Grand Canyon West Rim - The Hualapai Nation

Never ever would I dream off, to leave behind my other half and two kids, went on a lonesome awesome trip to the States alone.

An early birthday gift to myself and big thanks to the hubby who encouraged me to extend in Las Vegas after my one week stay in Utah, Salt Lake City (To be blog later). I decided and made a "Drive- Fly- Float"package booking with Pink Jeep Tours Las Vegas to visit the Grand Canyons, one of the seven greatest natural wonders of the world.

I touched down in Las Vegas on the 28th June '14. Made my way to book this tour at MGM Grand Las Vegas, Concierge counter for the trip on the following day.

Pick up point was at the side entrance of the west of MGM Grand if I did not remember wrongly. Keith, the friendly tour guide of the day came in a sweet pink jeep, spacious and comfortable ! It was about a 2.5 hours to the canyons from Las Vegas.

Our first stop was at Hoover Dam with Keith sharing about the history and some information about it. We took a few pictures before we proceeded on to the next stop for our heli tour.

Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge)



View from Hoover Dam, overseeing part of Colorado River

The holding area to purchase tickets for the Canyon Tour

 

After flying over the canyons, we went for the boat ride along the Colorado River. My biggest mistake was to wear a pair of flip flop with the initial thought that flip flops would be easier and my feet can be more ventilated instead of being wrapped up in my pair of sneakers. The terrains were pretty steep, wearing a  pair of flip flop made it worse when it comes to going down.

 

 

 

We went back via heli, onward to proceed to Guano point where Eagle point was.

The eagle point

Taking a closer look on the right of the eagle's wing, if you could see a dog slouching and looking at the "ball" in front of him.

Spot that dog and it's ball !

Eagle point is a popular stop in Grand Canyon West where the famous  Grand Canyon Skywalk is sited as well. The highlight of the Skywalk is that it provides the most astounding and unobstructed views of the spectacular Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is basically a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge, with see a transparent glass bottomed, commissioned and owned by the Hualapai Indian tribe.

To some whom have fear of height, may find it difficult to complete the walk. I personally find it a little disappointing though, I did not feel like being "suspended" over the canyons. Furthermore, we were not allowed to bring any camera nor mobile phone camera onto the Skywalk, hence, I have to deposit my haversack into the lockers provided.

If you would like to have your pictures taken, there will be photographers on the Skywalk to shoot for you and you would have to purchase them over the counter.  Sorry to say that but I think Keith does a much better job in taking pictures.

I super heart this shot taken by my guide for the day, Keith. He managed to capture the Colorado River with the canyons in the background. Some of my friends were "gasping" when  they saw me sitting at the edge !

The spot which I was sitting at (Referring to the pic below), Keith was sharing with us that just last week, a young girl almost slipped off just right at the very corner. Not to mentioned of course I did felt challenged but at that point of time, it's a do it now or no more chance ! Because I do not know if I will still have a chance to be back here. I removed my flip flops and walked bare-footed on the scorching hot ground, got myself seated and had this nice picture taken. The temperature for that day was about 41 Degree Celsius and yes, another lesson learnt was to remember to apply sunblock !

 

 

Lunch was pretty decent at Guano Point, benches and tables were provided under the big canopy with the view of the canyons right in front of you.

 

We continued with picture taking after that before we bid goodbye to the canyon. One dream holiday destination struck off my wishlist and I am secretly wishing that I can revisit the next time with dear and the kids when they are much older.

As a result of walking under the scorching hot sun for almost half a day, I was basically "roasted". Thanks to the healing properties of lavender which can calm and soothe irritated skin, I rained Young Living Lavender Essential Oil over the roasted area. The redness was greatly reduced by half and my skin did not even peel like how I did before when  I got sunburnt. No pain and I was smelling great ! The Lavender EO does help in jetlag too, it helps you when you need to sleep not when you want to sleep.

To sum it up, what is necessary to bring along should you be planning to make a visit to the Grand Canyons :
- Sunblock lotion (if you are using Young Living Essential Oil, Carrot seed is good to apply with your moisturizer as a sunscreen).
- Wear proper shoes and not flip flops like me.
- If you are taking up a package with Pink Jeep tours, bottled water will be provided for with some light snacks. For other packages, do check with them if they do provide with water supply, else it will be good to get yourself a one big bottle.

 

A special thanks to Adeline from Adeline's Loft who taught me how to DIY and fix up the diffusing pendant. Adeline self-produced her very own inquisitive and unique designs, ranging from necklaces, bracelets, earrings etc. Be sure that your piece is a unique piece of it's own. Plan your Christmas gifts early if you want to, visit Adeline's Loft to have something uniquely created for you.

Who says birthday is just to receive gifts, here I am going to have a mini giveaway of a set of 5ml Young Living Lavender EO and a diffusing pendant.

Simply just follow the steps below :
1. LIKE Xavvy-licious on Facebook.
2. Leave a comment indicating why do you like lavender eo and how you would use it in this facebook post.
3. Your email address in the comment box so that I can contact you if you have been picked as the winner.
4. This is a worldwide giveaway ! Do join in the giveaway even if you are not from Singapore !
5. Contest ends on 1st September 2014.

If you are new to Young Living Essential Oil, do read up my initial post. Should there be any queries, do feel free to drop me an email : serene_seah@hotmail.com

 If you have been reading our posts, do follow us on Facebook and Instagram for future updates !

Updates : Winner of the above giveaway is Estella ! I be getting in touch with you shortly !


Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post but in a way yes, thank you to MGM Grand Casino for sponsoring me the Grand Canyon trip. My package was totally paid for with the jackpot winnings I won on the last night of my stay in Las Vegas ! #beginnersluck !

The Young Living Lavender Essential oil is not a sponsored product, I am a Young Living Silver Distributor #1470886 and the products used are solely purchased by me. All opinions are of my own.