Mike helping hang sign at the Grand Lodge
Thursday started the first of two days celebrating cultural exchange with the help of many local native people. I was too busy to get many photos, but Friday should have more time.
10:30am – Hopi Corn Grinding Ceremony
1pm – Navajo Flute Performance & Culture
4pm – Lakota Sioux Flute Performance
6pm – Hopi Dancing
Also demonstrations of Navajo Pottery, Paiute Cradle Boards & Hopi Kachinas
Come help us celebrate!
After visiting God’s Window in the Blyde River Nature Reserve Joan and I stopped at this most amazing geologic wonder.
Read about the interesting cultural history at Joan’s site here.
Named after Thomas Bourke who was involved in gold mining in the area.
Where the Blyde River (“river of joy”) and the Treur River (“river of sorrow”) meet, thousands of years of whirling soil-laden water carved surreal cylindrical rock sculptures.
This left behind a series of dark pools which contrast with the streaked white and yellow lichen covered rocks. The pools looked rather inviting for a place to soak but a long ways down with fast moving water.
We wandered around for a bit but had more places to visit that day, like the Three Rondawels, a future post.
I’ve posted so many photos of Grand Canyon taken from the Lodge here on the North Rim I thought I should give you a tour of the place.
Deli in the Pines
Built by Utah Parks Company and designed by Stanley Underwood who also designed the lodges at Zion, Bryce, Timberline and Yosemite. Today the Lodge is managed by Forever Resorts.
Old Navajo rug hangs in the Main lobby
The original lodge built in 1928 burned to the ground only four years later from a kitchen fire and was rebuilt by 1937. Much of the old rock was reused.
Dining room
There are no accommodations in the Lodge. Instead there are almost 100 cabins also built in 1928 which I’ll post about soon.
Auditorium
In the old days the Lodge staff would perform skits and sing songs to entertain the guests. Now we give an evening slide program in the auditorium.
You can arrange a mule ride.
No, that’s not a mule. That’s a bronze statue of Brighty the burro, an icon of the North Rim located in the Lodge’s sunroom.
Main lobby from sunroom
The sunroom sits below the main lobby and offers views of the canyon.
Hand carved Kachinas
And is finely decorated with Native art.
Plus interesting old west light fixtures.
West veranda
Outside the sunroom, verandas offer excellent views of sunset, (look for that image on Sky Watch Friday)
East veranda and sunroom
and the canyon.
The auditorium also provides great views on a rainy day.
Plus a fire on cold evenings on the veranda.
And on the east wing of the Lodge, opposite the Deli, is the Roughrider Saloon.
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt created an animal reserve here in 1903
Where you can indulge in an adult beverage.
Inside Roughrider Saloon
Or an espresso.
Don’t forget to send a postcard mailed from the North Rim post office.
Or buy a gift for friends and family.
Grand Canyon Lodge is the most intact rustic hotel development in the National Park system remaining from the railroad era. Constructed of native Kaibab limestone and timber, the complex was designed to harmonize with its rocky and forested setting. The Grand Canyon Lodge was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.
During summer monsoon season it could rain any day. But the visitors don’t really appreciate the disturbed view of the canyon. Pity for them they can’t just accept the beauty as it comes to them.
The clouds and fog settled in and brought much needed rain all morning.
Then by late afternoon openings provided secret glimpses of the beauty.
So I walked onto Bright Angel Point trail.
Found a rock to sit on and soaked in the view changing so fast I could barely capture a given moment.
Both sides of the ridge displayed the peaceful mood of fog lifting from the heated depths.
Good thing I wasn’t in uniform so nobody stopped to ask questions.
It’s good to be incognito sometimes.
The canyon slid in and out of view.
A table cloth of clouds flowed over the South Rim and into the canyon.
As some fog rose, more crept in to take its place.
I just couldn’t walk away.
And kept taking more photos.
Feeling so fortunate to see the canyon, spend time with it. Unlike too many visitors who only stay for a fleeting moment, hours or a couple of days.
When I finally tore myself away at the end of my work day Raven said goodbye to me, but not to the canyon.
To tour more of the world, or take us along in your world, go to My World Tuesday by clicking here.
