-- -·---------...,.,., ---~~-
V.-U,o. I>
(
The Grand Ca nyon from Bass C,1 111 p, from a μortfolio of T ho1nas Mora n's sketches . Cou rtesy Crnnd Can yon
N at ura l H is tory Association .
Capturing the Canyon
In all the world there is but one ... the Grand Canyon. In our society of
ever-changing records, we have come to accept few absolutes, expecting
something better in the future to replace what we have in hand. While we can
expect better computers in smaller packages and more powerful space vehicles
to explore the outer reaches, we can accept for all time Mt. Everest as the highest
elevation on Earth and look to Arizona for the deepest, largest subsurface
exposure of our spaceship - Earth. While it is the overwhelming physical size
of the Grand Canyon that established it as one of the true wonders of the
world, it is its awesome beauty that marks indelibly the hearts of those who have
gazed upon this incredible spectacle.
Attempting to capture the Canyon's image in words, photography, and art
has been a frustrating experience for the thousands who have tried. Its vast
grandeur outstrips the limits of film, canvas, and vocabulary. The Canyon will
not be confined. The attempt, however, puts one in touch with the reality of
seizing upon a particular detail or area that can summarize for the moment our
perception of the whole. Exposure over time, sketch by sketch, pieces together
the picture we know can never be truly completed. For as geologically
unchanging as the Canyon is within our re latively short life-spans, its mood is
altered by the moment. Our sun's daily arc imparts varying qualities of light
to individual formations, changing dusty rose to vermillion and chalk white to
autumn gold. Cloud formations filter the light, continuously patterning the
landscape and adjusting our focus from gauze-like softness to brittle sharpness.
Gazing from the rim into the vast unfolding worlds below we become in time
part of the vista rather than observers, lost in thoughts given freedom by the
immensity of environment. Watching a sunrise from the depths of the lower
Bright Angel Trail is a feeling akin to being present at the creation of our planet.
Within our pages this month, we revisit the Canyon through the eyes of
artist Thomas Moran and photographer Kathleen Norris Cook, among others,
examining life at the rim, at the depths, and the world b£tween. Our images arid
our words are but fragments ... single moments of small portions of immutable
grandeur.
Add our experiences to yours. Put your watch away, and lean back against
a ponderosa pine here on the rim with only the sounds of the breeze and some
bickering jays as your music'/)' let your mind wander throughout this entire
world at your feet. <.>
ARIZON~
HIGHWAYS
APRIL 1981 VOL. 57, NO. 4
Mark Sanders, Publisher
Gary Avey, Editor
Wesley Holden, Managing Editor
Richard G. Stahl, Copy Editor
Gary Bennett, Art Editor
Lorna Holmes, Assistant Art Editor
Shirley Mum maw, Circulation Manager
Bruce Babbitt, Governor of Arizona
Arizona Department of Transportation
William A. Ordway, Director
Thomas R. Lammers, State Engineer
Board Members
Ralph A. Watkins, Jr., Chairman, Wickenburg
Armand P. Ortega, Member, Sanders
John W. Mclaughlin, Member, Morenci
Robert R. Evans, Member, Mesa
Lawrence M. Hecker, Member, Tucson
Rex L. Martin, Member, Kingman
Arizona Highways Publication No. (ISSN 0004-
1521) is published monthly by the Arizona
Department of Transportation. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Arizona Highways,
2039 W. Lewis Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009. $12.00
per year in U.S. and possessions; $14.00 elsewhere;
single copies $1.50 each. Second Class
Postage paid at Phoenix, Arizona, under Act of
March 3, 1879. Copyright© 1981 by the Arizona
Department of Transportation. Arizona Highways
is printed by W. A. Krueger Co., Phoenix,
Arizona.
Prices subject to change without notice.
Allow six weeks for a change of address. Send
in the old as well as the new address including
ZIP code. Telephone (602) 258-6641 .
The editors will not be responsible for unsolicited
manuscripts, photographs, artwork, or
other materials sent for editorial consideration.
In This Issue
2 First Photos of the Grand Canyon
A portfolio of the little-known
photography of Jack Hillers.
6 El Tovar at 76
The old hotel on the South Rim is
carrying on an elegant tradition .
10 The Harvey Girls
A nostalgic glimpse of those
legendary ladies of the West.
14 The Grandest Canyon
A photographic study of the moods
of the Grand Canyon.
28 Great Painters of the Grand Canyon
Masters iuho have captured Nature's
master work.
38 Life at the Bottom of the Canyon
A young family's back-to-basics
life-style.
