Olé Cirque du Soleil, The Grand Canyon and The Impending Hinderance

You say you want a revolution~

Going to a magic show performed by the man who made the Statue of Liberty disappear and passed through the Great Wall of China was enticing.  However, if I'm going to make a choice to see only one Vegas show, anything involving The Beatles is always going to win out in any scenario.  Conveniently housed within our hotel is a Cirque de Soleil Beatles themed show called LOVE, which was my show of choice.  Again, our timelines split once more.

British flags and "police officers" populated the venue 

From its opening words "Bonsoir Las Vegas!" until its closing proclamation "All You Need Is Love", the spectacle was astounding.  Cirque du Soleil's reputation for putting on amazing shows was certainly proved that night with their brightly coloured costumes, extraordinary feats of acrobatics and dexterity, comedic timing and seamless blend of technology to transform the arena into a magical, awe-inspiring environment.  It's not hard to see why the show, which has repeated twice every night for the past four years, manages to sell out so fast.

I must admit I got a bit emotional as soon as the performance started with The Beatles blasting through the speakers.  What was surprising to hear was not only the remastered versions of their songs but also their speaking voices as if all four band members were still alive and well to put on one last goofy show together.  Their playful shadows were projected occasionally to further enforce the effect.  Overall, it was a great show, one I would strongly recommend seeing if you're a Beatles fan.

A signed Hofner Violin Bass (it's so beautiful)

On to the next day!

Someone needs a good wash (hint: it's not Chris)

The guys and I checked out and received our car in its battered condition.  Just like our clothes upon checking into the hotel as mentioned in Alexei's post, the whole exterior was completely covered in dried mud.  The engine caked in mud as well.  We should have brought the car to the garage for an inspection, but we decided to stick to our schedule and persist through what we thought was minor nuisance (foreshadow!).  Despite Chris' concerns and much to our amusement, the car ran smoother than it ever had.  Our drive to and through the Grand Canyon was effortless.

What a view!

It is hard to believe that millions of years had passed to carve mountainous grooves to create what many would consider to be one of the country's national treasures.  As red as the sands on Mars and layered like stacks of brick, the walls of the canyon harbour a great deal of history from ancient fossils to expeditions sought out by European explorers.  Like the explorers, our group ventured into the wilderness for a closer look.

We hiked on a trail that led to edges of the Grand Canyon.  The cliffs lead to a long tumble down a rocky terrain, so we had to be careful on certain parts of the trail that had very little to stand on.  I can't imagine how the explorers could hike on the same trail on mules.  Nerves of steel and lots of guts, that's all I can say.

In the car, we drove up onto the peak on the road.  The sight was well worth the wait.  Never had any of us had seen anything comparable to this one.  The Canyon is truly a remarkable treasure.  You can judge it for yourself in the video below.

The sky grew darker and darker by the time we left the peak.  Chris and I decided to sacrifice our sleep to drive as far as we could into the night to reach our next destination, Houston, Texas.  We raced along  an small, unlit road guided only by two lines, one dotted and the other solid.  Nothing else could be seen other than the rare rabbit or field mouse on the ground (no animals were harmed in the duration of this trip).  Eventually we made our way back to the interstate highway.  Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

As I routinely sped to pass a truck, the car began to slow down by itself.  The accelerator was unresponsive and the battery light came on.  Thankfully the truck behind avoided us as I pulled over to the side of the road.  Chris woke up, checked the engine and tried to start the car again, but it wouldn't budge.  The car was as still as the night at 4 AM.

Chris called CAA to get us towed to the nearest town.  Here, in Gallup, New Mexico, was where the fate of the trip fell into a world of worry and frustration, where our fate was put to the test.  One misguided step in the wrong direction could potentially cut our journey short.

Whatever will our travellers do?  Will they ever get back in time to their humble homes in Montreal?  We shall wait and see!

Bum bum buuuum