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 by
Jacqueline Monahan
jaxn8r@msn.com
Photos by Judy Thorburn
A Grand
Las Vegas Daytrip: Grand Canyon West, Part II
The Skywalk
The last step to the Skywalk entry is donning paper slippers over your
shoes, (the kind surgeons wear), to protect the bridge surface. After
waiting in a short line, you’ll finally set your paper-clad feet onto
the transparent glass flooring of the Skywalk – for a short, initial
walk of about 20 feet – until the official photographer and his set-up
cause an artificial log jam. A picture is not required, but you must
wait for those who opt for one to get theirs taken ($18) before you can
pass. After that, you are free to walk the entire length of the
horseshoe-shaped structure and back as many times as you want. Once you
leave, however, there’s no re-entry, so take your time and appreciate
the marvels of this blended natural and manmade cocktail of scenery and
architecture.
Colorado River
Photo by Fran Prokop
Extending more than 4000 feet over the Colorado River, the Skywalk is
actually a cantilever bridge, secured on only one side, an inward facing
horseshoe, jutting its “U” shape out from the canyon wall. Only 120
people are allowed on the bridge at a time, even though it can hold the
weight of 71 fully loaded 747 jet planes. What does that say about how
fat Americans are getting? The multi million pound steel structure can
withstand winds of 100 m.p.h. from 8 different directions and an
earthquake up to 8.0 on the Richter scale within 50 miles.
In spite of these safety facts and features, dozens of my fellow
visitors clutched the side railings with closed eyes and white knuckles.
I yelled out to one of my companions, “I’m walking right down the middle
the whole way,” to try to inspire the more timid. Why come all the way
to the Grand Canyon to close your eyes? Why visit the Skywalk if you are
afraid of heights? The middle is pure, clear glass, with an unobstructed
view all the way down to the Colorado River, slender as a green ribbon
of pea soup left from a drinking straw. You get the scale of things once
mighty helicopters appear like tiny mosquitoes as they zoom close to the
river at the bottom of the canyon.
Human beings will pay a lot of money to be where they don’t belong. Here
the sheer majesty of your surroundings will erase thoughts of monetary
output in favor of sensory input. Shades of scarlet and sage, gold and
beige sweep the canyons sides, with sunlight adding an ever-changing
palette of its own. I was taller than my own hometown’s Sears Tower by
nearly 3000 feet. Only Apollo 11 astronaut and moon walker Buzz Aldrin,
who attended the Skywalk opening on March 20, 2007, can boast a higher
vantage point for Earth’s beauty.
Typical Scenery
Photo by Fran Prokop
Immediately after exiting the Skywalk, you’ll find the Hualapai Market,
which features jewelry and handmade Native American goods and crafts. My
party bypassed the market because the next two stops on our adventure
offered food. Who cares about silver feather necklaces and dream
catchers when there’s pulled pork up yonder?! The scramble for busses
was an inconvenience, but again, it’s the only way to get around here. A
friendly and knowledgeable bus driver pointed out the Guano Mine and
Tram remnants, a real bat cave once mined for its plentiful droppings
(that’s what guano means). Hard to believe but it’s true that guano was
once used in cosmetics, especially mascara around the 1940’s. I’ll bet
that’s where the phrase, “Bat your eyes” came from. Long abandoned, the
mine and tram serve as reminders of a bygone era, thank heaven.
On to Guano Point, - picnic tables just ten feet from a plunge. Here’s
cole slaw, there’s certain death – but what a view! This is the kind of
scenery that might inspire you to say the words Kunta Kinte said to his
newborn daughter under an equally magnificent star-filled sky, “Behold,
the only thing greater than yourself.” It can and does give you chills,
makes you want to contemplate creation, supreme beings, universal
relevance and the nature of humankind. Then you remember that there’s
cornbread waiting and all bets are off in the scramble to fill the
canyon on your face.
One poor woman was trying to navigate the jagged slabs in high heels,
bless her naïve self. I guess she wanted to leave a beautiful corpse
behind. Your humble correspondent, more suitably clad in athletic shoes
and looking like a junior Indiana Jones even had trouble with the climb,
making it up to the top of a lesser peak while the more adventurous kept
climbing up until they were mere specks against the sky. My traveling
companions and I did not opt to eat here at Guano Point, but held out
for the next stop with a much more appetizing name.
Back on the bus for Hualapai Ranch, a tiny western town, complete with a
trading post, saloon, and restaurant. Here you can witness Western
weddings, cowboy demonstrations like gunfights, barroom brawls and
cattle drives, meet a horse with a distinctive white mask coloring, and
a mule team named Thelma and Louise. The location of that movie’s final
leap off into the canyon is on this property. The buffet changes daily
(unlike Guano Point) and today featured codfish along with the usual BBQ
beef and Sloppy Joes. You may eat until you burst, but you’ll always get
a smile from the friendly staff. There’s also a resident magician for
up-close card tricks and a place to sign up for wagon rides.
Our Wagon Master was a full Hualapai named Mike Jackson. A friendly and
humorous guide, he was full of encyclopedic knowledge of the region and
shared his personal photo album of Native American events, gatherings
and wildlife with us. We learned that the Hualapai are indigenous to the
Grand Canyon region and were nomadic hunter-gatherers whose name means
“People of the Tall Pines.” They traveled lightly and built dwellings
from available sources. Now 2000 strong, they own the acres that
encompass the Grand Canyon West. Working in tourism, farming, and
commercial sales of handmade crafts, their official seal depicts man and
woman created as equals by the Great Spirit. They believe that happiness
and contentment cannot be achieved without each other.
The Hualapai made my trip to Grand Canyon West and the Skywalk memorable
by their quick smiles and willingness to share their history, their
lives and their land. But they tell of even more progress; hotels and
jet airliners coming into the region in the future. The sooner you see
this natural wonder of the world, the less spoiled it will be by the
hand of man.
For further information:
http://www.destinationgrandcanyon.com
702-878- WEST
877-716-9378
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