October 30, 2010

Glass bottoms and a free-fall!

Here are three attractions to visit in the U.S. for those of the faint of heart …or not.

The first tall attraction to visit is located in Chicago, the Windy City. The Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) is 1,454 feet tall, making it the tallest building in the U.S. At the Willis Tower, located on the 103rd floor, just 1,353 feet (412 meters) above street level is the observation deck, named the Skydeck Chicago.

A new attraction just opened up there recently, named the Ledge @ Skydeck Chicago. The ledge is a glass enclosed box that can slide out and away (approximately 4 feet) from the Tower, giving tourists a great view of Chicago’s skyline plus, as a bonus, a great view of the city streets below, as viewed thru the glass-bottom floor of the ledge! Just a piece of glass separating you and the street below! There are several of these ledges scattered throughout the observation floor of the Skydeck Chicago.



The second tall attraction to visit is at the Grand Canyon. It’s a very popular tourist attraction on the Hualapai Indian reservation, on the western side of the Canyon. Just roughly 125 miles drive east of Las Vegas, Nevada you’ll arrive at the attraction named the Grand Canyon Skywalk. The skywalk is a u-shaped, cantilevered, glass-bottomed walkway that protrudes outwards 70 feet (21.34 meters) away from the cliff ledge, where tourists can walk out on to observe great views of the Grand Canyon and observe the several 1,000 feet drop thru the glass floor!


A third attraction to visit, when you get back to Las Vegas, Nevada. At the Stratosphere Casino Hotel, you take a normal indoor elevator up to the 108th floor to the Stratosphere Sky Jump. This attraction has no glass bottom floor, but you’ll get a nice view of the Vegas Strip. At the Stratosphere Sky Jump, they put you into a jumpsuit & into a harness, then hook you up to a cable and you are then pushed out over the ledge where you free-fall about 855 feet (261 meters) back down to the sidewalks below. The free-fall is approximately clocked around 40 mph. It’s a controlled free-fall. The cable prevents the winds from blowing you off course.


I had a great time doing all 3 of the above.

No comments:

Post a Comment