Opinion

Column: Grand Canyon Skywalk doensn't live up to hype

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

"Oh, sure, the Grand Canyon is OK. If you like that sort of thing.

But to be honest, what kind of kid slouched in the back seat of an SUV these days, his pudgy tummy hanging over his belt and a 6-pound bag of Cheetos on the seat next to him, is going to put down the iPod or his onboard video game control just to look at a big, stupid, seemingly bottomless crease into the planet?

The answer, of course: not many.

Fortunately, today there's a 500-ton, red steel, glass-bottomed platform hanging over the edge of what had been nothing more than a lousy 4,000-foot deep chasm of dazzling colors and hues sliced into the limestone by 350 million years of erosion.

The platform is called Skywalk.

And now you've got your tourist attraction.

Last week Paul Harriss and his 12-year-old son, Alasdair, journeyed across the sea to see. They came from their home in London, taking a long flight followed by a long drive to take a short walk on the clear, horseshoe- shaped bridge to nowhere. And they just had one day to see it.

Paul Harriss said they were informed, via phone calls and on a website, that Skywalk was open until sunset. He had dutifully looked up the time of sunset in this strange land of desert and Joshua trees. Last Thursday it was at 6:45 p.m. The Harrisses showed up about 4:45 p.m.

And then found out that the native Hualapai tribe that runs Skywalk had decided to close the attraction early.

Roughly 15 minutes before the Harrisses had arrived."

Get the Story:
Rick Tosches: Tired tribe takes grandeur out of canyon Skywalk (The Denver Post 4/4)