truk Rambles - Read truk's Blog! RSS Feed Damn, That's a Big Dam! 2010-07-27 17:13:51 On our way out of town, we made time to swing by the Hoover Dam, so we could check it out from the ground. I found the tour a bit ho-hum (we only did the standard tour, not the $30 one that features the modern art and takes you through large parts of the dam), and the one hour of stop-and-go traffic to travel the last four miles get near the dam really sucked. However, standing up on the observation deck of the dam offers an amazing view of the structure and explains why it is one of the modern architectural wonders of the world. The standard tour takes you into one of the thru-way tunnels and one of the generator rooms, which are impressive and worth seeing. Even though the more expensive tour has more of the modernist art on display, you can still see a bit of Oskar J.W. Hansen's and Allen Tupper True's work, particularly the tile and statues, on the standard tour. Upon leaving, we drove along Highway 93, over the dam, which will supposedly (and hopefully) be closed to traffic some time later this year. The number of cars looking to cross the dam really far exceeds the capacity (and occasionally the width) of the road, but I hope they leave the dam open for pedestrian traffic, as it really helps to walk beside it in order to grasp the sheer size of the thing. After that, we headed for I-40 and the 1550 mile trip home, which we drove straight through, except for a 7 hour nap last that night. The bright lights of Memphis appeared over a shimmering Mississippi River at a little after 1 AM Saturday morning, and we reunited with our dogs, exhausted but happy. View more truk blog entries Into the Canyon 2010-07-27 17:11:38 Thursday was a long, fun day. It started at 4 AM, waking up way, way too early to meet our transportation to the Boulder City airport, just outside of Las Vegas, to take a helicopter trip into the Grand Canyon. We signed up with Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters to take a ride into the Canyon, including a flight over Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, and a stop down into the canyon for a light meal and champagne. If it sounds decadent, well, that's because it is. I think we could have skipped the quick meal and booze before 8:30 AM, but it was part of the package, so who what I to complain? (Thank you, Elaine and Larry, for the gift of one of the tickets!) To me, a helicopter turned out to be a great introduction to the wonder and sheer size of the Grand Canyon. The flight takes about 20 minutes to get into the Canyon, and then you are flying into the western part of the Canyon (as the central region, in the national park, is off-limits to helicopters flying below the rim), looking up at the rim and getting a good view of the ancient layers of rock as they zoom by. We landed in a prepared area on Native American land, and even though it was early in the morning, the heat and sun already felt brutal. We walked around, took some pictures, and tried to take it all in. Way too soon, it was time to leave, so we took off and looked about a bit more of the Canyon before zoom across desert, back to our hotel in Vegas, with just enough time to check out. All in all, a stunning trip, one that rivals our helicopter trip over Kauai from a few years ago. If you want to experience the Grand Canyon from all angles, a helicopter tour is the best way to go. View more truk blog entries 105 in the Shade 2010-07-21 23:10:20 We mostly took it easy today, as we know all too well that directed, purposeful action in Las Vegas turns the city into a vacuum cleaner for your money. Since we were last here in early-2006, malls (well, shopping in general) has exploded on the Strip, so we checked out the newer places (like M), while also taking the time to revisit some old favorites (the Venetian is a lot less impressive, once you've been to Italy). This was our first trip on the Vegas Monorail, which I expected to hate but actually liked, though $5 per ride is a bit much. We also got to feel the full effect of the afternoon heat by walking back the last mile to our hotel under the full sun. I didn't really sweat until we stopped to cool off in casino, where they had the humidity over 5%. View more truk blog entries The Rambling Continues: Read All truk Blog Entries Here

