Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon - A rugged beauty and a remarkable record of Paleozoic Era. This post is about our trip to this beautiful place. I remember this place as shown in "Hai Rabba" song from the movie Jeans. To cover this place by car would take 4 days; so we decided to take a flight to Las Vegas, stay there and then take a tour arranged by http://www.grandcanyon.com

We started on a friday night and reached Las Vegas in an hour by flight. We had to stand in queue at the McCarran Airport for a taxi as Vegas is a very happening place and crowded, not to mention on a weekend. The taxi charges were pretty high. Our hotel was near by; we checked in and had a good night's sleep. The next day, after having breakfast at the hotel, we left for a nearby resort where the Tour bus would pick us up.

At 10 am, the bus took us from the resort to the Boulder City Municipal Airport, where we had a mini flight (which can carry up to 14 members) waiting for us. This flight was 30 min long and we could see Lake Mead very well. My husband and I got seats 2A and 3A; adjacent to the window. It was awkward to board this small flight and settle down; too small that one couldn't even stand up straight.

After we were dropped at the Canyon Airport, we were guided to a helicopter which took us for a flight into the Canyon. It was a beautiful experience to watch the majestic Canyon from a higher altitude as well as near it; this being my first helicopter ride (I got the front seat besides the pilot - an added excitement), I enjoyed it a lot. You can see the different shades of colours on the Canyon and its minute layerings formed by the river along millions of years - simple soil erosion yet so beautiful.

The helicopter dropped us near River Colorado. We walked down to the river where a boat was awaiting us. The boat ride was pleasant. It was serene atmosphere except for the occasional helicopters flying around. From the boat, we saw the highest point of the Canyon which is about a mile deep i.e. this is compared with the 3 times the height of the Stratosphere tower in Vegas!

The Canyon is occupied by the native tribe Hualapai and you could see signboards mentioning - "No trespassing- Hualapai Nation". The Hualapai people believe that the rivr water brought luck, our boat driver gave a bucket of river water and asked us to apply afew drops on our cheeks. The river water was cold and refreshing.

After the boat ride, we walked back the small path from the river to a slightly higher place to board the helicopter. Then the helicopter dropped us back at Airport from where we took the bus to The Eagle point. It was named so as there is a formation on the Canyon in the shape of the eagle. The majestic Skywalk is the major attraction here because :

It can withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes
Can survive an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles
Suspended 4000 ft above Colorado River on the edge of the Grand Canyon
Immune to winds in excess of 100 miles per hour

The floor of the Skywalk is made of glass alone and when you walk over it and look beneath, its a thrilling experience. The Canyon is a natural wonder ; along with it, the Skywalk stands as a man made wonder.

After that, the bus took us to The Guana point, where you can see a different part of the Canyon; it is another view point. Then back to the Airport and to Las Vegas. What we covered was the West Rim of the Canyon. There is the South Rim of the Canyon too to be explored.

You can stand in the Canyon and keep viewing it and it will never be enough; such is the beauty of it with brilliant colours, its sheer majestic size and the layered patterns. You get a different experience in different point and rides - the boat, helicopter and by walk. It was never enough for me, however we had to catch the flight back to Vegas and so had to leave. The Grand Canyon - beautiful indeed and a must see place!

More pics here

Golfing!!!

What's the most posh game that's played? Well, it is the Golf. And a common man's version of it "The Mini Golf". On a weekend, we went to a park where there was this Mini Golf facility. There were few other sports too. Mini Golfing was a first time experience for me. I used to think what's the big deal in hitting a ball into a hole. But learnt the mini version of the game and had a fun experience.


There are various mazes and a hole in each. There were 3 courses and each course had 18 holes. We should attempt to hit the ball into the hole within a minimum number of strokes. They give a score card per group. A group is limited to 4 people. People come here , have casual talk, linger around and play the game too. Some very small kids just hit the balls and have fun. I noticed that a lot of adult groups too do not keep score; they play for fun.

Nothing more to say, have a look at the snaps. Click on the images to see the enlarged version. If you get a chance, try this game. Happy Golfing!

This evening...

We have been planning to visit Costco since long. We need to have a member card to go there. After applying online and a wait time of two weeks, the card arrived finally and we decided to go shopping this evening. My hubby reached home by six;, we had crackers and tea; got ready and reached there by 8 PM. Unfortunately we couldn't even go through the whole shop as they started closing by 8.45 PM. We wasted quite some time in the clothing section as there was no trial room. After picking up whatever we could, we went to the billing counter. The number of items were too less after having come to Costco. We had found the place today; quite near by and decided that we will come again soon.

We thought of having dinner outside but the fact that there was Dosa maavu and sambhar at home tempted me a lot. And so headed home directly unusually (We mostly end up having dinner outside if we go shopping). Quickly made coconut chutney and had dosas along with sambar. Was a wonderful satisfying dinner.

I was so happy as yesterday too I got Jalebis and Mini rasagullas from an Indian sweet stall. Today's lunch was also good ; Drumstick sambhar and Sepangkelangu fry followed by vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberry pieces for dessert. It's been treat after treats for my taste buds since yesterday. My husband also got me a three fourth trousers and a matching top for our on coming trip from Costco. I think I can call it a wonderful day. I do wish to make another trip to Costco and have a detailed shopping. Looking forward to that day soon...

Cheese, grease and peace

This is another of my experiences in the kitchen as you probably might have guessed from the title. You know, I love to cook and do all the associated task that comes with it, grinding, chopping etc. But the thing I hate is to clean up the stove top which has got all of the stuff sticking to it like glue. Even my dearest hubby refused to take up this chore who usually helps with stuff in kitchen. So I had to do this all by myself on this Sunday night. Generally I keep postponing this stuff for as long as I can. I certainly would have loved to watch a movie after dinner than doing this but the sight was too pathetic that I decided to take it up right away. After using a good cleaning liquid, I finished up the task. Then the stove top looked nice and clean and would be a welcome sight for me when I start to cook Monday's lunch.

It reminded me of my grandmother and mother. My mother; no matter what starts the day after cleaning the gas stove every morning with a detergent followed by cleaning up the slab where the gas stove is placed and then boil milk for coffee. I was in awe of her patience coz I do this task once a week; twice rarely.

My grandmother's routine too would be to get up in the morning do the "vasal kooti, kolam pottu, adupu moluvi" and then start making coffee. In those days, she had a stove made of mud(she used a kerosene stove in the last few years of her life but kept using the mud stove also). Wood was bought and stored in the backyard, dried in the sun if there was a rain. Every morning, after removing the ashes of the previous day, the mud stove(mann adupu) would be dusted with a broomstick followed by a coating of water in which cowdung was dissolved.(Cow dung is used to line the floor and walls of buildings owing to its insect repellent properties, with some types of insects). Then it would be left to dry and over this she would do kolams. And then start the mud stove with few fresh wood and the rest the previous day's wood. The wood would be turned on with some dried coconut shell broken into pieces and dried cow dung cakes, dipped in kerosene and lighted with a match.

Reminiscing the above ,cleaning my electric stove top suddenly felt as a 'no big deal'. In my childhood, I got very few opportunities to stay with her as we lived far from home town. But in those few days, I have seen her daily regimen. She used to do it dutifully and with no complaints and with all sincerity. She is no more and there is no ancestral house anymore. But the memories are still afresh.

I know you must be now wondering about the title. I just did not find anything else.. meant to say the cheese on the stovetop turns greasy and takes away my peace. Now don't sulk, will find a better title next time :)