Grand Canyon News

Today’s the day…. it’s about that time… the event everyone in the Southwest is talking about…T minus three hours until astronaut Buzz Aldrin leads the ceremonial first walk on the Grand Canyon Skywalk.  When contracted to help “christen” the innovative but controversial attraction at Grand Canyon West, Aldrin apparently joked about bringing a parachute.  I wonder if he actually will.  Aldrin will be joined by another retired astronaut, John Herrington, a Chickasaw Indian who rode aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor in 2002.

So would YOU walk on it?  Take a look at these pictures and judge for yourself…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_6470000/newsid_6470400/6470453.stm

Now THERE’s the topic of our next Grand Canyon travel poll….

‘til next time, Happy Traveling and Happy Skywalking! 

Alley Kaye

Many Grand Canyon vacation planners, upon hearing about a particular tour or hotel that piques their interest, will say “tell me more about it.”  Well, right now, we can do you one better – we can SHOW you more about it! 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a film has to be worth at least a million, and in the last few weeks we’ve gathered a nice little collection of informational videos about Grand Canyon hotels, tours and more.  Where can you see it?  None other than YouTube, of course.  We also have a lot of these videos posted on Google Video, but the cool thing about YouTube is that you’ll not only see Grand Canyon videos that we have made here in-house, but you can also check out the contributions of other people, like our tourism industry colleagues, past Grand Canyon visitors, and folks like you!  Just go to www.youtube.com and type in “GrandCanyon86023.” 

Right now our boss is heading to Las Vegas, and with a little luck, should see astronaut Buzz Aldrin lead the ceremonial first walk on the Grand Canyon Skywalk tomorrow – we’ll keep you posted!

Happy viewing and Happy Travelling – Alley K

Are we Arizonans obstinate as mules, or what?  Back in the fall, we said, “we won’t back down.”  Well, we won’t “spring forward,” either!  

Just a friendly (and short) reminder as we make the jump to Daylight Savings Time, travellers: Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time year-round.  Of course, to every rule, there is an exception, and there is one here: the Navajo Indian Reservation DOES observe daylight savings time.  This would matter a great deal to those of you who are leaving Grand Canyon National Park headed for places like Monument Valley, Navajo National Monument or Canyon de Chelly.  These destinations will be one hour ahead.  So if you’re leaving Grand Canyon and doing a horseback ride in Monument Valley or perhaps a jeep tour of Canyon de Chelly when you arrive in the area, remember you’ll have to leave one hour early.  Same thing applies if you’re heading to Utah, Colorado or New Mexico. 

Confused?  Remember this one sentence that will bail you out of any quandary that comes your way on your Grand Canyon vacation: “WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT!” 

L8R – Alley K

P.S.  Those of you saying “wow, these other places sound cool, tell me more!”  Well, we’ll SHOW you more – click this text link to view a short video on other incredible attractions you can easily enjoy on your Grand Canyon vacation!  

Good morning all, it’s your ol’ pal Alley Kaye.   It’s a beautiful morning up here in Northern Arizona and we’re happy to report that we’re expecting wonderful weather to kick off Spring Break at the Grand Canyon!  Hope those of you coming up next week are getting excited. 

Well, a rare thing occurred here in the GrandCanyon.com office recently: we were asked a question that had NEVER BEEN ASKED BEFORE!  But in light of recent events, it made sense that it was a first

By now, the whole world should know about the Grand Canyon Skywalk – our inboxes here at GrandCanyon.com are just full of news updates, not to  mention your e-mails and questions!  And for those who still think this has to be some kind of joke, it isn’t.  The “Bladerunner”-esque structure was sucessfully rolled out over the rim of the Grand Canyon yesterday, and judging from what we’ve seen and heard, many of you are anxious if not to walk on it, at least to see it for yourself. 

