Tears of Joy

I wanna copy and paste yesterday's statement: this has been one of the best days of my life.

It all started with a delicious Navajo breakfast (blue corn pancake with bacon and scrambled eggs) at our hotel. We left a bit earlier today (7 am Vegas time, 8 am Cameron time - some are still confused :-D ) and I wonder how we managed to get everyone to the bikes at the same time. ;-)

Our first stop was at Horseshoe Bend. We had to walk 1.2 km up and down a hill to get to the rim where we had the best view. The warning signs at the parking lot weren't exactly an understatement: "CAUTION! EXTREME HEAT!". So each of us took a bottle of water and off we went. The view was just stunning. How a river can form such a beautiful landscape... It's completely beyond imagination. We didn't have much time there though, because our day was stuffed with exciting activities (although I didn't know how exciting it was going to get then). So after having taken some pictures, we hiked back through the sand and heat to the parking lot. (Yes, we were the only ones

wearing long jeans. With protectors. And yes, "extreme heat" was meant literally, we were soaking wet when we arrived at the agreed meeting point.)

We then drove directly to Page, which is just a few miles away from Horseshoe Bend and had our lunch at Big John's Texas BBQ. (At night there's always live country music and it's basically the only place that people recommend to grab something good to eat.) On a side note: right when we got there, the waiter asked "Whose English is best?" and immediately everyone pointed at me. So I guess, I'm now the official translator for our group. :-D
As we had more than enough time left until our scheduled helicopter flight, Stefan, Markus, Thomas, and I just sat there and talked while the others went exploring the rather unspectacular town (and supermarket). It was really nice to just sit there and do nothing for a while, enjoying each other's company. ;-)

At 1.30 am we left for the local airport, where the second chopper on the TAD tour awaited us. Hans, Gabi, and Stefan took the first helicopter and we had to wait at the terminal for 45 min. Unfortunately for them, they had to fly with two strangers, so waiting wasn't exactly a bad thing as then everyone of us got window seats.

Right before they came back, Nicole - an exceptionally nice girl of the airport staff - took us to the landing platform in a golf cart. Have I mentioned that I love Eurocopters? Having one land directly in front of you... That sound... It's really awesome!

Yesterday's flight was very special: it was my first helicopter flight ever and additionally, seeing the scenery of the Grand Canyon resulted in me being very emotional. Today was a bit different, it was nothing but fun and really, really cool! First, we flew over Horseshoe Bend. Seeing it from the ground was exciting enough, but flying over it? Oh boy, that was just glorious! We then flew over Glen Canyon, Lake Powell and Navajo Canyon - all being magnificent sights! - before we landed on Tower Butte. I still can't grasp how very special it was to land on this famous landmark, a site that can only be reached via helicopter. Walking on top of Tower Butte was simply marvelous! We got magnificent 360° views of all the important locations in this region - Lake Powell, several canyons, the Colorado River, beautiful mountain ranges... And the scenery up there at the Tower was so diverse! It wasn't only rocks and sand at all (which was totally what I expected). There were different plants and even a little honey bee as well! (How on earth did you get up there, little fella?) We only had 15 minutes to explore the area and get back to the chopper, though. I have to say: our pilot was such a nice guy! He took a group picture of us and even let us take a photo with him. I got to talk to him about his job (he's been flying helicopters in the army for 14 years!), about our tour (he was super-happy for us) and other smalltalk-y stuff. In the end, he even recommended places to eat in Page. As I said, a really nice guy. Our Bavarian friends waited for us back at the airport together with Birgit, who took us back to our hotel.

But that still wasn't all! We had 30 min to change into non-motorcycle clothes, before we were driven to the Antelope Canyon. We got on a

Jeep at a pick-up station in the town center, although "Jeep" might not be quite correct. It was more a modified version of a Jeep, with two rows fitting 14 people in total facing either side of the road. As soon as we entered the Antelope Canyon area we knew why we needed an offroad vehicle. We drove through sand and stone to reach the entrance of the Upper Antelope Canyon and I have no clue how I managed to not get sick on that ride. ;-)

Our tour guide was no one less than the famous Leonard Nez! He's a full-blood Navajo and the most talked about tour guide in the world. I've seen videos of him before, playing Indian instruments on YouTube, but I've been so amazed by the scenery that I've completely overlooked that it's him! Leonard is one of the most amazing persons I've ever met. He showed us every single great photo spot in the canyon and even took pictures with our cameras for us to get the best results. At the end of the tour he played a beautiful song on a Navajo flute, but not before telling us a wonderful story: Every song he plays, he makes up as he goes along. He said that the music he plays doesn't come from the heart, however. The heart is only there to pump blood, but the mind is where feelings and emotions come from. So saying "I love you with all my heart." is not technically correct, it's rather "I love you with all my brains.", although that doesn't sound as good. ;-) He then proceeded to play a lovely melody and I'm glad I got it on video. It's such an honor to have heard one of Leonard's unique songs!

On our way back I got to stay a bit behind the group with Leonard and talked to him about his job and his passion to show people this place. His remarks on that were truly amazing: he loves his job so much, because he gets to know so many people from so many different countries. He loves helping them take pictures of the Antelope Canyon and is proud that his photos are found all across the world. I kinda got a little private tour of the canyon and he took two more pictures of me in truly marvelous spots. I couldn't have been more thankful.

When we were brought back to the pick-up area, said our goodbyes to Leonard and got back to Birgit, Silvia and Thomas, it was all too much for me. Tears were rolling down my face and everyone started hugging me. Even thinking back to this moment makes me cry again. This day was wonderful in so many different ways, I'm still in awe and lack the words to properly describe it. All I know is that I've seen places that few people ever see and had the honor of meeting and talking to exceptional people. I'll never forget this day and all that came along with it.