(Front cover) A sudden summer hailstorm
creates a dazzling magic moment in the
Grand Canyon. The Canyon and its great
variety of visual moods is the subject of the
special color portfolio beginning on page 14.
Kathleen Norris Cook
(Inside front cover) Swedish-born Carl Oscar
Borg (1879-1947) was an artist of international
importance. Borg was enchanted with
the American West and produced many
masterworks. He was an intimate contemporary
of Edward Borein, for whom he painted·
The Glory.of the Gorge. Oil on canv as, 193/s
x 131/ 2 inches.
Courtesy Katherine H. Haley Collection.
AHM1
Jack Billers,
USGS
First Photographer of the Grand Canyon
August 20, 1872. "Broke camp 8
a.m. Ran a buster of a rapid. All
OK. Came to a portage, made it, then
ran rapid after rapid. Camped for dinner
at the head of a big rapid. Made
pictures. Camped early. Made some pictures
of a side canon. Walls of canon
200 feet. The Canonita got full of water,
and not having securely tied the bag in
which our negatives were kept got wet
and were ~poiled - threw them away.
Made one portage and ran 12 rapids."
Cold and wet, Jack Hillers hastily
scrawled the words by firelight into his
simple leatherbound diary. The newly
appointed photographer-in-chief of the
second Powell expedition through the
Grand Canyon had survived another
day.
by Alan Benoit
2AHM
German born, John K. (Jack) Hillers
first met the famous one-armed explorer
John Wesley Powell in Salt Lake
City, in May of 1871. The two hit it off
immediately, and Powell signed on the
redheaded Hillers as a boatman for the
expedition.
It was on the upper end of the
Green River when Hillers first became
intrigued with photography, while
helping E.O. Beaman, the appointed expedition
photographer and his assistant,
Walter Clement (Clem) Powell (John
Wesley's cousin) with the care of the
photographic equipment: large format
wooden cameras, portable darkrooms,
thick glass plate negatives, and unstable
chemicals needed for the collodian wetplate
process.
(Above) Jack Hillers at work "making
pictures" in the early 1870s.
(Left) One of Hillers' extraordinary photograp
hs of the Grand Canyon, taken from the
North Rim. Photos courtesy
U.S. Geological Survey
(Right) A modern-day photo of the Canyon,
taken from the same point. A comparison of
the rock structures on the right with the same
area in Hillers' photo reveals venJ little change
occuring in the course of 100 and more y ears.
Josef Muench
Later, the work of unpacking and
portaging cameras and supplies, a necessary
chore at each major· rapid, became
Hillers' task , along with his
regular duties as boatman, cook, teamster,
fisherman, fuel gatherer, and
general handyman. In addition to the
extra work, the job allowed Hillers to
ask questions of the photographer and
learn the intricacies of technique.
In late November, 1871, Powell discharged
Beaman, and in March of 1872,
while the crew repaired the boats and
mended equipment, Powell enlisted a
new chief photographer, James Fennemore
of Salt Lake City. The selection
started in motion events which would
lead to a key turning point in Hillers'
career and, eventually, his life.
Fredrick S. Dellenbaugh, artist for
the expedition, later recalled these
events for photography historian Robert
Taft : "James Fennemore came. He
was an excellent photographer and a
genial fellow ... he was good to Hillers
and gave him much instruction with the
result that Hillers became expert in the
work. In the summer of 1872, as we
prepared to enter the Grand Canyon,
Fennemore was taken sick ... [and]
could not proceed. And we could not
find anyone else who desired to do the
Grand Canyon with us ... there was
nothing for it but to make Jack Hillers
photographer-in-chief. He was equal to
the job. In spite of enormous difficulties,
great fatigue, shortage of grub,
etc., he made a number of first-class
negatives."
While overcoming incredible physical
odds, and using one of the most exacting
of photographic processes, Jack
Hillers' work actually went far beyond
that of merely recording the land and
movements of the Powell expedition for
the United States Geological Survey.
The subtle composition and his eye
for the inner beauty of the Canyon combined
with his technical expertise to
place the images in the realm of fine art,
critics agree.
Photo Historian Don D. Fowler wrote
of Hillers: " Hillers' work ranks with
other great 19th century photographers.
He was the first to photograph the
Grand Canyon. He developed a process
for making large photographic transparencies
on glass which were used at
a number of national and international
expositions and fairs at the turn of the
century. But most importantly, Hillers
had a good eye for composition and
detail. Many of his photographs are
true masterpieces."
