Day 7 - Grand Canyon

The truck stop shop in the grounds of the hotel was like a small grocery shop. We bought portions of breakfast cereal and milk for the room instead of a full breakfast and this was a nice change. It was Grand Canyon day and we were taken to the airport first for the people who were taking a helicopter ride. In our case this was most people on the tour. Most people chose the normal helicopter which included one person in the front with the pilot, three on the back seat and two facing backwards in the middle. There were four people on our tour interested in the larger helicopter which included two people in the front with the pilot and four on the back seat. There were no backward facing seats and there was more room. My husband and I paid around an extra $20 per person for this helicopter and we got to sit in the two front seats and had excellent views. Everyone had been weighed on checking in and the general trend was the lightest person would be in the front. There was a $50 per person upgrade for front seats in the helicopter we went in (although we were lucky and were given these seats free). The helicopter ride was definitely an experience not to be missed and well worth the money. The normal ride was $145 per person which was payable by cash, travellers cheque or credit card. The people not going in the helicopter were taken to the first stop and this gave them extra time there. Once all the helicopters landed, everyone was back on the bus and caught up with the rest of the group. We were taken to a visitor’s centre (Bright Angel Lodge) in the grand canyon. This was lovely with amazing views, there were shops selling books and other items relating to the Grand Canyon. We had our lunch at this stop and went to the Bright Angel Restaurant inside the lodge. This was inexpensive and the service was very good. The food was really nice and not too fancy. From here we had some more stops at other parts of the Grand Canyon and throughout the day had travelled to three of the four rims to different viewing points. Once back to the hotel we went back to the same restaurant as the previous night and asked for the food to be less char-grilled. It came almost the same as before. We went into the lounge after the meal and sat and chatted to some of the tour group before bed. It was a cosy lounge and had a nice atmosphere.