Tom's Page: My Travels

My
Travels

Grand Canyon
April 4, 1996

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Yoko wanted to go see the Grand Canyon. I was tired and content to sit at a roulette table for hours on end watching little white balls land on other people's numbers. You don't have to think much to play this game.

I actually walked away from the casino at Caeser's with a few hundred dollars more than I arrived with. One night after a tutorial I was really thirsty in the middle of the night. Unless you like warm water from the tap, there is only one place to quench your thirst. No min-bar in room. No vending machines in the hallways. The hotel convenience stores closed. Ok, find a table and wait for free drinks to show up. This should cost me about $10.

What would you like to drink? Coke please. I just wanted to get something to drink and go back to sleep. By the time it arrived I had $35 in chips and went to sleep. It would have been cheaper for them to have vending machines.

Ok, Yoko, but you have to plan the trip. I don't feel like doing any more work. So she contacts her Japanese travel agency so she can understand what they are saying, which is good, or we might end up in the Caribbean somewhere. She says we are taking a tourist flight. There goes my winnings.

We get to the airstrip and the place is filled with Asians wanting to take pictures of the grand canyon. We are sorted by language. Chinese speaking people go to this big plane. Japanese speaking people go to this other big plane. Where do English speaking people go?

English? Oh boy.

Being the only English speaking members (sort of), we get the Piper. Captained by Pilot Bill.

Pilot Bill.

I don't think Yoko likes small planes much. She was counting on one of these Dash-8 looking numbers with multiple propellars. She looked pastier than usual. The fun started when we hit the thermal currents from the abruptly changing ground levels.

Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.

We were just down there a few days ago. It looks so small from up here. We flew about 9,000 feet, and ground varied plus or minus 4,000.

Grand Canyon.

Bill was an accomodating pilot. If there was anything we couldn't see he banked the plane so we had a good view. You see those little speckles on the side of the canyon? He would point out. There's a native tribe that lives on the walls.

Where?

Can you see it now?

Yoko scream. Yup.

Grand Canyon.

All in all a fine day to spend flying around one of the world's greatest natural wonders. Though I'd never get Yoko to take a ride on that big swing.


My Travels Grand Canyon April 4, 1996 2003 2002 2001 2000 1998 1997 1994 back top		Yoko wanted to go see the Grand Canyon. I was tired and content to sit at a roulette table for hours on end watching little white balls land on other people's numbers. You don't have to think much to play this game. I actually walked away from the casino at Caeser's with a few hundred dollars more than I arrived with. One night after a tutorial I was really thirsty in the middle of the night. Unless you like warm water from the tap, there is only one place to quench your thirst. No min-bar in room. No vending machines in the hallways. The hotel convenience stores closed. Ok, find a table and wait for free drinks to show up. This should cost me about $10. What would you like to drink? Coke please. I just wanted to get something to drink and go back to sleep. By the time it arrived I had $35 in chips and went to sleep. It would have been cheaper for them to have vending machines. Ok, Yoko, but you have to plan the trip. I don't feel like doing any more work. So she contacts her Japanese travel agency so she can understand what they are saying, which is good, or we might end up in the Caribbean somewhere. She says we are taking a tourist flight. There goes my winnings. We get to the airstrip and the place is filled with Asians wanting to take pictures of the grand canyon. We are sorted by language. Chinese speaking people go to this big plane. Japanese speaking people go to this other big plane. Where do English speaking people go? English? Oh boy. Being the only English speaking members (sort of), we get the Piper. Captained by Pilot Bill. Pilot Bill. I don't think Yoko likes small planes much. She was counting on one of these Dash-8 looking numbers with multiple propellars. She looked pastier than usual. The fun started when we hit the thermal currents from the abruptly changing ground levels. Lake Mead and Hoover Dam. We were just down there a few days ago. It looks so small from up here. We flew about 9,000 feet, and ground varied plus or minus 4,000. Grand Canyon. Bill was an accomodating pilot. If there was anything we couldn't see he banked the plane so we had a good view. You see those little speckles on the side of the canyon? He would point out. There's a native tribe that lives on the walls. Where? Can you see it now? Yoko scream. Yup. Grand Canyon. All in all a fine day to spend flying around one of the world's greatest natural wonders. Though I'd never get Yoko to take a ride on that big swing.