Hillers was truly amazed at what he
saw in the Grand Canyon and conveyed
his wonderment, awe, and heartfelt
respect through the photography he
produced.
Hillers went on to become the chief
photographer for the Bureau of Ethnology
(which was under the direction of
Powell) and in 1881, became the photographer-
in-chief of the United States
Geological Survey. He remained in that
prestigious position until his retirement
in 1900, but continued to work for the
Survey on a per diem basis until 1919.
The close personal relationship between
Powell and Hillers lasted for the rest of
their lives, with Hillers acting as pallbearer
for Powell in September of 1902.
In 1925, Hillers died in Washington,
D. C. He is buried in Arlington National
Cemetery, by the grave of Powell.
Since the latter part of the 19th century,
others have visited and photographed
the Canyon with the same
wide-eyed wonderment and respect, but
none have come close to conveying the
startling beauty captured by Jack Hillers,
the first man to photograph the
Grand Canyon. 0
The daring men of the Powell Expedition
who f irst ran the Colo rado River through
the Grand Canyon used heavy wooden boats
designed by Powell specifically for river
running. Powell's boat the Emma Dean (to p)
had an armchair secured to the bulkhead.
From th is vantage point, Major Powell could
better see the dangers ahead and warn the
following boats. (Above) Jack Hillers, behind
boat at right, and two companions repair a
boat in preparation for the 1872 expedition.
Photos courtesy U.S. Geological Survey
The peop le and the eq uipment on the Colorado
today have changed, (lef t) but the excitement
of running the Colorado River and the beauty
of the Grand Canyon remain changeless.
Josef Muench
AHMS
EI Tovar at 76 Carrying on an Elegant Tradition
AT THE GRAND CANYON - In
the early hours, the sky to the east
blushes, a rriute signal that the morning
spectacular is about to begin.
The night wind sighs its departure,
soon to be replaced by the musicians of
the morning who herald the oncoming
event with initially uninspired
sounds, then settle to the task of greeting
the day, and their cacophony
evolves into a symphony.
And at that precise moment, when all
the pines stand at attention and the hills
shed their mantle of the night, the first
rays of the morning sun slip silently
across the vast auditorium and the concerto
is started.
Slowly, with subtle pink giving way
to crashing orange, the dawn builds to
its crescendo, maintains it until the
landscape is captured in its song, then
retreats into the routine of the day, for
the ritual of the long shadows is nearly
over.
And when the last shadow from the
old Hopi House scurries to its shelter
beneath the aged structure, the outline
of El Tovar emerges.
in the movies, EI Tovar would be a
monolith, perhaps, rising far above its
earthly moorings to grasp the first rays
of the morning sun. A symbol of
strength, a testimony to man's ability to
make things big.
But in real life, El Tovar shuns such
pretentions.
It has been labelled with all the adjectives
- magnificent, splendid, spectacular,
impressive, elegant, beautiful - and
wears them well but is not smothered
by such baubles.
Before the day is over, someone will
refer to it as "the sentinel of the South
Rim," and someone else will declare
that it is a "Grand Old Lady." Praise,
but common.
But it's hard to find anything new to
say.
The Grand Canyon was formed
somewhere between 7 and 10 million
years ago. Some say it is the handiwork
of God. Some say it was created as a
home for the spirits of the Hopi religion.
Others claim Eastman Kodak built
it to boost sales.
But the origin of El Tovar isn't so
sketchy.
by Sam Lowe
6AHM
It was put there in 1905, and on the
day it was completed, it looked old.
And therein lies much of its charm.
It doesn't loom above the South Rim
or dominate its surroundings. It's not a
tribute to someone's ability to spend
money. It isn't a monument to gaudiness.
It's simply there.
Impressive but unimposing.
Distinguished but not distracting.
They say it was because of Teddy
Roosevelt. They say he leaned pretty
heavily on Fred Harvey to build something
that didn't clutter up the beauty
of the area, so Harvey passed the word
on to architect Charles Whittlesey and
El Tovar was emplaced, not built.
So it looks today pretty much like it
did 76 years ago, and 76 years ago it
looked like it had already been there
since whenever.
Harvey was recognized for his genius
as a hotel and dining entrepreneur, and
there's no reason to challenge his reputation.
His story sounds like a B-movie
script - came to America from England
with $10 in his pocket, got a job in New
York washing dishes for $2 per week
and meals, saved enough money to go
into business for himself, got wiped out
by a shifty partner, started over again
and made it. Made it big, too.
