The Eagle on Sacred Land

Photo of “The Eagle” on sacred Indian Land in the Grand Canyon. By the way, I did not take this photo from the glass Skywalk as you will notice towards the end of this piece.

On my visit to the Grand Canyon Glass Skywalk, I noticed multiple Native Americans working at the ticket booth, the parking lot, in the gift shop and taking photographs for families on the actual skywalk. I wondered why, other than the logical explanation that I was surrounded by tribal land. But, I figured there was more to the story.

As recent as 2012, Native Americans have had issues with the Grand Canyon being used for different purposes. But this issue may have been placed in a negative light due to one tribe in the area.

The Skywalk is built on the lip of the Grand Canyon and juts out over the Colorado River. The land where it was built is on the Hualapai Indian Reservation in Arizona. The walk was built under a contract that the Hualapai Council agreed upon with a Las Vegas developer who funded the costly venture.

In 2012 the Hualapai Nation overtook the development company responsible for overseeing the skywalk. The company had a contract in place that did not expire until year 2037, according to an article in Reuters newspaper on March 19, 2012.

Evidently, the Hualapai Nation saw that the Skywalk had potential to keep their families alive and healthy as there is a hefty charge for tourist to walk onto the glass walkway. But, they did not agree with the management or development company and claimed a breach of contract.

5 Years ago, the Native Americans took over or seized the skywalk with the idea of putting their tribe members to work. Of course the original agreement showed that the tribe commissioned the project with an agreement to let the developer run it. After all, the Skywalk is built on land belonging to an Indian tribe while a developer is the one who came in and built the $30-million structure… under contract.

In 2013 a U.S. District Judge ruled that the Hualapai Tribe owed the developer from Las Vegas $28.6 million, according to the USA Today. The judgement came as a result of a contract that was signed with the tribe in 2003. The tribe contended that the developer did not abide by that 2003 contract, which is why they took over the management. The Judge did not see it that way.

The Hualapai tribe consists of 2,000 residents and a 50% jobless rate. Other problems that plague the tribe are reported to be widespread problems with alcohol. Plus, some members view the Skywalk as disturbing because it is built on sacred grounds.

Today, the Hualapai tribe operates the Skywalk. However, they must pay the developer of the project instead of the original contract which had the developer paying them.

As for making that walk onto the Skywalk, you have to pay to ride a bus about 2 miles down a paved road to the site. Then, you have to buy a ticket to make the walk. If you want a photo while on the walkway you have to pay for that as well because cameras are not allowed. The price to walk the walk… About $85 per person.

A Camera is a No-No: If you think you can sneak a camera or cellphone onto the walkway, you are wrong. I tried. You go through a metal detector first, which you can get through with a GoPro, but then you are frisked.

Now you know the rest of the story. Or at least a few more details.

Finding oneself and the balance of nature

The new graffiti appears to be rock stacking or cairns. While this has been done for centuries to mark burials, ceremonial grounds, trails, directions and more, the National Parks System wants it to be halted.

This photo was taken in a National Park in the area of the Grand Canyon.

Does it really matter in the larger scheme of things? No. Will it matter in 100 years? Not likely. However, some suggest it offsets what nature is meant to be while others suggest it offers balance. Regardless, it is not natural which is what the National Parks want… nature in its natural state.

“Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves.”

— Henry David Thoreau

Nature and quietness

Horseshoe Bend... Silence.

“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.”

— Arthur Schopenhauer

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Silence... Complete Silence

Silence. Complete silence. Not a passing car nor plane and not even a breeze.

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

— Mother Teresa

The Natural Wonder

“In the Grand Canyon, Arizona has a natural wonder which is in kind absolutely unparalleled throughout the rest of the world. I want to ask you to keep this great wonder of nature as it now is. I hope you will not have a building of any kind, not a summer cottage, a hotel or anything else, to mar the wonderful grandeur, the sublimity, the great loneliness and beauty of the canyon. Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

An amazing state full of different

The area surrounding the Grand Canyon in Arizona is interesting on multiple levels. Nature supplies the region with thick firm plants, multicolored rocks filled with reds, browns, grays and even shades of green. The rock formations are massive, jagged, and far reaching. When you see them in person it is almost too hard to comprehend they are real.

