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Beads of sweat roll down my palms as our 14-seat Cessna fires up and our pilot takes his seat in the tiny open cockpit.
It’s a knuckle-gripping experience with all the aircraft’s buttons and controls within eyesight and earshot of my first-row pew.
I keep asking myself how I managed to get seated in the very first row, but I am determined to conquer my fear and remind myself the reward will be more than worth the nerves.
After setting off from an air base 32km outside of Las Vegas, it’s not long before we are flying over the Colorado River taking in the mountainous terrain below. I can’t believe in as little as 30 minutes we’ll be setting foot on one of the world’s greatest natural wonders.
We are on our way to the Western Rim of the Grand Canyon where we will spend the day playing tourist.
Despite the butterflies in the tummy, I am excited. It is a very humid 45 degrees outside and the flight is a little bumpy because of it. As we near our landing strip the sheer magnitude of the Canyon begins to sink in.
Once we touch down on desert soil, I get my colour back and we make our way onto a bus that takes us to the Indian village of Hualapai where hundreds of tourists are already taking in the magnificence of our rocky surrounds.
An American Indian in full traditional clothing greets us as we step off our coach. What a welcome!
We make our way toward him to take a closer look and at the same time peek over the edge of the rim – it’s a long way down and the rocky formations are more spectacular the more you study them.
Grand Canyon West is owned by the Hualapai Tribe. Consisting of approximately 2000 Hualapai members, the tribe owns nearly one million acres of land throughout the Grand Canyon’s western rim.
Since this could be our first and last trip to Nevada and the Canyon, my sister and I have decided to add the Skywalk to our experience – a structure that must be seen to be believed.
The line-up to the horseshoe-shaped attraction that juts out over the Canyon itself is testament to its popularity.
The Skywalk was funded by the Hulapai tribe in partnership with Chinese-American businessman David Jin.
The walkway stands 1100m above the floor of the canyon, a height exceeding those of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. The Skywalk is not directly above the main canyon, Granite Gorge, which contains the Colorado River. Instead, it extends over a side canyon and affords a view into the main canyon.
It was unveiled on March 20, 2007 and opened to the general public eight days later. It is accessed via the Grand Canyon West Airport terminal or a 120-mile (190 km) drive from Las Vegas, which includes an unpaved and bumpy 10 mile stretch which is currently being developed.
As we get to the front of the queue we are ushered into a small area where we are given a pair of booties to put on over our shoes so as not to scratch the glass.
The 46 glass floor panels reportedly have a production cost reaching $250,000 each and can be scratched or damaged by falling metal objects therefore you won’t be able to take personal effects out on the Skywalk. Visitors can store all personal effects in lockers.
Watching the tourists ahead of us experience what we are about to, the butterflies I thought had gone return – my sister and I look at each other with fear in our eyes.
Stepping on to the Skywalk I immediately find myself scared to put one foot in front of the other. I can see straight through and feel like at any moment the glass will crack beneath my feet and I will go hurtling down winding up on the rocky crevice hundreds of thousands of metres below.
For as long as I can remember I have loved to write. Combine that creativity with an inquisitive mind and a desire for adventure and what you get is a career wordsmith whose prose is her craft.