He signed on as a clerk in the nation's
first railway postal car, sorting Pony
Express mail as the train went from
St. Joseph, Missouri, to Quincy, Illinois.
Eventually, he rose to freight agent,
which meant extensive travel, which
meant putting up with train food and
that experience made him rich.
He found ill-equipped, poorly-operated,
crooked restaurants working deals
with trainmen who sold meal tickets
before their trains stopped, then blew
the whistle to order the passengers back
on the train before they got their food .
The restaurants sold the same food several
times and split the profits with the
trainmen.
After getting over his repulsion for
the practices of the day, Harvey recognized
his opportunity. In 1876, the first
Harvey House was born when he
bought a lunchroom in the Santa Fe
Railroad's depot in Topeka, Kansas. It
featured clean silverware, fresh table-cloths,
napkins, and good food. It was
an immediate success.
During the 1880s and 1890s, Harvey
Houses opened almost every 100 miles
along the Santa Fe, through Kansas,
Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico,
Arizona, and California. By the turn
of the century, Arizona had Harvey
Houses at Winslow, Williams, Ash
Fork, Seligman, and Kingman, and they
bore such names as Castaneda El Ortiz,
A lvarado, Fray Marcos, El Navajo, and
La Posada.
All were, quite simply, elegant.
And, as an added attraction, all were
staffed by Harvey Girls, "young women
18 to 30 years of age, of good character,
attractive and intelligent," who
came west with a yearning for adventure
and a hope for romance. History
records that they found some of each.
More than 20,000 of them married the
ranchers, cowboys, miners, merchants,
lumbermen, and railroad workers who
inhabited the Old West, and many of
them violated a signed agreement with
the Harvey chain that they'd stay on
the job - unwed - for at least a year.
Though El Tovar was to be the crown
jewel of the Harvey Houses, Fred Harvey
never saw his dream on the South
Rim. He died at the age of 66 in 1901.
The hotel wasn't opened until January
14, 1905.
So the Santa Fe was the actual
builder, integrating President Roosevelt's
eco lo gical admonitions and
Whittlesey' s low-profile design with
Harvey's elegance. And the result was
a cabin nestled among the pines.
Sort of.
For El Tovar is far too large to nestle
among anything. It stretches 325 feet
from north to south and 218 feet from
east to west. The original structure had
100 rooms and 42 of them had baths
in them.
The south end is four stories high
and the north end rises three stories.
When built, El Tovar could comfortably
house 250 guests and what it
text continued on page 12
Dignified and unpretentious, El Tovar, at
little more than three-quarters of a century
old, remains an impressive sight, perched on
the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
Kathleen Norris Cook
The Harvey Girls
Legendary Ladies of the West
The Harvey Girls. Somehow the
name suggests a bouquet of lovely
young women like those created with
pen and ink by Charles Dana Gibson in
the two decades before the turn of . the
last century. But the Harvey Girls, who
made their debut as waitresses at El
Tovar and other Harvey House restaurants
along the route of the Santa Fe
railroad, were no paper dolls.
Although they were pretty, too, they
were real and they endured into the
20th century as well as into legend.
Actually, they had to play down their
beauty, but it must have shone through
because they have been romanticized in
prose, poetry, and even a movie - and
always as beautiful women.
Certainly those young ladies must
have had a strong spirit of adventure
to come out to work in the wild and
woolly West of the late 19th century.
But come out they did, by the thousands.
One estimate is that more than
20,000 young women from places like
Kansas City, Chicago, New York, Boston,
and Philadelphia became Harvey
Girls and went west to seek their
fortunes.
The reason there were so many was
that there was such a high turnover -
and the reason for the high turnover
was that so many of them quit to marry
- miners, ranchers, men from all walks
of life. They founded the West's first
families.
Volunteer guide Carol Naill gives a twice-amonth
historical tour at El Tovar, on the
South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Dressed in
typical turn-of-the-century Harvey Girl
costume, Ms. Naill conducts her tours as if
the year were actually 1910. Fred Harvey,
whose genius was responsible for the creation
of El Tovar and the Harvey Girl concept,
gazes out from the portrait on the wall
behind her.
Kathleen Norris Cook
by Dennis B. Farrell
Some said their boss, Fred Harvey,
the English-born entrepreneur of the
food business, might as well have set up
a matrimonial bureau because so many
of his employees ldt his hire to "get
hitched.''. Despite a requirement that
each Harvey Girl sign a one-year contract,
in which she agreed not to marry
before the end of that period, the turnover
still was tremendous: The very
qualities Harvey sought in his employees
seemed to be the same ones men
wanted in their wives.
