I Came... I Saw...I Choked

Hi!

When Randy and I were driving back from Washington we stopped at Las Vegas for a couple of days. From there we headed home. It was hot in the truck. I was kind of dozing. We were traveling down a small highway and all of a sudden we turned left.

Randy had seen a sign that said the Grand Canyon was only 45 miles away! We were going.

The Grand Canyon? Seriously? Definitely in my top 100 Life List Things to Do!  And definitely one of Randy's best moves.

A fun adventure ensued. Very narrow, windy, gravel road. Desolate. No traffic or tour buses.  Lots and lots of cactus.   It was stunningly isolated and beautiful.

We ended up at the Grand Canyon West on the Hualapai Nation Reservation. This was the home of the Grand Canyon Skywalk that I had heard about on NPR!

We bought our tickets, hopped on the bus, headed out, and ended up at a truly beautiful spot overlooking some amazing Grand Canyon scenery. It was really awesome.  If you haven't seen it, it's hard to explain how humbling it is to be surrounded by such vast beauty. 

But the Skywalk? TORTURE! Pure, raw pain!   And no, I'm not even exaggerating...

Much...

So, I'm not a squeamish person. I'm really not. I'm not afraid of heights. I enjoy new adventures and trying new things. I like a little adrenaline rush every now and then. But when I put on the little booties they give you and got to the rim of the Skywalk I froze like a statue. I couldn't do it! There you are looking through the Skywalk 4,000 feet below you to the Colorado River and it's like you have to step out and walk on air.  I just couldn't take that first step!

Randy went right out with no fear. He walked fast, and slow, and jumped up and down.

Show off.

Finally, finally, finally, after a few falst starts, I decided that we had paid a small fortune for this opportunity so I was going to do it. I crept out and literally hugged the rail all the way along. Every time I looked down my stomach flipped and I felt like I might throw up.

But it was awesome. And beautiful. And awesome again. Breath taking in every sense of the words.

The rub? THEY WON'T LET YOU TAKE YOUR CAMERA OUT ON THE SKYWALK. Can you even believe that? They make you leave your camera behind! They claim it's because too many people were dropping their cameras and scratching the plastic walkway. Oh please.  The truth is, they want to keep the crowds moving and have a reason to charge you another $30 PER PICTURE that they will take for you! $30 per picture, people!  On top of the already spendy ticket you purchased to be there!  Of course once you get out on the Skywalk you want your picture taken so we sucked it up and got one but not without some eye rolling and grumbling. The photographer took the first picture and then said, "Okay, this time let go of the rail and look a little less petrified!" Randy has our picture packed away so I wasn't able to scan it for this post, but it's a pretty funny.  I only have a little bit of terror in my eyes.

But check out this video!  I can't believe how easily and freely these people are walking on the Skywalk.

Show offs.

I was a major wuss, no doubt about it. 

Once we made it safely off and didn't plummet to our deaths we spent some time climbing on the rocks.  And we summited on the top of the world!

Look! Over there! There's another place to drop more cash!

Just kidding. This adventure was awesome and totally worth it getting to check such a great experience off of the Life List.

Here are some pictures that will never do the Grand Canyon justice.