Tribe Puts Bridge on Grand Canyon's Edge (G.C. Skywalk)

[Mtnman1830]

http://www.comcast.net/news/science/index.jsp?cat=SCIENCE&fn=/2007/03/07/604891.html

[gonzo]

That's freakin' ridiculous. I don't even have the right words in me to express how stupid that is.

[Mtnman1830]

I have to agree with this:
Kieran Suckling, a policy analyst for the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, Ariz., called the Skywalk a "tacky tourist attraction."

And $25 per head, plus normal fees???

[greyhair biker]

$25 a person to walk out on the thing...Oh, it'll sell... :roll:

[nefarious]

$30 million dollars for a 70' pedestrian walkway. 'Nuff said.

[RugerShooter]

That price is outrageous I can't imagine many people paying it.

[Sombeech]

hmm, that sounds like it's over Havasupai, in Havasu Canyon. If so, it's technically not the Grand Canyon, but nonetheless. (I've been saying that word a lot lately)

I'll bet it's right over one of the waterfalls, too, or it wouldn't be worth the price.

But anyways, isn't the GC Visitor's center building something like this too?

[DiscGo]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/DiscGolfDiver/br-81947.jpg

I remember when this was in the planning stages.

[sparker1]

We went to GC West last year, partly because we had never been there and partly because the Skywalk was supposed to open then. The project has been scheduled and postponed for years due to difficulty getting permits. The advertising shows the thing directly over the river, but it appeared to be well away from the river. Still, the canyon is deep there, reportedly 4000 ft. It is definitely not over Havasu Canyon or any waterfall I could see. The tribe has been conducting bus and helicopter tours from there for years, all overpriced in my opinion. The road in is 14 miles of very rough road (on federal land) and 7 miles paved on reservation land. I'll be surprised if it becomes a major attraction.

[sparker1]

I took some pictures of the artist renderings of the Skywalk.

[JP]

Who paid for that?

[tanya]

I hate commercialism so close to the National Parks. I don't like it, but the Grand Canyon is quite commercial. It shocks me after spending so much time in Zion.

[Scott P]

That price is outrageous I can't imagine many people paying it.

Lot's of people are planning on paying, in fact they're expecting a huge turnout when it opens.


hmm, that sounds like it's over Havasupai, in Havasu Canyon. If so, it's technically not the Grand Canyon, but nonetheless. (I've been saying that word a lot lately)

No, and in fact it's on a completely different Indian Reservation for that matter. This one is on the Hualapai Reservation, not the Havasupai. The walkway is definately over the Grand Canyon.


Who paid for that?

David Jin, a Las Vegas developer paid for it and the Hualapai Indians own it. They are expecting to make a profit on it.

[JP]

The Hualapai Indians. They are expecting to make a profit on it.
Where did they get this money from?

[Scott P]

Where did they get this money from?

David Jin paid for most of it. I hit the send button too early. I had to look up the name.

[JP]

I wonder how much, if any, came from federal grants?

[Scott P]

I wonder how much, if any, came from federal grants?

I believe $0.

[tanya]

Where did they get this money from?

David Jin paid for most of it. I hit the send button too early. I had to look up the name.


I have no doubt they will make a lot of money. There are a few of us that dislike commercial endeavors near the park but the majority of people see no problem with it and I think even choose anything disneylike as their hot spots to visit while at the park. It's an colorful world and few appreciate what is natural. ---- Human or Manmade.

[accadacca]

25 bones...:eek2: Notice that everyone is just to the side of it and nobody is on the lookout. :lol8: Ok, its not open, but this still looks funny..

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/DiscGolfDiver/br-81947.jpg

[DiscGo]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f375/DiscGolfDiver/br-81947.jpg


That would be hilarious if it were open but nobody cared. :haha:

[Scott P]

There are a few of us that dislike commercial endeavors near the park but the majority of people see no problem with it and I think even choose anything disneylike as their hot spots to visit while at the park. It's an colorful world and few appreciate what is natural. ---- Human or Manmade.

Yes I agree. Since the Hualpais closed the reservation to hiking, backpacking, and canyoneering now anyway, and since it wasn't in a roadless area, it (the skywalk) doesn't seem like a big loss for us 'nature folk' anyway.

It's no worse than the stuff on the South Rim and since it is Indian land, it seems best to let them have it. It's not something I am interested in myself, but tourist enjoy those sort of things.

[Sombeech]

Check out the picture.

