We had arrived at the Grand Canyon at around sunset the previous night and the thunderstorm had followed us up from Sedona, so there was no real opportunity to get a first glimpse of the canyon. That meant the helicopter ride I had booked for Ailsa and I on Sunday morning would be Ailsa's first viewing of the Grand Canyon.

Our alarm was set for an early check-in but I think a very excited Ailsa didn't have too much sleep ... maybe I should have waited until morning before telling her about the helicopter. Thankfully the thunderstorms of the previous night had passed, giving way to blue skies and fluffy clouds (although the pilot did say they expected more rain later in the day). We joined with two other couples in a seven seater helicopter and, after going through safety checks, were whisked back into the waiting area - one of the screens wasn't working and we needed an alternative helicopter. The fact they made sure we didn't go up in a dodgy helicopter put me at ease, but I think the hesitation added to Ailsa's tension!

Before we knew it we were onboard another helicopter and headed skyward, Ailsa's fears disappearing and giving way to excited delight ... and that was just after take-off, we'd hadn't gotten anywhere near the canyon yet! We travelled for sevens minutes a few hundred feet above the pines of the Kaibab Forest before reaching the south rim of the canyon ... and boy does it drop away! There were audible gasps from everyone on board, and a sense of stomachs (and jaws) dropping. Although we had seen sections of the canyon approaching on the horizon, there's nothing like that feeling of the ground disappearing below us as we'd gone from a few hundred feet off the ground to a mile up in a couple of seconds.

We travelled over a series of rock formations: the battleship, the dragon, etc. We saw where the Little Colorado joined the main river. There were what seemed like little white streams in some parts of the Colorado which, to give us some scale, the pilot told us were 30ft high rapids - a hot spot for river riders. You have to get your name on a list at least a year in advance and it costs a couple of grand for the pleasure of riding some of the most dangerous rapids in America! There are only three ways in and out of the 270 mile canyon ride. The pilot noted that our early chatter over the forest gave way to stunned silence for much of our tour above the canyon - and said it was perfectly natural, he was used to a quiet audience for most of the journey. We crossed some of the deepest, widest, and most dramatic parts of the canyon, also covering the north rim and how different it was in terms of vegetation to the south rim. The fault line between north and south sides of the canyon is clearly visible both in the rock formations on the canyon floor and by looking at the divide between north and south rims on the horizon (you'll have to trust me, it takes a helicopter view for that particular observation).

We returned to the helipad for the softest of landings and spent fifteen minutes in the waiting area saying nothing much more than "Amazing" while we waited for a copy of our in-flight DVD (yes, we fully intend on boring all those at home with it).

For the rest of the day we had lunch on the south rim, near the Bright Angel Lodge viewing point (the most popular starting point for hikers trekking into the canyon) and watched the IMAX presentation on the Grand Canyon. One of the most incredible things about the movie is that they recreated in detail the early voyages of explorers trying to navigate the canyon, often based on the accounts of the diaries of those that had survived - many hadn't been so successful. Watching actors with fake beards hitting those monstrous rapids in little wooden boats with no life jackets made me fear for their lives, never mind the pioneers that did it first time around (the movie covered the fact that it was, of course, native american indians that were there first - they lived in and around the canyon but weren't stupid enough to try and 'conquer' it by boat - they left that to a bunch of clowns from Europe).

It was early to bed from a very excited but tiring day ... and the alarm was set for before sunrise the next morning!