I guess it was inevitable that I was asked the above question here recently.  So – what WAS the scoop on wheelchair access to the Grand Canyon Skywalk?  Although I figured the answer to the question would be “yes,” my motto has always been “when in doubt, check it out” (a motto you would be well-served to adapt when you come out here), so I called the offices of Grand Canyon West, where I was told that yes, the Grand Canyon Skywalk would be wheelchair accessible.  Advance reservations should be made for a Grand Canyon West tour package, which can be made by calling 1-877-716-WEST (9378) Toll Free in US or 1-702-878-9378 International Toll.  In addition, they suggest calling the Grand Canyon West Tour Desk prior to arrival at 1-928-699-0269 to ensure that personnel are in place to provide any assistance that may be needed.  

Again, AND WE CAN’T STRESS THIS ENOUGH TO EVERYBODY: before you commit to driving to Grand Canyon West, remember that it’s main access road is unpaved for a distance of about 20 miles.  It’s not recommended that you drive a rental car on this road; even if you do decide to brave it, it’s very bumpy and heavily travelled by busses, hummers and other tour vehicles.  It is recommended that you instead take advantage of the park and ride shuttle from the Grand Canyon West Welcome Center in Meadview.  If you have a wheelchair, it is suggested that you make arrangements ahead of time to ride the shuttle. Many of the walkways you’ll encounter at Grand Canyon West will be unpaved, or unevenly paved, so it is best to have assistance navigating a wheelchair around some of these areas.  Take special care around Guano Point (photo below left).  

For more information, watch some of the Grand Canyon West video coming out on the various newswires (or just turn on your TV – the Grand Canyon Skywalk is the “talk of the town,” globally speaking).  We also have some Grand Canyon West tour videos located throughout our site.  

Ask how you can get a FREE Grand Canyon Vacation Planning Kit including an 80–minute travel planning video, a Grand Canyon Vacation Guidebook and a Grand Circle Area Travel Planner for a nominal shipping and handling fee.  Give us a call at the number on your screen or e-mail info@grandcanyon.com

‘til next time, happy travels!  Alley Kaye

P.S. Watch some cool new Grand Canyon Skywalk video on www.cnn.com!

Good morning to all – unfortunately must keep it short because my e-mail and voicemail are full of questions about the very subject of this morning’s entry, Grand Canyon West’s Skywalk Project.  Yes, folks, the Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk is for real, and will be ready for you brave souls bearing the price of admission* to walk on in 3 weeks time.   

As of this morning, the roll out of the massive steel and glass structure is complete, and YOU my friends, can see the very first video and photos of this innovative (and controversial) attraction at the official website of the Arizona Republic.  Click on this text link right now or go to www.azcentral.com (that [photo at right] is one of the original artist renderings of the glass platform suspended 2000’ above the Colorado River). 

Let me close with this: if you’re thinking of a visit to Grand Canyon West for your upcoming vacation, get the facts before you go!  Also, if you’re going on a Grand Canyon tour in the near future, we’re not sure yet how the Skywalk is going to factor in… like Grand Canyon West itself, it’s a work in progress. 

For more information, watch our brand new Grand Canyon Vacation Planning video by going to our homepage and requesting your e-mail link, OR go to Google Video and type in “Get the Most Out of Your Grand Canyon Vacation.”   It’s 80 minutes of valuable Grand Canyon vacation planning information, and it’s ALL FREE (but not for long). 

Another clip you may want to watch is our short video comparing two of this year’s most popular Grand Canyon Tours: the Colorado River Heli Adventure and the Canyon River Adventure (the comparison video is below the main tour video).  Two great tours, to two  very different areas. 

L8R – duty calls.  Alley Kaye

*Right now, the publicized price of tickets to the Skywalk is $25; this does not factor in the entry fee to the complex (which your America the Beautiful Pass will NOT cover), plus a few extra bucks for the park and ride shuttle from the Grand Canyon West Welcome Center in Meadview… get the facts at www.destinationgrandcanyon.com)