Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is 1,904 square miles in area, about 50 square miles fewer than Delaware. It is 18 miles wide in spots and 1 mile deep with 277 river miles running through it. Park visitation (about 5,000,000 annually) is 90% South Rim since the South Rim is open year around as opposed to the … Continue reading »

Only feet from the South Rim lies the iconic El Tovar hotel built by the Santa Fe Railway in 1905. It has 100 rooms and was designed to attract the railroad’s more well-healed customers.

Directly across from the El Tovar is Hopi House, which also opened in 1905. Hopi craftsmen would demonstrate their skills in making jewelry, rugs, pottery, and blankets which could then be purchased. It’s a smart place to shop, as can be seen by the satisfied customer with the headdress in this 1931 photo. Click to … Continue reading »

In 1914 Mr. L. Wing and a friend took their 22 horsepower Metz car to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, having first departed Los Angeles and crossing deserts south of Death Valley. They had few roads to follow,  no GPS or cell phones, and still had to cross three mountain ranges as well. After … Continue reading »

Long ago the mules in Grand Canyon did more than just ferry tourists down to the Colorado River and back. This 1922 picture shows them at Plateau Point meeting the only plane ever to land in the Park. Sometimes they competed with the Kolb Brothers by taking pictures of each other as seen in these … Continue reading »

In 1906 Teddy Roosevelt gave initial protection to the Grand Canyon when it was designated a National Monument. In 1919 it bcaame a National Park due in no small part to photographers Emery and Elsworth Kolb. They scoured the back country looking for the perfect photos to entice people to come and visit. Here are … Continue reading »

The Kolb brothers built their studio in 1904 and operated it at the head of Bright Angel Trail for 75 years. Everyday they would take tourist photos, run down 5 miles to Indian Gardens where there was water for developing, then run back up in time to meet the customers at the end of the … Continue reading »