What is truk.com? It covers the travels and thoughts of truk, this guy that lives in Midtown Memphis. More questions? Contact me... 2010 - Still in Memphis January San Francisco Bay and Wineries April Douglas Family Visit | End of the Road July - West and Central US Badlands | Black Hills, SD | East Glacier National Park (1, 2) | Polebridge, MT | Northwest Glacier | Missoula Anniversary | Yellowstone (1, 2, 3, 4) | Grand Tetons | Spiral Jetty | Park City | Vegas | Grand Canyon | Hoover Dam 2009 - Still in Memphis January Sydney and New South Wales (pics) May Douglas Visit July - Italy (Amalfi Coast with text | Capri | Herculaneum | Southern Tuscany with text | Florence with text | Northern Tuscany | Rome | Vatican) August Otha Turner Family Goat BBQ Picnic October Ozark Trail Ride day 1 | day 2 | day 3 November Dave Gets a KLR 650 | Hot Springs Honeymoon | Rhodes Cajunfest 2009 December Memphis Walk North(east) | Savannah Off-Road Motorcycling | San Francisco with Jeff, Katy, Larry, and Michelle 2008 - Still in Memphis April Visiting Jeff and Katy May - Spain and Morocco with Dave and Christina (Segovia | Casa | Central, Northern Spain | Picos de Europa | Bilbao and San Sebastian | La Roija Region | Madrid | Marrakech | Fez | Southern Spain) October Memphis Walk South December Sydney (pics) 2007 - Memphis February Snowboarding in Tahoe May Memorial Day at the Parker's Lakehouse June Larry and Michelle's Wedding on Shelter Island, NY July Hawaii (Oahu | Big Island (plus kayaking at Captain Cook) | Kauai text 1 and text 2 | Hawaii (Mostly Budget) Accommodation Review) 2006 - Memphis January Las Vegas April Jacob Born July Douglas Visit in Rhode Island September Iowa Visit October Urban Wolf River Trip November and December Costa Rica (Volcan Arenal | Monteverde | Montezuma | Uvita | Porto Jimenez | Corcovado | Aerial Photos) 2005 - Memphis January New Years at Dave and Christina's May Kath's PhD Graduation from Duke University June Kath's PhD Graduation Party at the Shack-Up Inn December New Zealand and Australia (Tahiti and Wellington | Marlborough and Kaikoura | Abel Tasman and the West | Manapouri and Milford Sound | The Catlins | Dunedin and Christchurch | Sydney) 2004 - Memphis January Jeni's Baby Shower | Birth of Emmett February Snowboarding in Park City May Memorial Day at the Parker's Lakehouse July Yucatan Movie [QT 7] (Isla Mujeres, Tulum, Chichen Itza, Valladolid, Merida, Celestun) | Paris October Visiting the Douglas's in Boston 2003 - Memphis January New Years February Aaron's Snowboarding Bachelor Party June Jaymie's Bachelor Party October Dave & Christina Wedding Shower September Dave's Bachelor Party October Dave & Christina's Wedding 2002 - Australia - Memphis January Tasmania - Port Arthur [1st] | Tasmania - East Coast [2nd] April Queensland [1st to 15th] June Sydney Opera House [11th] | Broken Hill [15th] | South Australia [20th] | Western Australia [26th] July Darwin, Litchfield, Katherine Gorge [16th] | Arnham Land [19th] | Kakadu National Park September Prague Wedding Reception, People, More People, Buildings | Croatia Mainland, Vis November Kath's Surprise Birthday Party | Thanksgiving December Christmas 2001 - Australia September Peyton's Baptism [2nd] | Apartment [9th] | Cliffwalk [18th] | Footy Final [23rd] October Koori Knockout [1st] | Vigoro [20th] | North Sydney Beaches [30th] November Sports Awards [9th] December Tasmania - Cataract Gorge [30th] | Tasmania - Cradle Mountain [30th] | Tasmania - West and South [31st] 1999 - Southern Africa Cape Town | Garden Route | Jo'berg | Victoria Falls | Stellenbosch 1998 - Peru Lima | Huancayo | Ayacucho | Cuzco | Machu Picchu/Puno | Lake Titicaca | La Paz | Arequipa | Colca Canyon | Nazca/Pisco/Lima 1997 - Prague, Greece, Turkey Prague | Cesky Krumlov | Romania | Alexandropolis | Samothraki | Ruins | Prague 1996 - Australia Sydney 1995 - Asia, Silk Route Turkmenistan | Kyrgyzstan | Kashi/Urumqi | Iron Rooster | Beijing | Great Wall | Hong Kong | Philippines 1994-1995 - Prague Other Trips - Greers Ferry Lake (2001) Arkansas Expats A collection of friends Peebo.net Jeff Parker's blog Knurd.com Stephen Espy's blog Issafly Brad Sim's blog Jim's Astrophotography Page My uncle's cool collection of pics from around the galaxy truk.com truk and kath's website The Tackle Box by Matt The Adventures of Pete Big Bear Follow the adventures of Pete Big Bear while he roams around the US Crotchfish A witty (and true) look at all things library, political, and trivial. A Foolish Consistency CinemaApprentice's blog; great advice on movies and books From a Place Near a River Lady Di is online and loving it Dave and Christina Dave and Christina are building their own house! Life Beyond Expection Kath's CF blog dodo.com Travel Community Place to meet other travelers and post your travel stories Jethro Williams Travel Blog A man from England, working his way around the world