Hello! I usually do technological writings, as any of my readers well know. But today, I would like to present to you all my thoughts and photos of my trip experiences from March 14th to 18th, of touring Las Vegas and its fancy, fun and extensive hotels, as well as checking out the Grand Canyon! I’ve had a wonderful time here, and I’ve got a website, so why not share it here?
Background
My best friend and his family go to Las Vegas every couple of years or so. He offered to me the idea of going with him. How exciting! I decided to go along, and this is all about my experience during the trip.
The Flight
I haven’t actually been on a flight before this trip. Oh, what a treat I was in for! Some days before, I was kinda anxious about the whole process. I took the time to study about it, and it helped me understand a lot better. It all wound up not being of any issue for me. Just a lot of red tape, waiting, and sitting.
After boarding the plane, it was soon time for takeoff. First the plane taxied over to the spot it needed to go, and that already felt quite interesting – it basically felt like being in a tremendous winged bus going 40 MPH.
But that was nothing compared to what I was about to feel. Now it’s takeoff time! When it began to take off, it was so intense!! It was so fast, that I felt like I was leaving the reality I once knew, transcending into something entirely different! Watching out the window, the ordinary world seemed to flatten, like as if being turned from reality to merely an illustration. It became less and less recognizable, until it disappeared entirely. It was dizzying, and my ears felt muffled! But that was an absolutely amazing experience in and of itself.
We’re now above the clouds. From here, it looks like we’re sailing in the air, above a vast space of cotton, going as far as the eye can see. The textures of the clouds sometimes looked like anything from a bunch of cotton balls, a giant woolly blanket, clumps of fluffy white dunes, waves like an ocean, and even like that of a large marble countertop. And now the pace and altitude seems to have become consistent, and I don’t feel so dizzy now.
Now things feel quite tranquil. Up here, there’s nothing here to see but the vast, open space of clouds, the blues of the sky, and the reds of the sunrise. Heard is the loud, thundering sound of air rushing past us at speeds inconceivable – at least by me, I have no idea! Otherwise, there’s a quiet sound of some people chattering about things, but it’s barely heard over the loud yet somehow calming sound of rushing air. It’s an environment somehow both wakeful, yet peaceful.
It feels like a nice time to nap. Yet, despite the fact I’m running on 4 hours of sleep, I actually feel pretty awake! I’m happy to just sit down and relax during this ride seemingly inter-dimensional.
After all, I’m too fascinated with all the sights outside my window! Everything looks so flattened, as if squished flat by a heavy object like you see in a cartoon. Even the mountains I see still look quite flat – they have the appearance of veins running thru the body of Earth. Only looking to the very horizon does anything start to appear to have elevation. Even the clouds almost look as if they were fused with the land below!
The plane is now preparing to land! We’re getting closer and closer to land. The two-dimensional flat shapes appear to grow back up into a 3D form, and the depth of the land and buildings begins to make itself apparent once more. Cars no longer look like little moving ants, and now I’m sure anyone nearby can hear and see our plane loud and clear!
The Hotel
After getting up early in the morning with four hours of sleep, followed by a day full of taking in so much sight from out the airplane window, and then settling down in the hotel room. We’re here at last! I’m very tired. What an experience it’s already been!
I thought the room looked pretty nice, so why not show some pictures?
Street views
But this is just the beginning, we’re just getting settled in! We’ve still gotta explore around, and soon we’ll be going to the Grand Canyon tour!
Grand Canyon Tour – Hoover Dam
It’s tour time! My friend and I barely managed to get there on time, since we were so sleepy. But we did it! We ran for it! That sure woke us up. The bus left at 6:30 AM. There’s both paid-for breakfast and lunch, which is pretty sweet!
First stop – Hoover Dam! We’ll be going up and checking out the view of the dam.
It’s a stunning view! It’s so deep, and really something you’ve gotta be there to feel. I’m not sure how high in the air we are, but it’s really high, and the low part after the dam is VERY far below. Maybe 1000 feet or so – maybe more! What a sight to behold!!
Grand Canyon Tour – Eagle Point
There’s quite a bit of a drive from the Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon. I’d say it took about two to three hours, and the space was mainly a whole lot of desert land with mountains in the background. Sometimes the elevation would come close, but for the most part it was a whole lot of bushes, and the quite unique-looking plants known as Joshua trees.
Every now and again, you’d see some old houses – some clearly abandoned and falling apart, others seemed to be at least somewhat cared for. Many fenced areas with old cars, some in great shape, but others just rusted-out frames. Soon, I learned that the name of this area was Dolan Springs, AZ.
Occasionally I’d even see a person actively doing stuff, but it was pretty rare and mostly I saw absolutely nobody, leaving me to wonder whether many of these houses or buildings even had occupants. I even saw remains of a sizeable building that must have burnt down – left was only its warped, rusted metal skeleton, and an equally rusty air handler unit. Curiously, right smack next to it was a small shed that served as a stark contrast of being in great condition! How odd!
After this long, tiresome time of riding thru a bit of a ‘ghost settlement’ I’ll call it, we arrived to the Grand Canyon itself!
It’s so so beautiful to behold! I’m absolutely mesmerized looking at it. Hoover Dam was already impressive, but this is absolutely mind-blowing. You can look at it for anywhere from a couple minutes, several, or study it for over an hour – still, you can’t wrap your head around it. It’s simply an amazing sight to see! I couldn’t get enough of it. Totally worth the wait, hands-down!
Neither words, nor even the thousands of words’ value out of many pictures, can possibly sum it up. It’s absolutely colossal, and yet since you’re up so high, you can see pretty much everything from top to bottom! You can see for miles and miles! From edge to edge, it’s 15 miles across, and yet you see everything so clearly. Yet you walk around, and your perception of the other side doesn’t even budge, because it’s that far!
Much like looking out an airplane window, it almost seems like as if it’s flat. But now you’re looking at absolutely everything, and not just thru a little port window that’s just about big enough to look thru! All in all, it’s truly an amazing experience to behold – and really only something that your presence of being there can truly deliver.
Next stop – Guano Point! We’ll get to see another beautiful view of the Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon Tour – Guano Point
A lot of great viewpoints were had at Guano Point as well!
Such gorgeous views!! Once again, I simply couldn’t stop admiring it. Such amazing sights!
After a few hours of riding in the bus, time had slipped into the evening hours, and we were arriving back at Planet Hollywood hotel at last. My friend and I were very exhausted after all that, between traversing the rough terrain, taking in the amazing sights, and hours of sitting in the bus. It was an amazing experience, and I’m so glad we went!
Exploring the Hotels
Although the Grand Canyon was amazing, that wasn’t all we did! We took a lot of time just to explore, and I took a lot of pictures there too. So many beautiful sights!
Paris Casino
A pretty fairy tale-looking area
The Venetian
Omega Mart
Since my friend was really interested, we also went to Omega Mart, which was incredibly strange. Basically, it’s a supermarket acid trip! I was quite off-put by it first, but over time I warmed up to it. There were some pretty funny moments we had over there!
Apart from that, we went and tried out various restaurants, which were all really good! And otherwise? It was all about going all around to see what there was, and taking in the sights. A lot of walking, even a lot of running – we were very active! And it was a blast.
I’m going to miss this trip so much! I learned a whole lot during the trip. Normally I’m rather shy and reserved, but I found that I really enjoyed socializing with people, and I felt a lot more like I was actually part of the world around me. It was a very liberating feeling! I sure hope to do this again one day.