US West Coast Travelogue (10) - Grand Canyon Helicopter Tour

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The first time I rode in a helicopter was during my military service.
During a ROK-US combined exercise, despite not being very good at English, I somehow ended up serving as an interpreter and rode in a US military helicopter.
We flew over the night sky of Dongducheon for about 20 minutes to move to a mountain area, and even the neon signs of the Dongducheon entertainment district, which I would usually find tacky, looked so beautiful.
I completely forgot we were in the middle of a training exercise and was lost in the night view outside the window.
And 10 years later, while traveling in the US, I ended up riding a helicopter again at the Grand Canyon.
If the Dongducheon entertainment district was that beautiful, the Grand Canyon must be something else.
I couldn't help but be excited.

As soon as we finished breakfast, we headed to the helicopter airport.
One wall was covered with plaques received for safe operations.
Since I am someone who naturally lives with a lack of safety awareness, I didn't pay much attention to the risks.
If I'm unlucky, I'm unlucky. That's life.

After completing the check-in process, we received safety training.
They said helicopters are more sensitive to weight than you might think, so we should avoid moving our bodies as much as possible during the flight.
The rest of the training content was roughly this:
"Listen carefully to the pilot."
Yes, sir.

After the safety training, we moved to the helicopter boarding area.
They had been registering our weights since the reservation, and they even assigned seats arbitrarily to balance the helicopter.
Since it's a measure for safety, what can you do?
However, these people separated Maria and me. ㅠㅜ
They maintained the helicopter's center of gravity, but my heart was breaking.

These are the members who will be riding the helicopter together.
Renae, Karon, Kat, Jesse, and the Crazy Kimberly.
Karon was probably assigned to balance my weight. They said they decide the seats arbitrarily for the helicopter's balance.
Before boarding, they also fasten a yellow safety pouch around each of our waists.
Is it a parachute?

One by one, other people's helicopters began to take off.
The roar of the propellers from the numerous helicopters makes it impossible even to talk to the person next to you.

So, we put on headsets.
But it's a one-way street.
I can hear the pilot clearly, but the microphone doesn't work.
"Hey~~!!!!!"
Even though I pressed the mic button and tried everything, there was no response.
I wanted to show off my polished in-flight announcement skills to the girls...
It's a relief.

Finally, the helicopter I am on also takes off.
We move away from the ground in an instant.
In the distance, a single Kon-Tiki bus is visible in the parking lot.
I was sitting right there just a moment ago, but it feels like I've already entered another world.

Thud-thud-thud-thud~~
The pilot says we might see deer or bears.
I searched the mountains thoroughly like a possessed forest ranger, but I didn't see anything.
It feels like motion sickness will appear before any deer do.

As we gain a bit more altitude, the edges of the Grand Canyon come into view.
To think that the middle of such a flat-looking plateau is deeply carved...
It is a truly amazing terrain even while looking at it.
If you made it as a miniature,
I wonder if it would look like someone spilled a few drops of coffee on green tea tiramisu and it became indented.

We are getting closer and closer to the Grand Canyon.
Just then, the theme song from the movie <Cliffhanger> starts playing through the headphones.
As expected, Americans seem to have a natural talent for structuring a show.
To play this kind of music exactly at the moment we approach the Grand Canyon...
Is there any other way to increase passenger satisfaction like this?
A wave of emotion naturally washes over me.

It is a spectacle different from the view looking down from the observatory.
As expected, you have to see the Grand Canyon from above to truly feel its scale.
The length of the canyon is a whopping 447km.
It's a distance similar to the distance from Seoul to Busan.
Since the depth reaches up to 1,500m...
It is certainly worthy of the name 'Grand Canyon'.

Kimberly also has a very moved expression.
I thought she was only interested in dancing all the time, but she can make such an innocent face too.
When I asked, "How do you feel right now?"
She pointed to her ear and waved her hand.
"I can't hear a single thing you're saying~"
"Yeah, I said I love you!"
When else would you shout it out if not now?

I keep pressing the shutter due to the incredibly wonderful sight.
"A few of these will surely turn out well."


Renae, who sat next to me, was also a very close friend.
Perhaps because she is Australian, it was a bit hard to understand her at first, but if I didn't understand, she would explain again in easy English until I did.
She was a friend who would look out for my seat even while I was fumbling around trying to find a spot to take photos.
I still miss Renae's kind presence.
She was a bold young lady who continued her journey fearlessly through Mexico to South America even after the US trip ended.

The helicopter turns and moves along the canyon.
But as we come this way, the backlight begins to hit.
With the sunlight reflecting off the rounded windows, taking photos is quite difficult.
On top of that, I'm wearing striped clothes... It's disappointing in many ways.
Unfortunately, the scenery on this side was much more magnificent.

Far below, the Colorado River is flowing.
They say if you follow this river down, you'll reach the massive Hoover Dam, and if you keep going, it leads to the Gulf of California in Mexico.
Actually, one of my bucket list items is Grand Canyon rafting.
It's a course where you go down the Colorado River for 7 days and 6 nights, camping along the way.
They say people who suffer together while rafting for 7 days become lifelong friends.
It sounds like quite a romantic trip just hearing about it.
Of course, since it costs $4,400 now, it's not easy.
Still, I definitely want to try it someday.
I should entrust myself to the Colorado River at least once before I die.
http://www.westernriver.com/trips/grand6day/

Leaving behind a sense of lingering regret in the skies of the Grand Canyon, we are on our way back to the helicopter landing pad.
I feel like I might never see the sight of the receding Grand Canyon again.

Below, you can also see the runways for light aircraft.
I saw on another blog before that you can also view the Grand Canyon by riding in a light aircraft.
It would probably have a different atmosphere from a helicopter.
At that time, I thought I'd like to try riding a light aircraft once too.
However, my thoughts completely changed after riding a light aircraft for just 30 minutes in Nazca later on.
I experienced the worst motion sickness of my life. It was so severe that it felt like my upper body was paralyzed....
Light aircraft? Never again.


Dylan, the manager of our US trip, pointed at the light aircraft buzzing through the sky and described them as mosquitoes.
From a distance, they really do look like mosquitoes flying around. Haha.

We landed safely and finished the short helicopter tour.
The helicopters continue to take off for other tourists.
It was less than 30 minutes, but the emotion of this time will likely be remembered for a long time.
Now it's time to go trekking into the canyons of the Grand Canyon.
It's a busy day today. Haha.