Showing posts with label grand canyon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grand canyon. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Glass deck opens 4,000 feet above Grand Canyon

How long will it be before they have a jumper?
Indian leaders, former astronauts and other visitors stepped gingerly beyond the Grand Canyon's rim, staring through a glass floor and into the 4,000-foot (1,219-meter) chasm below during the opening ceremony for a new observation deck.
A few members of the Hualapai Indian Tribe, which allowed the Grand Canyon Skywalk to be built, hopped up and down on the horseshoe-shaped structure. At its edge - 70 feet (21 meters) beyond the rim - the group peeked over the glass wall.
"I can hear the glass cracking!" Hualapai Chairman Charlie Vaughn said playfully.
The massive deck is anchored deep into a limestone cliff. As people walk across it, the glass layers creak and the deck wobbles almost imperceptibly. To one side, the Colorado river appears as a slim, pea-green ribbon.
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who was invited to visit, declared it a "magnificent first walk."
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