For most people, a trip to Las Vegas is a chance to step
away from their everyday lives for a little while. A chance to go someplace
exciting. Where the lights are bright and the music's loud and there's lots
& lots of people. Where you just feed off of all of that energy &
excitement.
But the downside of this scenario is – if you're spending an
entire week in Vegas – by around Day 3, you start to get sensory overload.
Which is why it sometimes makes sense to step away from the casinos & the
shows for a day and then go see what else Nevada has to offer.
You see, that's what a lot of people forget when they fly
into Las Vegas. That – if you'll just look out the window before your plane
lands at McCarran International Airport – there's all of this beautiful desert
terrain just beyond the city that's just waiting to be seen & explored.
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What's that you say? You're brought your bathing suit with
you to Las Vegas, but not your hiking boots? Not to worry. The Canyon Dream Air
and Land Tour will surround you with natural beauty a nice change from the "less
natural" beauties that you'll see laying out by the pool. More to the point,
you'll get to see a huge portion of the American Southwest without even
scuffing your shoes.
Your Canyon Dream Air and Land Tour experience starts when
you board a Beechcraft 1900D. Where – after a quick 40-minute flight – you'll
find yourself at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Mere words can't convey
what it feels like to stand there at the edge of this World Heritage Site. One
thing's for certain, though. As you stare out into that impossibly big expanse
and then try to wrap your head around what it took to turn this desolate corner
of northwest Arizona into such a natural wonder, you WILL be awestruck.
But the best part is … Your Grand Canyon adventure is just
beginning. For you're now about to board an ECO-Star helicopter and venture out
into this 1,218,375 acre national park. As you dip down into the gorge over the
course of this 25-minute flight, you'll get to see sights that few Las Vegas tourists
ever get to the chance to see.
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All rights reserved
And once your aerial tour is complete, it's now time to
visit
Grand Canyon National Park itself. Where you can take a guided tour or visit an onsite
museum which is loaded with prehistoric artifacts that have been found in &
around the canyon. Or – if you prefer – you can just bask in the beauty of it
all. Take your gourmet box lunch (which is included as part of your Canyon Dream Air and Land Tour) and then head down to the rim
of the canyon. Where – if you're lucky – you might get to see an eagle and/or
an endangered California Condor flying overhead.
What's that you say? This 7-hour-long experience sounds a
little passive & contained for you? You'd much prefer an outdoor adventure
where you don't just fly over this beautiful desert terrain, but – rather –
puts you right out there in the middle of everything? Then perhaps you should
consider taking the Pink Jeep Tours Red Rock Canyon Tour.
The Pink Jeep people will actually pick you up right outside your hotel and
then whisk you away to the Red Rock Canyon, which is this National Conservation
Area located just 13 miles away from Las Vegas. Once you're there … Well,
you'll certainly be able to clear your head of the excesses of the Strip.
Thanks to Red Rock's natural beauty as well as those panoramic views of the
desert.
The natural beauty of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
Over the course of this 4-hour-long experience, you'll see
famous movie locations, view ancient Native American pictographs, even do a bit
of off-roading. All the while riding in air conditioning comfort. The only time
you'll actually be out in that brutal desert heat is when you yourself decide
to step out of the Pink Jeep for a quick trip to the Red Rock Canyon Visitor's
Center and/or get some photographs of those scenic Utah juniper and Joshua
trees.
What's that? You're not really into the nature thing? You
prefer your wonders to be man-made? Not to worry. The Pink Jeep people have you
covered with their special Hoover Dam Top to Bottom Tour.
Your tour starts on the Lower Portal Road, where you'll hear
about the thousands of men who labored from 1931 to 1935 in often 100-degree
temperatures to build what was then the United State's highest dam and
costliest water project.
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And speaking of water … Phase Two of your Pink Jeep Hoover
Dam Top to Bottom Tour will actually take you out onto the Colorado River.
Where – as you bob around on a raft – you'll then get an up-close look at the
complex mechanisms that that drive this damn. Not to mention getting a gorgeous
view of the rocks & cliffs that make up the Black Canyon.
And once you get back to shore, it's time to head up to the
Hoover Dam Bypass. Where – as you stand on this 2000 foot-long bridge – you'll then
be 900 feet above the river that you were just floating on. More to the point,
you'll now be able to get some terrific photographs of this massive man-made
structure which was once called " … the Eighth Wonder of the World."
And once you've completed this 5-hour-long experience and
the Pink Jeep folks take you back to your hotel … Now that you've had a day to
get away from the lights & the crowds of Las Vegas, you'll then have a
renewed appreciation for this worldwide tourist destination. In particular,
those crazy visionaries who came out to this then-relatively-quiet corner of
the Southern Nevada desert in the mid-1940s & then turned it into an entertainment
empire.
What Las Vegas looked like back in 1945. My, how times have changed
FYI: If any of the above tours sound like
something that you might like to try during your next trip to Sin City … Well,
I think I know a few folks who can help you out with that.