Day 5 and onto Vegas

Hi y'all,

The last day of the AVID summer intensive was actually half a day, with us all in our strands for one final lesson. Bill Madigan had us doing different activities that recalled what we had done over the week, we all moved around to the next activity and had to try to remember something extra... amazingly, we were all able to add different things we had remembered from the conference; each group recalled more.  We completed the session with two new reading activities: one we read a chapter of a book and then created a tableau... the teacher tapped each person, who had to "come to life" and describe what they were doing in the tableau and then he asked high order questions to elicit deeper responses, emotional responses from us; and finally another reading and a Socratic Seminar on that reading, to delve into it's deeper meanings.

At lunch time people were packed and leaving for the airport.  We Aussies who were not leaving until lunchtime the next day, set off on the Dart to do some shopping at Casa Mexicana (the same place Heather and Valerie had discovered the previous day). We did take a wrong turn, due to me misunderstanding the gesture of the gentleman who I asked for directions; but eventually we arrived and purchased some lovely authentic Mexican bits and pieces as gifts for the folk at home.  My bag is almost to the baggage limit, I shall have to watch what else I buy.  Ummmm! I forgot about that this morning when I went out to the Grand Canyon.... ooops!

So we flew from Dallas to Las Vegas and Chloe and I are staying at the Flamingo, right on the strip, opposite Caesar's Palace!!! My goodness, these hotels have to be seen to be believed! Talk about opulence! decadence! well pick your favourite stunned adjective! The Luxor looks like a pyramid with a small sphinx; the Paris has a fake Eiffel Tower on the roof; Caesar's Palace has a small coliseum in the front garden and several huge italianate palaces, Bellagio has it's own LAKE - and all this in the midst of the desert.  You don't realise how desert like it is until you leave the strip.  For example, today I flew to the Grand Canyon and did the Skywalk and the Guano point trek, we only went -ooh, a few feet past the last grand hotel and we were in the desert.  I took photographs of the suburbs, all of which are painted desert colours, adding to the monochrome look of the area. We landed at the airstrip at the west end of the Grand Canyon, and set off on the bus portion of the trip.

The airport, skywalk and food at Guano Point are all run by the local First Nations people, the Hualapai (pronounced Wol-a-pie), Eagle Point is where the skywalk is.  It is a very solidly constructed, glass floored, viewing platform, built in a loop out from the point.  The canyon is 4,000 feet deep at this point... being scared of heights I had to force myself to go on it - but I am so glad I did... I didn't stay long enough for a photograph and there was no way I was letting go of the handrail to lay down and be photographed on the glass as if I was flying. Then I went on to Guano Point and walked out to the point to take photos, still a 4,000 foot drop, no handrail, but I wasn't nervous... strange, huh?  Maybe because the earth feels so solid beneath your feet and it is a wide path, 5 or 6 could walk abreast. There is also a very spiritual feel to the place, a nest of some large raptor is in a tree level with the table where I sat to eat lunch, and they were soaring hither and yon, with the parents coming back and feeding insects (I guess) to their young. The helicopters flying people to view the canyon were below us... maybe all of that together and the wind blowing people's voices away so that you felt cocooned in silence all added to that spiritual ambience.  Very special.

Tonight, seeing it is 4th July and Independence Day (which seems to be going largely unnoticed within Las Vegas itself) there will be fireworks across the road from us at Caesar's Palace - and as we have a front room we have an absolutely grandstand view.  The girls all want to go down to the strip and join in the excited atmosphere - but I think I'll be quite happy with a picture window view and a chilled champagne at my side.   Tomorrow I'm off to Excalibur for dinner and a show, 'The Tournament of Kings', for a die hard medievalist THAT is something to look forward to,

Until next time,
You take care of y'self, y'all,
Tracey