Girls who made it through the first
six months without Cupid interfering
were congratulated personally by Harvey,
and often they would continue for
another year or more with the restaurant
chain.
Nevertheless, proposals must have
been routine events in their daily lives,
and many a man was moved to wax
poetic over the young girls, as was John
Moore, writing in the Amarillo Globe.
" ... All dressed in spotless linen, her
hair all in a curl, so purely sweetly winning,
is the happy Harvey Girl."
Recruiting advertisements in Eastern
newspapers called for "Young women
of good character, attractive and intelligent,
18 to 30." No experience was
required. A special training corps of
Harvey employees taught the girls personal
grooming and drilled them to
perfection on how to set a table and
serve food with a touch of elegance.
One of the most important tableside
maneuvers they learned was the famous
Harvey "code" for arranging cups for
beverages. The young woman who took
the orders surreptitiously arranged cups
to indicate different customer choices.
The girl who followed unerringly
poured the right beverage into the right
cup without asking a single question,
suggesting a touch of clairvoyance to
the patrons.
The requirement of "good character"
meant just that with Fred Harvey.
While some young women might have
joined his staff to get away from heavy
authority at home, they soon found they
had to live with a matron who also had
a rigid set of rules. At El Tovar and
other Harvey operations, matrons were
older employees who had come up the
corporate ladder. Like top sergeants,
they inspected their recruits' dress and
general appearance. And they made
sure they observed the 10 p.m. curfew,
which was lifted only on the most
special occasions.
The Harvey Girl uniform certainly
should have done nothing to inflame
men's passions. It was a black dress that
buttoned high up the neck and had a
white collar. They were allowed a white
hair ribbon, but no fancy hairdos or
makeup. Their shoes were black, too.
But obviously this didn't deter their
many suitors, and their very presence
must have had a powerful effect on
them.
At El Tovar, as well as at other
Harvey installations, the girls continued
to meet, fall in love with, and marry
the men they served in the dining rooms
and the lunch counters.
It has been reported that something
like 4000 male infants born of these
marriages were named either Fred or
Harvey or both, in honor of the famous
restaurateur, and many of the biggest
names in the West can trace their lineage
to a Harvey Girl. The early training
in manners and social graces that these
young women received in their homes
in the East, and the experience they had
at meeting the public as Harvey Girls
served them well in later life as hostesses
and grande dames of the manor.
As their husbands tamed the West
and carved out empires in a . rugged,
beautiful land, their Harvey Girl wives
marched beside them every step of the
way. D
AHMll
El Tovar continued fro m p age 6
(Above) Presiden t W ill iam Howard Taft and
h is pa rt y were som e of t he early-da y
visito rs to th e Grand C anyo n an d El T ovar.
Ci rca 1 910. Courtesy Bacher Communications
( R ight) El T ova r p rovid es bo th the comfort
of r oaring fires an d frien dly conversat io n -
j u s t a s it did in th e ea rl y days of this centur y.
Kathleen Norris Cook
lacked in bathrooms, it made up for
in other conveniences that were considered
luxuries at the turn of the century.
Hot and cold water, s team heat,
and elec tric lights were amenities not
found in other hotels in the West and
quite a few back East.
They used the native rock that
abounds in the area for the massive
foundations, but imported the huge
Douglas fir logs from Oreg on even
though apparently suitable stands of fir
grew within easy hauling distance.
The roughly-hewn logs and planks
were carried by train from Oregon to
the South Rim. Most of the wood is still
vi sible, for it makes up the exterior, the
flooring, walls, and part of the inside
finish.
The place cost $250,000, and Whittle
sey used part of the money to stain
the e xterior logs and wooden shingles
to further blend them into the surroundings.
When the Grand Canyon hotel was
s till on the drawing boards, it wasn't
called El Tovar. Six names were actually
under discussion : Cardenas, Bright
Angel Tavern, Tusayan, Marcos de
Niz a, and Tobar. El Tovar, the final
selec tion, was proposed by M .J. Riordan
of Flagstaff, in a letter to A .G .
Wells, general manager of the Santa Fe,
dated October 28, 1903.
There's a minor flaw in the romanticism,
however. The place is named after
12AHM
Don Pedro de Tovar, one of Coronado's
top men. Tovar was looking around for
the gold that was supposed to be in
Arizona, and while digging in what is
now the Hopi Reservation, he heard
tales of a huge canyon with walls that
rose to the sky and a ferocious white
river.
