Live It!

When asked recently if I would attempt the skywalk at the Grand Canyon, my answer was an emphatic NO.  Well, today I had ample opportunity to eat my words.  Right up until the time we were to enter, I was still somewhat reticent to go.  I have always had problems with heights.  I would not claim to be acrophobic per se, but vertigo can be a problem.  I see it this way:  Most of your life is spent with a fairly fixed field of depth perception.  The land, the sky, the horizon is fairly constant.  Your brain gets used to it, and you suffer little discomfort.  To ascend to a great height and look down, challenges this fixed perception, and things tend to get a little weird. Realizing this however, does not help much when faced with it.

All that to say this:  After debating with myself, I reasoned that I may never pass this way again.  So I went for it.  Fear might be a little bit of an extreme way of relating what I went through, but beyond that, it's difficult to describe.  Mentally, I was able to catalog the facts.  This thing is built stouter than most bridges that we drive across.  It's capable of supporting 71 million pounds.  The glass (that you walk on) is laminated 5 layers, several inches thick, and is capable of stopping bullets.  Still, there is something very surreal about looking straight down between your feet- for 4007 feet!

Would I do it again?  Hard to say.  On the surface, I'd have to say no.  But Having already conquered the beast, maybe.  Of course this little day-vacation is typically a bit on the cost prohibitive side, at about 75 clams or so, per person.  But today, being the 10th anniversary of it's opening, the local Hualapai Tribe (on whose reservation it is located) opened the attraction up to the public for free.  Many thanks to those friendly native Americans for sharing this once in a life time experience.  Also in the mix, they put on quite a spread for lunch.  So we spent our midday meal perched at a picnic table on the cliff edge near Guano Point.

All in all, it was a pleasant day out with the family and our church group.  It's about 75 miles north of Kingman AZ on the western edge of the Hualapai Indian reservation, near Meadview.  All but about 15 miles or so of the trip is paved.  Helicopter tours are also available.  So if you are looking  for a day trip and have a bit of cash to invest,  get ready for an adrenaline rush, and GO!