Although we are still staying at our Las Vegas hotel, our travels took us out of the state of nevada and into arizona and to the Grand Canyon! The road to the grand canyon passes through the Hoover Dam so we stopped there to take in the engineering marvel which is the largest dam ever built. The sheer size of the structure just blows you away, you really need to see it to believe it but is really is an amazing sight. We didnt do any of the visitors centre as we wanted to get to the canyon but we did take a few photos to try to capture the sheer size of it and the volume of water it controls!

Another couple of hours of very boring driving through the desert to us to the West Rim of the canyon. Unfortunately it is the most commercial of all the rims however the north and south rims would have been too far to do in one day so the tourist route it had to be! We parked our car and got on the bus tour which takes you to two stops. The first stop is an indian village which is also home to the sky walk (latest tourist trap) The edge of the canyon at this point is all roped off so its a bit disappointing as you cant look over the edge to take in just how deep the canyon is. This part of the canyon is where you see the eagle which is a formation of rock within the canyon which the indians believe is an eagle with outstretched wings which watches over them and their canyon. At this point on the trip the only way to look down into the canyon is to go on the sky walk which is a glass bridge built out over the canyon. The walls and floor are made of glass so it allows you to look over the edge but also look straight down into the bottom. Takes you a bit of time to get used to looking down as it makes you feel a bit dizzy but after a while you get used to it and cant help but be almost hypnotised by the beauty of nature at its best. You cant stop looking at it because the whole thing is so overwhelming we almost had to be draged from the bridge to let other people on to take a look!

After doing the sky walk we took some time to walk round the indian village where they had examples of the different shelters that they used to live in from the most basic tee pee through to more structured mud huts.There were also some performers demonstrating indian song and dance.On leaving the first stop we were taken 10 minutes further round the canyon to spend some time walking in a more accessible part.At this stop they had a catering hut which allowed you to purchase examples of american indian cuisine for lunch.Both mike and I agreed it was one of the tastiest meals we have had in the states and it was served in a plastic tray!!After lunch we were able to walk round much more than we had at the previous stop.There were no barriers stopping you going to the edge so we were able to look down the canyon and for as far as the eye could see there were beautiful mountainous views.It is hard to describe how being at the canyon makes you feel it really makes you realise that we are all just insignificant beings and that it is places like the grand canyon that are natures true miracles.You cant stop looking around and taking photos because it is just so amazing, it makes you feel quite emotional just to be there you almost feel you are not worthy!We were able to climb up to slightly higher ground for even better views and from the top it is so quiet and peaceful at one point everyone stopped talking and it was unbelievably silent and still.After walking around with our jaws dragging on the floor for hours it was time to board the bus back to the base to collect our car.I know that with time I will have to rely on our photos to remember exactly how the canyon looked however I know I will never forget how it made me feel!Stark contrast to our day at the canyon our evening was to be spent back in vegas at a casino called the stratosphere.You will see from our photos of the stratosphere that it is built around a tall concrete tower with a spherical dome at the top which houses a restaurant, viewing tower with the best views of the vegas strip and more importantly for us thrill seekers it has 3 of the scariest roller coasters type rides I have ever seen!It was here that we spent the night scaring the s*** out of ourselves for kicks!!One of the rides drops you off the edge of the dome, one swings you round over the edge and the third one shoots you straight up from the top, then drops you straight down!All amazing rides but as an experienced roller coaster rider I can honestly say both mike and I have never been more scared in our lives but the buzz you get from being at the top of the tower is totally worth the fear!So that's vegas done and it is one of the most amazing places in the world.You really have to see it to believe it but when you sign up to a weekend in vegas it does exactly what it says on the tin and most definitely did not disappoint our expectations!