Below the shadows of the rock mountains you will find vast fields and small homes or even huts every 10 to 20 miles. You may spot boats left to decay in a field, old cars or trailers. Farm animals are something you don’t see as much. Gardens and landscaping are equally rare.

The high school graduation rate in Arizona is not on par with the rest of the country. Arizona ranks number 44 on the list for having one of the lower graduation rates. On the flip side, Arizona residents seem to enjoy better health with a ranking of 28 on the list. They also rank at number 17 on the list for having the fewest hospital re-admissions.

Depending on where you live in the mountainous / desert environment you may receive notices from the National Parks Service to conserve water. One of those notices is in effect now.

Bottom line: A trip to Arizona is like a trip to a far away planet. It looks too unreal to be real. It is amazing in every way. It is beautiful yet strangely scarce.

The Valley of Fire

I took this photo this past Saturday in the "Valley of Fire" park just outside of Las Vegas in the Mojave Desert.

The formations of red rocks are artistic in the way they bend, drop and overlap one another.

On a side note: The Valley of Fire was used as the secret headquarters for the fictional black militant helicopter known as Airwolf. The TV show aired on CBS from 1984 to 1987.

Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam in Nevada along the dividing border of Arizona is a massive structure that was built between 1931 and its opening of 1936. It was always a work in progress, so I am not sure anyone could factually state that the construction ended on a particular date.

During the construction of the dam, 96 men died in accidents that were labeled as “Industrial Accidents.” It has been rumored that some bodies are beneath the concrete walls of the dam, however that has never been proven. If bodies were left in the concrete, it would actually give way to decay. In other words, it is likely to be a tale as opposed to a truth. The Department of Interior says that no one is buried in the dam.

Enough concrete was poured to make the dam to actually build a two lane road from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. The project took 21,000 workers to construct the dam.

The goal was to generate electricity and to tame the Colorado River. Taming the river would prove to be as hard on engineers as it was on a jokey to tame his horse long enough to make it around the tract to claim victory.

“We are here to celebrate the completion of the greatest dam in the world, rising 726 feet above the bedrock of the river and altering the geography of a whole region: we are here to see the creation of the largest artificial lake in the world-115 miles long, holding enough water, for example, to cover the whole State of Connecticut to a depth of ten feet; and we are here to see nearing completion a power house which will contain the largest generators and turbines yet installed in this country, machinery that can continuously supply nearly two million horsepower of electric energy.”

— Speech by Roosevelt at the Dedication of Boulder Dam, September 30, 1935

The Joshua Tree

You may recall the U2 album entitled “The Joshua Tree” in 1987. Up until this past weekend, I did not know such a tree even existed and was led to believe it was only found on the cover of an album. .

The Joshua Tree can be found along the Grand Canyon in Arizona. It is known to represent Prophet Joshua from the Bible. Like the tree, Joshua was known to be a man of strength. He was the leader of the Israelite tribes up until Moses died.

The English name of Joshua means “Yehoshua” in Greek. The word Yehoshua means Yahweh in Hebrew and “Yahweh is Salvation.”

The tree has thick dagger shaped leaves that poke anyone who grabs it. It is part of the Agave family of plants. The tree twists and turns like roots above ground.

“Desert sky, dream beneath the desert sky
The rivers run but soon run dry
We need new dreams tonight
Desert rose, dreamed I saw a desert rose
Dress torn in ribbons and bows
Like a siren she calls (to me)”

- U2, from the Joshua Tree Album, the song is In God’s Country

The Amazing Glen Canyon / Horseshoe Bend

Glen Canyon, which is part of the massive canyons in Arizona and Utah, is where Horseshoe Bend is located. Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist wrote that Glen Canyon was “a portion of earth’s original paradise.”

Many fail to realize, the water in this particular area was once much deeper.

In 1963, a dam was created to form Lake Powell as a reservoir. One of the goals at that time was to create hydroelectricity.

Since that time, numerous groups have asked for the dam to be removed allowing for the waterway to return to its natural stated.

Prior to construction of the dam, archaeologist conducted extensive surveys of the canyon in that area finding Native American tools, knives, ceremonial sites, graves, and more.

“A great photograph is a full expression of what one feels about what is being photographed in the deepest sense, and is, thereby, a true expression of what one feels about life in its entirety.” – Ansel Adams