Lee played some blackjack before we had dinner at the Olives restaurant. We were very fortunate to be able to sit outdoors, enjoy a incredible dinner, and watch the dancing waters of the Bellagio fountains.
After dinner we went to the Cirque du Soleil production of O.
We then boarded the Grand Canyon Railway for the 2 1/2 hour trip up to the Canyon. What a wonderful way to travel the scenic landscape starting at a charming train depot located in Williams. This is a vintage railway system which first arrived at the South Rim of the Canyon on September 17, 1901. The accommodations were very comfortable complete with snacks and traveling musicians.
Once at the Canyon, you are overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude! The Grand Canyon averages 10 miles across and a mile deep along its 277 mile length. Much of the area is a national park with the Colorado River white-water rapids and sweeping vistas. We walked along the Rim Trail and just became transfixed...the incredible beauty, the immense size, the geologic color, and erosional forms.
Wow!
Upon entering the welcome center we learned about the dinosaur bones and fossils which have been found
We learned about how wood becomes petrified.....A log is petrified when all of its original plant material is infilled or replaced by minerals. Approximately 216 million years ago, these trees died and fell into a river. They were buried beneath layers of silt, mud, sand, and volcanic ash, which protected them from decay. Mineral laden ground water percolated through the layers, carrying silica from the volcanic ash and other trace minerals. The absorbent dead wood became saturated with these minerals. the silica, or quartz, crystals slowly bonded with the cells of the tree replicating the organic material in perfect detail. Eventually, silica replaced the wood material.
Now this forest is not made of wood but stone. The petrified logs' brilliant colors are due to trace minerals that soaked into the wood along with the silica. Iron minerals provide bright mustard, orange, rich reds, ochre, and black. Manganese minerals cause blue, purple, brown, black, and fern like patterns.
On our hikes, we saw a 1932 Studebaker sitting where the famed Route 66 once cut through the park.
We visited the Agate Bridge which is a 110 ft. petrified log spanning a gully.
We visited Blue Mesa which has beautiful layers of color..and last but not least, the Painted Desert Inn which was built by Fred Harvey and who brought the Harvey Girls to serve the customers..Remember the movie starring Judy Garland called The Harvey Girls...well this was one of his restaurants.
Mother Nature is awesome!
Sante Fe is a cultural mecca with numerous art galleries and museums such as the Georgia O'Keefe Art Museum, and lots of restaurants and boutiques.
Santa Fe was also the home of the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory of the University of California. Loacted at the original office, there is a plaque dedicated to the men and women who made the first atomic bomb.
After a busy day of sightseeing, we enjoyed an incredible meal at The Shed.....and were treated to some fabulous margaritas
which were paid for by some wonderful business men who got a kick out of our name! Lee and I just love meeting and talking with new people.....you never know who you will meet along the way!
When asked what children could do to help others, the First Lady Hilary Clinton suggested that they could write a letter expressing how they felt. These letters became known as DEAR OKLAHOMA CITY. Located near this display was a marble statue depicting an image of what the artist, New Yorker Miles Slater, saw and presented his work to the people of Oklahoma.
Outdoors led you to The Gates of Time which are monumental twin gates that frame the moment of destruction. 9:02am marks the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01am on April 19 and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03am...the moment we were changed forever and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing. There is a reflecting pool between the gates with gently flowing water which is meant to help soothe wounds. In the background is the Field of Empty Chairs with each of 168 chairs representing a life lost with smaller chairs representing the 19 children...the chairs are arranged in nine rows, one for each of the nine floors of the building...each bronze and stone chair rests on a glass base etched with the name of the victim. By day, the chairs seem to float above their translucent bases...by night, the glass illuminates as beacons of hope.
Then there is the Survivor Tree which is a 90+ year old American Elm which bears witness to the violence of April 19 and now stands as a profound symbol of human resilience.