"Pay $25 to look 10 feet down at the sagebrush"

I would figure it would "stick out" a little more.

[asdf]

$25... what a deal!

[Sombeech]

That canyon just got hoff'd

[DiscGo]

I would definitely pay 25$ to see a giant Hasselhoff.

[DiscGo]

When I was a kid, I was at the carnival and there was a sign saying "world's smallest horse" next to a very small box. You had to pay a dollar to look inside. At the time a dollar was a lot of money to me, so despite how much I wanted to see it, I refused to pay. Now, 20 years later I still wonder what I would have seen if I had paid the buck. Sometimes it is just worth paying, so you can stop thinking about.


There is a Butt Hole Surfers song that says "It is easier to regret what you have done, than what you haven't". With few exception, I believe that to be true.

[Sombeech]

"It is easier to regret what you have done, than what you haven't".

I really really really wish I didn't make out with this butt ugly girl when I was 23, but it still haunts me today. In fact, a few people know about it.

I tell them I was in a dark place in my life.

[Jaxx]

I would never step foot on that thing. I'm afraid of man-made things like that. I don't trust the worker that laid the cement/did the rivets, or whatever to build that thing. SCAREY!!!!!!

im a wuss

[marc olivares]

i dont know what you guys are bitching about, architecturally, i think it's kinda cool. i'd take a stroll on it for sure. seems to blend with the surroundings (as much as a cantilevered metal beam can). Just think, it could be SOOOO much worse.

i'm not sure it's gonna commercialize the Grand canyon anymore than it already is. :ne_nau:

[Iceaxe]

Yeah, yeah, yeah..... enough about the bridge. I want to her more about Sombeech's charity boink. :getiton: :haha:

[Sombeech]

I want to her more about Sombeech's charity boink. :getiton: :haha:

I don't.
:puke8:

[R]

I for one am glad to see another tourist attraction at the Grand Canyon. We all know that the biggest problem with the GC is the shortage of tourists.




(Yes, I am dripping with sarcasm.)

-Richard

[Sombeech]

hmm, that sounds like it's over Havasupai, in Havasu Canyon. If so, it's technically not the Grand Canyon, but nonetheless. (I've been saying that word a lot lately)

No, and in fact it's on a completely different Indian Reservation for that matter. This one is on the Hualapai Reservation, not the Havasupai. The walkway is definately over the Grand Canyon.

The strange thing is, the Trailhead for Havasu Canyon is called Hualapai Hilltop. I still wonder if there's a connection.

[sparker1]

The strange thing is, the Trailhead for Havasu Canyon is called Hualapai Hilltop. I still wonder if there's a connection.

You're right about the TH for Havasu Canyon, but the Hualapai reservation is fairly large and the Grand Canyon West is quite a distance from Havasu. I don't even think Hualapai Hilltop is on Hualapai land. On my map, it appears to be owned by AZ. However, the Hualapai do have the helicopter (and probably other ) concession into Havasu.

[Scott P]

The strange thing is, the Trailhead for Havasu Canyon is called Hualapai Hilltop.

Yes, but Colorado City is in Arizona. No connection to Colorado.


I still wonder if there's a connection.

No. The two places (Skywalk and Havasu) are a long way apart.

[Sombeech]

This bridge is in Colorado City?

[Scott P]

This bridge is in Colorado City?

No that was an example that every named place doesn't have to have a geographical connection.

[Sombeech]

This bridge is in Colorado City?

No that was an example that every named place doesn't have to have a geographical connection.

Sorry man, I was just giving you crap. I'm on one today.

[nefarious]

I for one am glad to see another tourist attraction at the Grand Canyon. We all know that the biggest problem with the GC is the shortage of tourists.




(Yes, I am dripping with sarcasm.)

-RichardWell sure! Especially if we're talking Las Vegas-style tourist attractions (like in this case)! They need to get some fog machines out on that sucker so people can watch lazer light shows while jamming to Pink Floyd! What Grand Canyon experience is complete without fog machines and lazer light shows?! :frustrated:

[Scott P]

Here is another photo of the Skywalk if anyone is interested:

http://d.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20070320/capt.487d3eed5c5440ac838a4bceb2f1bf84.grand_canyon _skywalk_azrf111.jpg

[gonzo]

Just digging up this old thread to add this cartoon that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/169/476205384_c6940b14ce_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/blownaway/476205384/)

[stefan]

in case you're interested, i happened on this in a youtube search


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvzlZuWrJNw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfS9FfTR5BM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1gqoa8Usrc