Spent one amazing day at the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam.  I had flown over both before, but had never  had an "on ground" experience with either.  The Hoover Dam was  built in 4  years,  1931-1935.  The engineering that went intov which at the time  was the world's largest dam is simply incredible. The water that it holds is the main source of water for millions of people. You can see the "water line" in the photo below. Pray for rain, pray for snow. It needs replenishing to raise the levels. After Hoover Dam,  which is situated on the  Arizona-Nevada line, the tour went to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Wow! All I can say is "God Made This." The Indians own this part of the  Grand Canyon which is on reservation land, and not U.S. Government land. They have built a skywalk  bridge that you can walk out and over the rim.  There are no fences or any barriers along the top of the rim,  to keep  it more natural.  The Colorado  River  which runs  through  the bottom of the canyon was muddy brown from recent rains. The natural color is an  emerald green  which is due to  the minerals in the rocks. The view down and across is breathtaking, and it truly is one of the "7 Wonders of the World."

Spent three days in Chicago,  September 14-16th.  It had been three years since I'd been there, and there's always a lot of fun things to do in that city.  The first morning I  went to Urban  Village  Church  in the River North area. It's a new church plant from the United Methodist's in the area, and was a real good place to worship. Later in the day, took the "L" train to Belmont and caught the Blue Man Group in the intimate Briair Street  Theater.  They were  entertaining  as usual.  The second day went to  see the  Cincinnati  Reds take  on the  Chicago  Cubs in famous Wrigley Field. The night was cool and misty rain. Miserable for a baseball game. Still, it was worth seeing a part of baseball history by watching a game at Wrigley Field. The third day found me 103 stories above ground in the Chicago skyline.  The famous Sears Tower now name the Willis Tower has "built out" observation decks on the 103rd floor. Pretty cool to step out on them. All in all, a decent three days to get away and enjoy the sights, sounds and food of Chicago!