Tovar sent word back to Coronado,
who sent an expedition to look it over.
The leader of that group was Don Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas, and it w as he
who i s credited with discovering the
Grand Canyon. But the hotel-namers
ignored that fac t and went for El Tovar,
perhaps because the literal translation is
supposed to be "the man on the s hore."
Once the hotel was built, the Santa Fe
had to get people to stay in it.
That was n ' t hard , once Edward P.
Ripley got into the act.
Ripley, one of the Santa Fe hig herups,
had been welding the railroad's
vast system together by ac quiring connecting
line s. Shortly after the turn of
the century, he boug ht a railroad spur
built near Williams as part of a mining
operation that went broke. He extended
the spur all the way to the South Rim,
making it possible for the Santa Fe to
transport guests to within walking distance
of El Tovar' s sprawling front
porch.
Then Ripley set out to market the
Grand Canyon, a move which he figured
would keep El Tovar full. He
found a remarkable painting of the Canyon
by Thomas Moran, bought it, had
several thousand full-color lithographs
made from it, had them framed and
gav e them to s c hools, offices , homes,
railroad stations, and hotels.
In another stroke of early-day public
relations genius, Ripley invited scores
of artists to stay at the hotel as his
guests for as long as they liked, correctly
assuming that their work would
concentrate on the grandeur of the Canyon.
Photographer Karl Moon came to
the Canyon under the same circumstances,
the Kolb brothers came on their
own, and all of them spread the pictorial
praises of the Canyon, which in turn
kept the El Tovar reservations clerks
busy.
They still are, even though it's 76
years later.
And El Tovar, now an historical
landmark, has borne up well under the
traffic.
It has withstood changing architectural
styles because it was built to look
rustic and has maintained that appearance
through three-quarters of a century
with no noticeable adjustments.
There has been periodical modernization
to make the hote l more convenient
and to comply with fire codes, but never
at the e xpense of s tructural purity.
In other words, none of the logs has
been replaced with pla s tic. And there
are no television se ts in the rooms .
Of cour se , there have been s ome
changes . Wh en El Tovar opened, one of
the suites cost $8 per day. Today's top
pri ce for the suite is near $100 . Meals
b ac k then co s t $1 for breakfas t and
lunch , $1.50 for dinn e r. It' s at leas t four
times that now, and one item on the
menu - steak and lobster - takes $24
out of a vacationer's wallet.
But rooms are booked s ix months in
advance .
When the hotel opened, it was desc
ribed as " a little village devoted to
the entertainment of travelers. " And
though prices change and more than 2
million tourists per year come to gawk
a t and take pictures of the Gra nd Canyon
and the things around it, El Tovar' s
charm remains constant.
The floors still creak and if there's a
wind hanging around outside, it whispers
into every room.
Tall walls in narrow halls are rambling
passageways to s itting places and
thinking places and looking places.
" What wonder that every morning and
evening mo s t of the g uests g ather in
the Rende zvous - the ladies to read and
gos sip ; the gentlemen to smoke and tell
of their latest adventures," read the
hotel' s first brochure. And, although
the habits of the guests have been altered,
the Rendez vous room hasn't. It
i s 41-by-37-feet of nostalgia, notable
for uneven wall s of dark-stained logs
and bulky rafters that convey an atmosphere
of comfort in a big country clubhouse.
Off the western edge of the Rendezvous,
the Rotunda beckons the wide of
eye and the curious as it rises through a
wooden-encircled balcony beyond the
second floor.
The dining room's huge fireplace is
the major accent, but it does not overs
hadow the Fred Harvey basics - clean
s ilverware, fresh tablecloths , and good
food . Tradition, once established and
proven successful , remains.
Outside, the sun completes its arch
and casts its farewell.
The pastels of the dawn are now the
earth tones of the evening, and they
s tretch long arms of amber and tan
across the Canyon .
And as its final gesture , the sun repaints
the Canyon, this time in blue .
And the day is over. 0
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Water, in all its varied forms, is an inestimable part of the beauty of the
Grand Canyon.
(Clockwise from top) Havasu Falls plunges into turquoise-blue depths, on
the Havasupai Reservation. Cottonwoods rim the reflective Havasupai creek
bed. For river-runners on the mighty Colorado, Elves Chasm, in the bottom
of the Grand Canyon, is a particular delight. And from the 3000-foot height
of Toroweap Point, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the age-old
Colorado River rolls relentlessly toward Mexico.
