Grand Canyon Skywalk -- West Rim
Posted: Tue Apr 03, 2007 7:46 pmHi, all:
Has anyone visited the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Hualapai Indian Reservation? If so, I'd like to hear about your experience.
I went there on Saturday with some friends. I was really disappointed that they don't allow visitors to take photos from the Skywalk...especially after having paid $25 to simply walk on it (this in addition to purchasing one of the mandatory park packages, the least expensive of which runs $49.99). They said that they'll soon have an on-site photographer who will take your picture on the Skywalk...for a price of course. They also mentioned that in June they'll pave the 14-mile dirt road that leads to the Hualapai Airport, where visitors begin their journey of cultural discovery. I hope so, because the road was terribly dusty. (I spent nearly four hours cleaning my truck on Sunday; its air filter looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in years!)
From Palm Springs, it took us about five hours to get to the reservation, which is very primitive, although they're in the process of building a restaurant and a gift stop. They had just installed restrooms (with flush toilets) a few days prior to our visit.
The Skywalk is located at "Eagle Point." The reason the Hualapai's call it by this name is that in the formation of rocks on one of the canyon's walls, there's an eagle, complete with beak, talons, and tail fathers, all of which, we were told, become more visibly pronounced in the afternoon hours, when the sun casts shadows on the eagle's features.
People were walking gingerly across the glass, their arms outstretched for psychological protection, as if preparing to fall through thin ice on a frozen lake. Many walked only on the sides of the Skywalk--that is, directly under the lips of the massive steel beams, which, reportedly, can withstand the weight of 20 747s (the number varies depending on whom you ask).
It was a neat experience...despite not being able to take pictures on the Skywalk.
Rob
Has anyone visited the Grand Canyon Skywalk on the Hualapai Indian Reservation? If so, I'd like to hear about your experience.
I went there on Saturday with some friends. I was really disappointed that they don't allow visitors to take photos from the Skywalk...especially after having paid $25 to simply walk on it (this in addition to purchasing one of the mandatory park packages, the least expensive of which runs $49.99). They said that they'll soon have an on-site photographer who will take your picture on the Skywalk...for a price of course. They also mentioned that in June they'll pave the 14-mile dirt road that leads to the Hualapai Airport, where visitors begin their journey of cultural discovery. I hope so, because the road was terribly dusty. (I spent nearly four hours cleaning my truck on Sunday; its air filter looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned in years!)
From Palm Springs, it took us about five hours to get to the reservation, which is very primitive, although they're in the process of building a restaurant and a gift stop. They had just installed restrooms (with flush toilets) a few days prior to our visit.
The Skywalk is located at "Eagle Point." The reason the Hualapai's call it by this name is that in the formation of rocks on one of the canyon's walls, there's an eagle, complete with beak, talons, and tail fathers, all of which, we were told, become more visibly pronounced in the afternoon hours, when the sun casts shadows on the eagle's features.
People were walking gingerly across the glass, their arms outstretched for psychological protection, as if preparing to fall through thin ice on a frozen lake. Many walked only on the sides of the Skywalk--that is, directly under the lips of the massive steel beams, which, reportedly, can withstand the weight of 20 747s (the number varies depending on whom you ask).
It was a neat experience...despite not being able to take pictures on the Skywalk.
Rob
