Polar bear chilling out...

Pink Flamingos

Marvin & Kurt both with their Nikon D70 cameras

Baby Panda, up in a tree, hiding from mamma

Panda bear in it's San Diego habitat...

Timo

inquisitive baby Giraffe...

At the San Diego Zoo...

Ummmm, tacos !

Downtown San Diego

Saturday April 29, 2006

Marvin having fun...

Rescue helicopter on it's way to a Vegas Hospital

Rescue helicopter

...an overturned Cruiser on the dirt road...

Kurt spotting something horrible on the way back...

Artist impression of the completed SkyWalk

The Glass Bridge Construction of the Skywalk began March of 2004 and is estimated to be completed by summer 2006. Upon completion, the Glass Bridge will be suspended 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the very edge of the Grand Canyon. On May 2005, the final test was conducted and the stucture passed engineering requirements by 400 percent, enabling it to withstand the weight of 71 fully loaded Boeing 747 airplanes (more that 71 million pounds). The bridge will be able to sustain winds in excess of 100 miles per hour from 8 different directions, as well as an 8.0 magnitude earthquake within 50 miles. More than one million pounds of steel will go into the construction of the Grand Canyon Skywalk.

The site where it's planned to build the new glass SkyWalk !

The Colorado river, deep down

Kurt & Karl enjoying the view of the "abyss"

here it's rougher terrain, and there's no gard-rail !

late afternoon visit of the Western rim of the Grand Canyon (much more impressive than the South rim, where the National Park is)... This is however on the Indian reserve of the Hualapai, so we couldn't just drive to this site. We had to be accompanied.

Cactus spring flower

strong workhorses !

Kurt exercising his lasso skills...

Something you'd find in a National Geographics Magazine...

the horse ride back from the Helipad to the ranch...

"I wish the ride was longer" says Marvin

helicopter Cockpit

Flying back to base-camp (the Ranch)

Nice view of the Colorado river, from the copter window

The Colorado river beneath...

deep in the gorge...

Eagle Point on the Hualapai reserve, view from the Helicopter. I think that this side of the Grand Canyon (West Rim) is a lot more impressive than the part that all the tourists usually visit (South Rim / National park)...

View of our camp from the Helicopter...

is it a race ?

the pilot obviously used BOSE noise cancelling headphones

over the Joshua Tree forest, to the canyon...

up, up, & away !

getting ready to board the Grand Canyon touring copter.

Wake-up sleepy head !

Copter approch over teepee

Kurt, flagging down the copter, on the hang-man's spot...

Helicopter approching in the distance

anyone for a RootBeer ?

part of an old chariot

Old rusted tools

Breakfast on the Ranch

one of the few natural springs, around the Grand Canyon

Joshua tree invasion