AHM19
The Grandest Canyon continued from page 16
e have seen you
when you were
serene. We have
stood on your
shoulders at the North Rim and
watched you welcome a mantle
of snow with a quiet that silenced
the wind and a dignity that stilled
the sky; and we have sensed the
deep peace within you - the
mother-calm, the halcyon heart,
the tranquility born from the sea.
Your white peace enveloped us
in a cocoon of silence, hiding us
from time, shielding us from the
world, and we were at ease and
at peace and at home.
We have seen you when you
were generous and expansive. On
the green days of summer, we
have stood by your side from
dark to dark and watched as you
gave yourself, in all your majesty
and splendor, to the innocent and
the jaded, to the believers and the
doubters, to the lovers and the
lonely. We have stood, mesmerized
and enthralled, while you
emerged like a rose unfolding
from the black abyss of your
bed, slowly stretching out your
arms in welcome to thousands of
visitors, graciously showing off
your colors -your lavenders,
tinged with saffrons and creams,
beiges and blues; your reds,
lightened with pinks and corals,
darkened with sorrels and bays;
your yellows - earth yellows all
- ochres and tans, mustards and
golds; your blues, the smokeblue
haze that caresses you, the
zenith-blue sky that hovers over
you, the muddy-blue river that
A powdered-sugar snow frosts the inner Canyon. Ray Manley
sculpts your sides; your greens,
midnight, forest, parsley, sage;
your purples, the deep purples of
eggplant and plum, reddened
with clarets and vermillions;
your oranges, burnt and muted,
glowing with fire. All day we
have stood and watched while
you revealed your beauty to us.
And as you slipped reluctantly
back into night, we have stayed,
waiting, overwhelmed but
unsatiated, hoping for one more
flash, praying for one more
glimpse, hungering still for
another day, when we could
again worship amidst your
layered pagodas ana temples,
your wind-ravished sacristies of
stone, your ancient al ·
(Top) A close-up study of Vishnu Temple at sunset.
(Above) The great canyon from the South Rim, lost in a sea of cloud.
(Right) Day ends in a stormy mood in the Grand Canyon.
(Following panel, pages 24 and 25) Grand Canyon panorama, from
the South Rim. David Muench
22AHM
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The Grandest Canyon
continued from page 21
es, to us who have spent
our lives trying to know
you, trying to get our fill
of your beauty and
understand your spell,
to us you have many moods,
moods that are so intense and
powerful that as they have
changed, they have changed us,
restoring and enriching us, filling
us with joy and love, with hope
and faith, with wonderment and
awe; moods that have strengthened
us and made us weak,
frightened us and given us
solace, spellbound us and set us
free ; moods that have made you,
not a canyon to look at, but a
friend to share with.
And so to us you live and
will never die.O
Two distinct moods of Mt.
Hayden from the North Rim
of the Grand Canyon - in
late afternoon light . .. and
engulfed in a sea of clouds.
David Muench I Kaz Hagiwara
Great Painters of
the Grand Canyon
by Joseph Stacey
28AHM
In all the known universe there is
but one Grand Canyon. It lies wholly
in the northern part of Arizona. It is
the most wonderful geological record of
creation, the most spectacular phenomenon
known to mankind, and truly justifies
the name bestowed upon it -The
Grand Canyon - most sublime of
gorges; titan of chasms.
It stuns the eye. The scale is so immense
it appears too large, too strange
to be real. It is, as a geo-biological
entity, the most revealing single volume
of earth's history anywhere on the face
of the planet.
It is a perfect setting to prove that
a picture is worth a thousand words.
text continued on page 33
,,.,~ - - ....... ~-- - - (1837-1926)
ff«Hll,- ''"°'"""' The Chasm of
the Colorado. Oil on canvas, 833/s x 1443/4
inches. Courtesy the National Museum of
American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
AHM29
~ih~~A• "3(/(J/,,,.,.,,.,,. (1879-1934) fell in love with the American
~" -r-- West. He is world renowned for the quality
and expression of his watercolors . He became the unsurpassed master of the
Grand Canyon in his field, painting expans ive panoramas as well as intimate,
colorful studies of the flora and fauna . He was a quiet man and, since he
painted basically for the love of his subject rather than for money, his art
has only recently become known in the national marketplace . Grand Canyon
Panorama. Watercolor on special paper board, 21% x 43 1/2 inches. Courtesy
Katherine H. Haley Collection .
3DAHM
AHM31
32AHM
"3fld4o1t ~et/d(?b '.°as born in 1924
-7 m Tulsa, Okla-homa.
