2014 U.S. Diary ( PART 3 ) - Visiting Places of Tourist Interest - pn

2014 U.S. Diary - (Part 3)  -  Visiting Places of Tourist Interest

- P.Natarajan, Camp : Canton, MI

The sky was clear on the morning of Aug 01, 2014 and we experienced a cool breeze.  The day’s schedule was to walk the ‘Trail of Time’  along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. With this thought, we first went into the dining hall of Holiday Inn Express which offers a sumptuous complimentary breakfast. We had  a heavy breakfast of bagel, cream cheese, fruit preserve, bread , butter, oats, orange juice, hot, hot cinnamon rolls straight from the oven, of course finished with a large cup of coffee. we also carried yogurt, bananas and apples which were included in our b.f menu. We needed that much calorie for the next few hours of activity.

( Aparna and Sekhar with Karthik  and Viggy after breakfast in Holiday Inn Reception - The wall hanging is one of the beautiful views of the Grand Canyon )

After loading the van we bid bye to Holiday Inn and proceeded to the G.C. village Centre for collecting information for further tour in G.C.

( Scenic View in the Reception Hall of Holiday Inn )

We parked the car in the parking lot & boarded the Orange bus to go to the Geological museum site. ( free bus ride) . There are red, purple, green buses to go to various viewpoints.

We got down at Yavapai  observation centre & after collecting the details started our Walk of Trial of Time of 2 billion years ( 2000 steps covering 2 miles).

In the trail walk area natural springs produce drinking water and facility for drinking and storing the water exist, as otherwise purchasing a bottle of water means shelling out dear money. We filled our water bottles with natural mountain spring water from the taps as each bottle of water costs $2. 
    

( Viggy very inquisitive  at the Visitors Center)

The Trail of Time on the South Rim of the Canyon National Park was dedicated on 13th of October 2010 as an event, part of the Earth Science Week Oct 10-16. The Trail of Time is an interpretive time line that focuses on Grand canyon vistas and rocks. We were wondering how to explore and understand the magnitude of the geological time and the stories pregnant in the rock layers and the landscape. The new interpretive exhibits between Yavapai Observation and Grand Canyon Village is marked by brass markers. We came to know that  every meter we walk the ‘Trail of Time’, it helps the visitors connect the rocks visible by one million years to their place along the geological time line - or to express it appealingly, " the heartbeat of Earth ",  to portray the life behind the sand stone. The Trail of Time and its exhibits were developed  due to the collaborative work between University of Mexico and Interpret Specialists of Grand canyon National Park.

We walked through the trail of time from Yavapai Geological Museum  -  a 2 mile walk up to the village. Visitors can walk back in time from today towards the oldest rock in grand canyon 1840 million years ago to the youngest rock in ‘KAIBAB LIMESTONE’, - 270 million years old. We touched the rocks and felt its pulse with reverence and admiration.

( grand canyon rocks has a geological time line in the Trail of Time Walk -  Every meter represents one million years backward.

(TRAIL OF TIME Walk - A rare experience to become aware of the heartbeat of Earth Science )

( Rocks have Hindu God Names - named by the Explorer who was fond of Hindu Mythology-

Sekhar(s) are sitting on a marble smooth 1755 million year old Rock by name “RAMA Schst” )

Vishnu Basement Rock is a name recommended for all early proterozoic crystalline rocks -1.75 billion years old. We also viewed ' Brahma Schist and similarly aged - they are interlayered with
Vishnu Schist'  

( Visitors are looking at the various Exhibits in the Trail of Time Walk )

There is also a rock formation named Hindu Amphi Theatre.

We reached the bus service point and boarded a Canyon bus to reach the car parking area.

It was late afternoon when we left Grand Canyon arena towards Hoover Dam. Aparna drove this stretch of about 150 miles. We were allowed to go inside the Dam area only after security check. It was 6 p.m. and good light was available to go around and take some pictures:-  hot wind was blowing & we found it hard to breathe for a few minutes.

( Hoover dam is the oldest Hydraulic Dam in U.S. - A Concrete Arch Type Design )

Hoover Dam once known as Boulder Dam was built in 1935 for which much efforts and initiative was taken by then President Franklin D Roosevelt but was later controversially named after President Herbert Hoover. The Dam is a concrete arch gravity design built in Black Canyon of Colorado river. The massive effort included 1000 workforce and cost more than 100 lives of workmen.

At the back you can view the top of the bridge from where Aamir khan had a fall in ‘ Dhoom 3’

Sekhar relieved Aparna and drove to reach Las Vegas and negotiated through a commercial area which looked very busy and illumined brightly with myriad of colours. The car streamed slowly into Excalibur Hotel premises.  

We checked into our rooms and refreshed quickly to go out  for dinner to Komal Restaurant. It was a Thai Hotel with a reputation for serving good veg. food. We ordered Thai Special dinner and enjoyed eating Jasmine rice and vegetables cooked in coconut milk.

( Taste of Thai Specials in the Dining hall of Thai restaurant )

and a dessert of coconut milk ice cream

On our return path, we halted at the Bellagio Hotel parking zone. It was our luck that the  musical Fountain was on at that time.

The Fountain of Bellagio is one of the most breathtaking attraction in the Las Vegas strip. The rushing water soars to a height of 460 feet, ever changing and  gorgeous and naturally the traffic gets stuck but the people would not mind.  it is not an everyday attraction but the show is on three days in a week at specific intervals of time. That is why I termed that we were lucky.

We reached the Excalibur Hotel and Casino and called it an eventful day. The view of the  Excalibur and its arena is very attractive as you can see below:-  

                                             

( Excalibur Hotel View )

Excalibur - the term refers to the legendary sword of King Arthur. It has magical powers - infact Arthur obtained the throne by pulling out the sword Excalibur from a stone, hence the term is associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. The Excalibur Casino offers a royal accommodation and is situated in the famous Las Vegas strip, a central location for shopping and sightseeing.

We shall continue our 2014 U.S. Diary in ( Part - 4 ) next after Ganesh Chaturthi Festival. In the meanwhile we wish to know whether you had found time to pursue the diary so far.

We take this opportunity to forward our greetings on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi on AUG 29, 2014.

Natarajan and Parvathy.