Grand Canyon Skywalk: Marvel or Eyesore

by Erik Olsen on

I recall that we’ve blogged a few times before about the Grand Canyon Skywalk, a cantilevered, see-through deck that will jut out 70 feet beyond the canyon’s edge on the Hualapai Indian Reservation just west of Grand Canyon Village. Part of me thinks this could be a pretty amazing attraction and a cool experience for visitors…how cool to gaze a thousand feet down into the maw of the canyon! Another part of me thinks this will be an awful, cartoonish eyesore that will wreck the magnificent natural beauty of one of the greatest places on earth.

It seems I am not the only one who feels this way.

The Los Angeles Times has got a piece on how controversial the new attraction is, with supporters and detractors going at it like, well, cowboys and Indians…albeit with a rather odd twist. You see, the project is the brainchild of the Hualapai Indian Tribe…and aren’t the Native American groups the ones who usually try and stop projects like this? Well, OK, there is the casino issue. Good point.

Of course, part of the problem is that the Skywalk is only a small part of what tribal officials say will be a massive development that includes hotels, restaurants and a golf course. And just like with casinos, they say the development will be a fine way to address the economic and social problems on the reservation, where the 2,000 residents struggle with a 50% unemployment rate and widespread alcoholism and poverty.

The cantilevered structure opens to the public next month. It is buttressed by 1 million pounds of steel and supports 90 tons of tempered glass. It will cost visitors some $25 to walk over it, and those who spill coffee or drop gum on the floor will be severely beaten. OK, or at least ticketed. OK, I don’t even know if that’s true, but it seems to me like these things could be a problem.

Skywalk at the Grand Canyon

by Erik Olsen on

If you’re like me, every time you go to the Grand Canyon, you don’t think, wow, what a glorious testament to the passage of time. No, you say to yourself instead: hey, why can’t someone come up with some cheesy new tourist attraction here like some kind of glass bottom trail.

And so it goes. A new attraction called the Skywalk is being built over the Grand Canyon. It is horseshoe-shaped (several pirate ship versions with a plank were rejected) and will jut from the canyon’s lip to offer a straight-down 4,000 foot, vertigo-inducing view of the canyon floor. How much would such an attraction cost, you might be wondering. A mere $30 million. And just so you libertarian watchdog types don’t get your panties in a knot, the Skywalk will be financed by a Las Vegas businessman. So you can also be sure that the cheesiness factor will be really low. In fact, the women wearing pasties and collecting your money are being trained to say “Hello” AND “Thank you!”.

Of course, this being America, lots of folks don’t like the idea. For example a group of Native American elders is debating whether the Skywalk will disturb sacred ground. What, disturb it more than 3,000,000 over-weight tourists carrying plastic Happy Meal gew gaws already do?

U.S. National Parks from Coast to Coast

by Adrienne Wilson on

Perhaps this site has made the Gadling pages before, but at the same time I’m willing to bet we’ve somehow managed to look over this fine jewel packed with National Park info. A buddy of mine who happens to be good pals with one of the creators of the USA-C2C venture pointed it out to me a few days back and after accessing the very thorough and detailed information, I must recommend that anyone with an interest in National Parks bookmark this page – NOW. Having toured almost all of the 358 National Parks, National Historic Site, National Battlefield Park, National Battlefield and National Monument officially recognized by the National Park Foundation within the United States, Michael and Gabrielle have created a highly dynamic ranking system for each, all on one site. (Very easy to navigate through as well.) The park museums, ease of access, ranger to tourist ratio, and park facilities are all critiqued for each and every park including anything else imaginable. I look at the amount of work placed into this project and I am baffled. With around 29 more parks left, once this project is fully finished I’m sure it is going to spread like wildfire. Maybe we’ll get lucky enough to see it in a paper / book version perfect for the backpack on long summer or fall road trips.

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of July 30

by Adrienne Wilson on

What a week! Not that all weeks aren’t a little something special here at Gadling, but you know. Maybe you don’t know? Maybe you missed all of our goodies this week? Maybe you missed only a few? Tsk-tsk. Well here’s a few to review:

5. Builda Yurt:
Of all things seen on Gadling – why would I point to this Builda Yurt blurb? Because I agree with Erik. Because Yurts are cool. Besides it’s a fun plug on the Yurt craze and if you’ve been paying attention you’d know that the holidays are just around the corner. Is a Yurt on your wish list? Should be.

4. Balkan Odyssey Part 16: Ulcinj, Montenegro:
Gotta love how Neil keeps every detail coming from his last adventure to the Balkans. He started with Albania and has worked his way into Montenegro with this post. More specifically, he describes the waiting-to-be-discovered beach resort that is Ulcinj. If you have to ask why – then you need to check out this excellent piece. The pictures are phenomenal.

3. Top Haunted Hikes:
Reading about some of our National Park’s top haunted trails really spooked me out. I wouldn’t want to imagine what walking the path of one on a dark starry night (lost, without a map, and a coyote’s howl) in the distance would be like. Spine-tingling indeed. Yosemite, Big Bend and Grand Canyon are all there. See what other parks made the haunted list.

2. Transparent Kayak:
See-through canoe-kayak, yeah – insanely awesome. Erik points out a fine piece equipment in the gear world and though it ain’t too cheap makes you want to start saving for one. Seats two people and it is really transparent. Check it out.

1. Havasupai:
With this one you almost wish Neil didn’t go running his trap about how grand the Havasupai Canyon located about 40 miles from the Grand Canyon is, but at the same time you’ve somehow placed it high on your list of destinations to go. If it sounds too hot for you to trek to these days, then you obviously weren’t put onto the cool blue Havasu Creek. Miss this piece again and that’s just your loss pal.

Grand Canyon Rafting

by Erik Olsen on

Rafting the Grand Canyon is one of those things we’ve blogged about here a few times that remains a true epic adventure right here at home. One of the great things about the Canyon is that it is a trip most anyone can do. Older people, younger ones ,men and women .Way back when Willy over at Divester rafted the canyon and posted some fine photos, and there are lots of articles out there about it. But most of them are a your typical “I know what I did last summer narratives.

But Philip Greenspun has put together a much more informative article on the subject that is worth reading if you ,like many of us ,have rafting the canyon on your life list. Greenspun explains the various ways you can get down the river, provides lots of fact, but more, he posts many many fabulous pictures of his trip. This is a solid, shiny gem of an article.