By NEIL CLARK

Don't look down: Neil Clark and his wife Zsuzsanna enjoy the view over the Grand Canyon


The word 'awesome' tends to be overused but it summed up the remarkable sight that lay in front of us.

As my wife and I stood on edge of the Grand Canyon, we snapped away with the other tourists.

But no camera could capture the feeling of wonder that gazing across the massive gorge gave us.

Visiting the Grand Canyon was just one of the highlights of our 15-day escorted coach tour of the South West.

We had visited the east coast of America before but we'd long wanted to head out west - to see the natural beauty of California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada and visit the region's most interesting cities.

Our trip had begun three days earlier in Los Angeles. 'We're setting off on a 2,500-mile adventure,' said our tour director Al. 'You will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy it.'

Still feeling the effects of our ten-hour flight, we were glad that on day one we went only as far as Hollywood. As film buffs, my wife and I headed to the Grauman's Chinese Theatre to look for the footprints of our favourite stars from the Golden Age.

The following morning our trek began in earnest as we left LA and headed into the Mojave desert.


Park life: Bryce Canyon National Park, home of the Hoodoos - 'red rocks standing like men'


The middle of the desert is the last place you'd expect to see a historic London landmark - a red telephone box and a Union Jack flying proudly.

But Lake Havasu city in Arizona is a resort with a distinctly British feel, for it was here that, 40 years ago, American millionaire Robert McCulloch reassembled the old London Bridge which he had bought from the City of London. He paid £1.5 million and it cost a further £4.3 million to transport it over.

Next morning, we headed across Arizona, part of the way on the famous Route 66. After lunch in Williams, a railroad town full of old-style diners and motels, we drove north to the Grand Canyon. We feared that after the spiritual high of one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the rest of our trip would be something of an anti-climax, but we were wrong.

After travelling through the Navajo Nation - the largest Native American reservation in the US - we arrived at our next destination, Lake Powell. The landscape had a lunar feel, and it was no surprise to hear from Al that the film Planet Of The Apes had been shot in the region.

We headed on to the nearby Glen Canyon dam, to board motorised rafts for a four-hour ride down the Colorado River. As our enthusiastic guide Clay piloted us down one of the most dramatic stretches of waterway in America, we felt as though we were intrepid explorers from the 19th Century.

More natural wonder lay in store as we crossed into Utah. At Bryce Canyon we saw the 'hoodoos', pillars of sandstone described by local Indians as 'red rocks standing like men'.



Bryce as nice: It is easy to see why the rock formations are called the Hoodoos


As we got our first glimpses of the mighty Zion Canyon - our next destination - I uttered my fifth 'wow' of the week, before spending three hours hiking to and visiting the oldest still-in-use Mormon temple at St George.

After that we set off for Sin City - aka Las Vegas. It's been calculated that the average tourist loses $500 gambling in Vegas. So having played for five hours on the slot machines and finished all of $3 to the good, we felt as if we'd achieved something of a victory.

After two days enjoying the artificial delights of Vegas, it was back to the glory of Mother Nature. Yosemite National Park was different from the others we had visited as it was greener with incredibly tall sequoia and redwood trees and we spent an enjoyable day hiking in the forest.

As we headed to San Francisco, our final destination, Al put on a CD of famous songs about the city. Scott McKenzie famously advised those travelling there to be sure to wear some flowers in their hair. More practical advice would have been to bring a thick, woolly jumper.

But even the chilly air couldn't spoil our enjoyment of this super-friendly city. Having spent a day browsing Fisherman's Wharf and marvelling at the old trams and grand buildings, we finished with a farewell dinner.

In just two weeks we had made some good friends and seen the world at its most magnificent. It was, to coin a popular American phrase, all totally awesome.


Travel Facts
A 15-day Western Explorer from the Archers Direct Select by Globus range costs from £2,279pp. This includes flights from all major UK airports, bed-and-breakfast accommodation in minimum four-star hotels, a lunch and six dinners and complimentary door-to door home pick-up service within a 75-mile radius of the chosen airport. 0800 668 1892, www.archersdirect.co.uk


source: dailymail