Hanging with Yost

The pride of Lake Elmo, Mark Yost, sends another dispatch back from the culture front. This time the Wall Street Journal has him hanging 4,000 feet over a canyon in Arizona. Something his former colleagues at the Pioneer Press often dreamed of doing to him, I'm sure, but never had the guts carry out.

Actually, he's at the much hyped Skywalk dangling over a formerly ignored section of the Grand Canyon. All things considered, it sounds like it can remain ignored. Excerpts:

Some of the shock was over the admission price. While widely advertised as $25, the real cost is $75. Yes, it costs $25 to walk on Skywalk, but you first need to pay $50 to get on the reservation. A woman in line in front of me calmly ordered four tickets for her family. When the cashier gave her the total, she shrieked, "Excuse me!"

So, was it worth the long, bumpy trip to the reservation and the $75 in admission fees--not to mention the continuing debate its creation has stirred over Native American rights, economic improvement, the environment and all the rest? Well, for me, Skywalk was a bit anticlimactic. It wasn't suspended over the Colorado River, but a side canyon. And it didn't extend out as far as I'd expected. Yes, you had the feeling of being suspended in midair, but once your brain realized you weren't in danger, it was sort of ho-hum.