Last year we went to Las Vegas during our honeymoon. The place is insane, and hotels, casinos and restaurants are simply blown up when public lose interest in them. History, it seems, takes a back seat in a city which is driven purely by money. :(
Just to the east of Las Vegas is the Grand Canyon. It’s obviously got a more natural “draw” for visitors and had been a place of wonder for many holidaymakers. Unfortunately though, it’s not enough for locals. A local tribe have been wooed by the mighty dollar and have agreed for this thing to be built on their land. The Hualapai Indians hope that it will boost tourism to their remote ancestral land and provide the impoverished tribe with a desperately needed economic boost.
This picture may give you an idea of what they’re planning – a huge horseshoe-shaped bridge with a glass floor so that you can look down 4000 feet.
The Hualapai Indian Reservation are planning to charge $25 per person. It took three years to make and has cost more than $30 million to build. The tribe have been “helped” by Las Vegas tour company owner David Jin, who got investors together to pay for the structure.
Unfortunately this hasn’t gone down at all well with environmentalists and fans of the Grand Canyon National Park. One said, “It desecrates the very place the Hualapai hold so dear.” The Hualapai Tribal Council Chairman, who doesn’t sound at all “tribal” called Charlie Vaughn, said in response..
“Those people are eating tofu and pilaf and sitting in Phoenix with their plasma-screen TVs. Our tribe started in these canyons. We’ve always been here, and we’ll always be here.”
:) Personally I’m not entirely sure how they’ve managed to get permission for this. You’d think that something of such natural beauty, in the middle of a National Park, couldn’t be built on, but hey..
Link – GrandCanyonSkywalk.com