After our visit to Williams we headed north for our first look at the Grand Canyon and I have to say that words can not adequately describe it or do it any justice. It is nothing less than utterly breathtaking. In fact the Canyon is so big, so impressive and so beautiful that it really defies belief, and it almost seems as though the massive scenery is a painted backdrop and not real at all. Yes, I'm gushing but if you've seen it for yourself you will know what I mean.
We did a sunset bus tour with a totally insane tour guide who drove like a maniac. He was dressed in cowboy attire and every statement was punctuated with a loud, "Yee Haww!". The highlight of the tour of course being seeing the colours of the Canyon change with the setting sun, fantastic. Many, many "Kodak moments". The definite low-light being the guide attempting to turn our bus around on a narrow stretch of road, at dusk, with a sheer cliff (and no guard rail) behind us - he told us it was 6000 feet to the bottom of the Canyon - "It's OK, I used to drive semis" he told us - I wonder why he isn't driving them anymore. One of the other passengers told us afterwards just how close the end of the bus had been to the edge of the cliff and I'm really glad I didn't know that at the time!
The next morning we treated ourselves to a helicopter flight over the Canyon which was nothing less than unforgettable. N was very excited and went into his "quiet mode" but afterwards he was even telling complete strangers, "It's very exciting to fly in a helicopter". We flew from the South Rim, up the Canyon, over the North Rim and back across the Kaibab Forest. Flying into the Canyon and seeing the ground almost open up beneath you into such a spectacular and truly massive vista (plus the dramatic music playing in the headphones) was totally amazing. We loved every minute. The Grand Canyon is about 4 hours from Bagdad so we will definitely try to get back there again before the end of the summer. 
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