AP
It was all over the nightly news yesterday, complete with loads of fussin’ and a’feudin over whether it is good or bad: Of course, we speak of the new Skywalk, which debuts on the 28th, giving people visiting Las Vegas another way to interact with the Grand Canyon on a day trip – this thing is just 120 miles away from town, which out in that direction, can be driven in an hour or so (only sort of kidding).
How’s it work? You pay $49.95 (as part of the basic visitation package), you walk out on the horseshoe-shaped bridge, you ooh and ahh, get weak in the knees, try not to look straight down at the glass floor and then you walk back on to land, where you’ll no doubt be enticed in to checking out some of the other attractions within the Hualapai nation, otherwise known as Grand Canyon West. Hummer tours! Helicopter rides! Wild West Experiences! You know – the stuff they’re always pitching in those fliers you get when you walk along the strip.
So, is the Skywalk good for the canyon? Bad for the canyon? Well, any development is bad for the canyon, that goes without saying – in fact, any development is bad for the planet, if you want to go down that road. It’s bad for Malibu to have all those mansions tacked on to the side of the hill, and if you doubt that, just look at how they burn/slide down every year without fail. (Mother Nature can be petty and vindictive like that.)
What’s left out of the discussion is that of all the schlock and all the interactive tours that the Hualapai lay on, this is the first thing they’ve done that’s actually in any way high-minded or fascinating. Provided visitors don’t start heaving used refrigerators and old televisions over the edge, what makes this footprint on the land different than the rest?
Anyway, about that $50 entrance fee. Most visitors to GCW come on organized tours, which can often cost more (helicopter rides, etc.). This is a package that essentially sells you the right to access nation lands, see the Skywalk. It also feeds you an all-you-can-eat lunch. Not to mention your chance to visit all the other “attractions” that have been pitched along the rim. Hardcore enviros will probably want to sit this one out, but all in all, not a bad day’s exploration from Vegas.
