it all starting to look the same now?  I think my brain’s got canyon overload.

Stunning aerial views 

It's even better from the air

Coming back into land

Back on terra firma, there’s a different kind of ride in store for this afternoon.  Having grown up on a diet of spaghetti westerns thanks to father (that one’s filmed in Almeria), I’ve long harboured secret desires to be a cowgirl.  Today’s my big chance to ride in the canyon just like they do in the movies.

Mule barn

It’s high noon at the Yaki barn corral.  Me and 17 other cow pokes are saddled up on our mules ready to spend the next 2 hours in the saddle riding across the East rim of the canyon.  Oooh, I can already feel my muscles wincing at the thought.

Don't like the look of yours much

Marcie is my adorable mule.  Here’s the other half sat astride Guiseppe who appears to have a mind hell bent on snacking his way round the trail.  Having never ridden before, he did well not to fall off and successfully mastered mule controls by the end of the tour. 

Canyon cowboys

And yes, it’s almost impossible to take photos from the back of a mule.  They keep moving!  They’re also only a couple of feet from the cliff edge so it’s a bit scary.  

Bringing up the rear of the mule train

Our guide Luke

Our guide reassured us that no-one had ever fallen off a mule into the canyon.  I’m cool with that. 

After 2 hours of butt breaking, dust eating (Marcie and I were at the back of the mule train), I would have given anything for a hot bath and a rub down. 

View from a mule

The end to our day of adventure, watching the sunset over the Canyon at Hopi Point.  Unbelievably beautiful as you can see from our photos.

The sun begins to go down 

Viewed from Hopi Point

Dipped below the horizon

Getting lower on the horizon

The sky is filled with pinks and blues

Who you calling a moose head?