Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [24]
Grand Canyon Lodge Dining Room
This venerable wood and stone lodge gracefully complements the landscape of the North Rim. Elegant meals are available when the lodge is open, from May through October. 877-386-4383; www.grandcanyonforever.com; North Rim, AZ; r $107, cabin $111-156;
Phantom Ranch Canteen
Steak dinners are served at 5pm, hiker’s stew and vegetarian chili at 6:30pm. 928-638-2631; www.grandcanyonlodges.com; Phantom Ranch, AZ; sack lunches $11, dinner $25-39; 8am-4pm & 8-10pm Apr-Oct, from 8:30am Nov-Mar;
Roughrider Saloon
The saloon has some quality microbrews on tap, a full bar and even espresso drinks. 928-638-2611, 928-645-6865; www.grandcanyonforever.com; North Rim, AZ; 11:30am-11pm May-Oct
SLEEP
Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins
While the cabins are loaded with character, they’re adjacent to the Rim Trail and can be a bit noisy. 928-638-2631; www.grandcanyonlodges.com; Grand Canyon Village, AZ; r $79-90, cabin $111-159, ste $138-333;
Phantom Ranch
The best – and, well, only – accommodations at the bottom of the canyon. 928-638-2631; www.grandcanyonlodges.com; Phantom Ranch, AZ; dm $36;
North Rim Campground
With general store, gas station, shower facilities and coin-operated laundry, this lovely campground has sites scattered beneath ponderosa pines. 800-365-2267; http://reservations.nps.gov; North Rim, AZ; r $79-90, cabin $111-159, ste $138-333;
USEFUL WEBSITES
www.trans-canyonshuttle.com
LINK YOUR TRIP www.lonelyplanet.com/trip-planner
TRIP
26 Flagstaff’s Northern Playground
29 Ghosts of the South Rim
32 Hiking the North Rim
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Return to beginning of chapter
Gunfighters & Gold Miners
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WHY GO Gold, copper and silver mining was big business in the late 1800s, and it drew a motley crew to Arizona. These men settled disputes over poker games and saloon girls with a quick-draw six-shooter. As Shipherd Reed from the Miners Story Project will show you, their legacy remains in the old mining towns that dot the state.
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TIME
4 days
DISTANCE
720 miles
BEST TIME TO GO
Oct – Mar
START
Jerome, AZ
END
Phoenix, AZ
ALSO GOOD FOR
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Men who’ve plunged deep into the earth for copper, gold and other metals tell Tucson resident Shipherd Reed their tales. But he has to work fast – the bold breed is quickly disappearing. “The impetus for this project was the realization that there is no underground mining anymore in Arizona – it’s all strip-mining now. This way of life, this culture of underground mining, was a huge part of Arizona for more than a century,” he explains.
Start the journey into Arizona’s rugged past in Jerome, an old mining town perched precariously on a hillside 115 miles northwest of Phoenix. Strut into the Spirit Room, an old gunslingers’ saloon, and practice your 12oz quick draw. Modern outlaws, aka bikers, still hang out here. Indeed, groups of bikers rumble into Jerome almost daily, with weekends being especially crazy. And if you get a little too spirited with the Spirit Room crowd, the ultrafriendly Connor Hotel is attached for lodging.
For a more gentrified experience, drink and dine at the Asylum Restaurant in the Jerome Grand Hotel. Once a miners’ hospital, it has morphed into Jerome’s top address with the views to prove it.
Before leaving town, Reed recommends stopping by the Mine Museum across from the Spirit Room. The best exhibits are at the back of the gift shop, detailing early Jerome’s ethnic diversity and its thriving red-light district.
In Prescott, situated 35 miles southwest of Jerome, it’s obligatory to swagger through the swinging doors of a saloon at least once. The Palace Saloon, on Whiskey Row, is the perfect place to give it a go. Imagine you’re greeting Doc Holliday or Wyatt Earp – both former patrons – as you belly up at Arizona’s oldest frontier bar.
After lunch