Last Updated Sunday June 10, 2007
On the way to and from Bryce Canyon we flew over the Grand Canyon, once on the way there and three times on the way back.
The walls of the Grand Canyon expose the history of the rocks for hundreds of millions of years.
People standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon can't even see down to the bottom of the gorge where the Colorado River rages through the rapids. The river looks small from here but it's almost 2 miles below us. In some spots there are sandbars that rafters use for camp sites on the way down the river.
The views are spectacular no matter which way you look. Nancy took most of these pictures from the back seat where there are huge windows.
The Grand Canyon Airport runway is almost two miles long. We stopped there for a late breakfast on our way home. The airport is about two miles from the rim of the canyon, but we didn't bother going over there. We saw lots more from the air. There were lots of tour flights going in and out the whole time we were there.
The large facility on the south rim where most people visit the Grand Canyon is right in the middle of this picture. The trees and the immenseness of the canyon swallow it up. We never did see it and we flew right by it.
Self portrait of Mario over the Grand Canyon.
Mario found some new aviator goggles at the terminal at Grand Canyon Airlines. Roy flew over the Grand Canyon several times, including New Years Eve day a year ago, so this time it was Mario's turn at the controls.
If you were a bug splattered on our windscreen (of which there were many) this is what you would see inside. On the way home over the desert Nancy got tired, even though it's only a three hour flight, so she curled up with her leather flying jacket and fell asleep in the back seat. She would rather be up front flying the plane.
We made a lunch stop at Kingman and Mario spotted this plane in the colors of an airline from Argentina, where his family is from. It's actually owned by British Airways and leased to the Argentinean airline and stored in Kingman Arizona. Our global economy at work.