Arizona, New Mexico & the Grand Canyon Trips (Lonely Planet, 1st Edition) - Aaron Anderson [94]
Once you’re settled in to your digs, head out on the town and have a Williams Wheat beer at the Grand Canyon Brewery before dinner at Williams’ polished but casual Red Raven Restaurant, where the pork tenderloin with cranberry salsa is complemented by a respectable wine list.
While Williams is admittedly a cute town, it doesn’t coast on its looks. It’s actually the hub of the Grand Canyon Railway, which runs restored locomotives to the South Rim. When the railway debuted in 1901, it was the preferred mode of transport to the canyon. Despite fading into obsolescence for two decades as car culture burgeoned, the railway’s back in business and is now a fun, convenient way to get to the canyon.
After your spiritual nocturnes, in the morning lace up your running shoes before you board the train, because you’ll want to sprint to El Tovar for lunch before the crowd catches up. After a bite in the elegant dining room, check in at Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins and check out its History Room, just off the lobby. The displays explain some history of the Fred Harvey Company, which, along with the Santa Fe Railway, built out much of the South Rim infrastructure and accommodated the tourist boom to the canyon.
Walk eastward along the Rim Trail to enjoy huge canyon views in midday light, which appears to flatten the scenery into a sound-stage backdrop. Browse Zuni fetishes and geode magnets at Verkamp’s Curios, a family store that’s been around since 1898, when John George Verkamp started selling souvenirs out of a tent on the rim. Finish with dinner before dark at the Arizona Room to enjoy a rim-side view over smoky, roasted-vegetable enchiladas.
In the morning, take the Village shuttle to the Shrine of Ages, walking out back to quietly wander the Grand Canyon Cemetery, where famous canyon figures have been laid to rest. The first to be buried here was the colorful prospector-turned-guide-turned-postmaster, John Hance.
By 1902 the South Rim had attracted photographer brothers Emery and Ellsworth Kolb, who established a home and studio perched on the rim next to the Bright Angel Trail. Shuttle back to Kolb Studio, where the brothers used to screen footage of their own wild adventures running the Green and Colorado Rivers in 1911. Have a relaxed lunch before hopping the Hermit Rd shuttle – first stop, Powell Point, with a memorial to war veteran and geologist John Wesley Powell, the first to run the length of the Colorado. Pay tribute to the man’s bravery, as he not only navigated and mapped the unknown river, but did it with only one arm.
At Hermit Rd’s end is an arch leading to Hermits Rest. Said hermit, a Canadian prospector and guide named Louis Boucher, lived 3 miles below the rim at Dripping Springs from 1889 to 1912. His namesake stone resthouse, now sheltering a snack bar and gift shop, was designed by South Rim superstar architect Mary Colter. On your way back to the village, take in a canyon sunset at any overlook that catches your fancy.
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DETOUR
We may never know what happened to the Sinagua people, a name given because we have no knowledge of what they called themselves. Around 1425, entire populations suddenly abandoned their pueblos around the central Arizona area for reasons not fully understood. One such abandoned pueblo is beautiful Walnut Canyon (www.nps.gov/waca), a dramatic landscape of sheer limestone cliffs and buttes amid ponderosa forest, where you can hike alongside cliff dwellings. Walnut Canyon is 11 miles southeast of Flagstaff off I-40.
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On your last day, tour Desert View Drive. Grandview Point marks the trailhead where miner Peter Berry opened his Grand View Hotel in 1897. Remains of the mine can be seen from the trail, but the hotel is long gone; views from here are as spectacular as they sound. Another