MESSAGE CENTER

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Canyon Experiences

THE SKYWALK EXPERIENCE does seem expensive, but that does not necessarily qualify it as a "big rip-off" [Message Center, Dec. 23]. The Hualapai Indians apparently have not made enough money even to finance the proper improvement of the 18-mile access road. Imagine the kind of roads the tribesmen have to put up with in their daily lives and the standard of living they experience if the best they can do for a revenue-generating venture is a "rutted dirt road." Going to Skywalk is an opportunity to view the Grand Canyon from an unusual angle. It can also be a chance to learn something about the resilience of Native Americans in the Southwest.

Rosalia Chow

City of Fairfax

DON'T COUNT OUT the Grand Canyon in winter.

We flew into Phoenix last December, and it was an easy two-hour drive to Sedona, Ariz., with little traffic and cool but comfortable temperatures. We stayed at a pleasant bed-and-breakfast, the Southwest Inn. From our front door, we had a fantastic view of Thunder Mountain, one of Sedona's landmarks. Each day, we drove a different self-guided "loop" around Sedona, hiking the area's many trails and visiting Native American museums, ancient sites like Wupatki, old cowboy towns and as many of the national parks as we could get to. Often we started out in cool, sunny elevations but ended up in snow-covered mountains with frozen streams.

We planned the trip to the Grand Canyon with the concierge at Southwest Inn. We covered more than 200 miles to and from the South Rim. Our driver and guide was experienced, knowledgeable and congenial, and by the end of the trip, we were exhausted. The Grand Canyon was a major highlight, with its breathtaking views in winter. And unlike in spring and summer, there were no crowds and no long lines. My husband took more than 400 pictures, and I was glad to have made the journey with him.

Turiya S. A. Raheem

Capitol Heights

Cinderella's Table

AS A SEASONAL cast member at the Walt Disney World resort, I am not eligible for any of the wishes in the Year of a Million Dreams promotion, so I was very interested in the article about the Cinderella suite ["At Disney World, a Real Cinderella Story," Dec. 23]. While the story was wonderful, there was one small mistake. The name of the restaurant in Cinderella's castle was changed many years ago, from King Stefan's Table to Cinderella's Royal Table. I understand that it is a wonderful character dining experience.

Robyn Edelheit

Oak Hill, Va.

Cirque Security

MY HUSBAND and I recently attended the Kooza Cirque du Soleil show in San Francisco with two friends. Because one of the members of our group was handicapped, we got up quickly to leave as soon as possible -- even before the performers took their bows or received first applause.

Consequently, we were some of the very first people at the exit to the fairgrounds when my husband realized that his wallet was missing from his pants pocket. Most likely it had fallen out while he was sitting on the bleacher benches. We left our friends waiting and turned to return to our seats and search for the wallet.

However, even though other people were just starting to leave their seats, the security staff would not let us return to our back-row seats (the nearest to the exit stairs and the easiest to reach) to search for our property. The head guard called another guard on a walkie-talkie and told us the security guard would search our seats.

Within two minutes, the other guard reported that nothing was found in or around our seats. We were very upset not to have been allowed to do our own search. We should have been allowed back in the seating area to search for our property for as long as we needed. Even though I gave the security staff our names and phone numbers, no one ever called us to say whether more of a search was done.

People who go to Cirque du Soleil should be cautioned about their personal belongings. Do not bring anything to a show that may inadvertently be left behind, because it will vanish into oblivion with no recourse by the owner to return and reclaim it, and zero communication with security.

Linda Sittler

Crofton

Explorer's Demise

AFTER READING of the cruise ship Explorer striking ice and sinking, I got to thinking about safety [Coming and Going, Dec. 2]. While serving aboard the USS LST 1144 in 1951, on our way to Greenland, our skipper ordered our ship to stay a couple of miles from icebergs. Also, we had to wake him up when an iceberg was sighted. We had lookouts stationed to report the different types of icebergs we were navigating through, called growlers or bergy bits, depending on the size.

Inexperienced crew members may have had something to do with this, but the main reason for the sinking was lack of safety in these kinds of waters.

Tom Boyle

Laurel

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