His caree rs as a lawyer, banker,
enginee r, and military pilot served to postp one
his becoming a landscape artist of premier
renown. His wo.rk is distinguished for its
beauty of fo rm, light, and order. He has been
acco rded many honors including the Silver
Medal for Oil, in 1973, and the Gold Medal fo r
Oil, in 1977, at th e National Academy of
W es tern Art. Late one fall afternoon, Hurley
stood on the North Rim, watched the canyon
well up with shadows, saw the San Fra ncisco
Peaks, 70 miles away , glow in th e sunligh t,
and recorded th is quiet suns et. Bright Angel
Point. Oil on canvas, 64 x 108 inches.
Courtesy of the artis t.
A~--L ~et(Ut.94- is a~claimed inter-
~ natzonally as one
of the most honored living painters. Born in
1922, he has literally " painted around the
w orld" in a sty le that is di stinguis hed by his
unders tanding of light, textu re s, and expression
of fe eling. He has created several Grand
Canyon mas terworks, including the National
Academy of Western A rt Grand AwardPrix
de W est - win ner in 197 3 . (Arizona
Highways, December, 1973 ). The pa inting
show n here, Grand Canyon, Bright Angel
Trail, is his sixth Canyon portrayal. Oil on
canvas, 24 x 40 inch es. Courtesy Ja mes.S.
Fowler Collection.
text continued from page 29
Millions of people have written billions
of words, exposed countless frames of
film and painted perhaps a hundred
thousand pictures . . . but the canyon
remains strangely indescribable.
William Henry Van Roon wrote :
"Man, even in his proudest moments,
is a puny and helpless creature when he
compares himself to the gods. For the
gods speak to him through creation.
Man tries to answer, he tries to vindicate
himself, that vindication - is really
what we call art."
The gods of the Grand Canyon arch
their eyebrows and smile kindly on
modern man's attempt to explain this
phenomenon of creation. The great
chasm yawns, the Colorado River flows
endlessly downstream, and neither is
affected to the slightest degree by the
profusion of emotions that stir the soul
of man when first he confronts this
wonder of the world.
Nevertheless, a few mortals have succeeded,
to varying degrees of human
greatness, in expressing their emotions
through art - writers, photographers,
musicians, painters.
Our selection of great paintings represents
the efforts of artists endowed
with a vast amount of talent and blessed
with highly attuned sensory systems.
They are great artists.
The Grand Canyon is a great subject.
Michelangelo was truly one of the
great artists of all time. And indeed, he
painted " ideas" rather than " phenomena,"
but the difference between an
artist 's impressions and expressions
during the Renaissance were considerably
different than those of artists
today.
Let us, just for fun, fantasize a moment
and try to visualize the world's
largest fresco .. . painted by Michelangelo,
commissioned by the Pope of
his time. There would be hundreds of
angels, saints, cherubim and seraphim
exploding in and out of clouds and
celestial gazebos, floating heavenward
over the rims of the Grand Canyon,
with the Devil and hordes of the
damned cast into the boiling water
rapids below.
Wow!
But the time was not yet right for
Michelangelo, and many other great
painters to portray the Grand Canyon.
The task of capturing this planet's one
indescribable work of nature began
with artists of the 19th century.
Hundreds of painters have tried to
express their emotions about the Grand
Canyon, as it was, is, and always will be.
Many were good painters. Some were
good artists. But a mere few will always
merit the respect and rewards due those
individuals endowed with above average
amounts of greatness called genius.
We may see and study the art of the
painter. But in order to achieve a
memorable work, the artist has to
"experience" the Grand Canyon. Every
sense has to be keenly alert and ready
for that certain propitious moment, for
once gone it would never again return.
The gods of the Grand Canyon decided
to stage just such a super-spectacular
natural effects production one
hot afternoon in mid-August, 1873,
mainly for the benefit and amazement
of artist Thomas Moran, explorer John
Wesley Powell, and a small corps of
topographers, photographers, writers,
and Indian workers. Thomas Moran,
with Powell's help, was seeking a viewpoint
from which he could sketch, for
later projection to a large canvas, the
panorama of the Grand Canyon. In its
final form, the giant painting was to be
used by Major Powell when he appeared
before Congress asking for
funds to continue his expeditions.
They found the " perfect" site on a
protruding plateau-like formation of
the lofty Kaibab Mountain. Moran was
wiping his brow when he heard a clap
of thunder . . . and turning he saw a
thunderhead boiling up from the depths
of the chasm. Dazzling flashes of bluepurple
lightning bounced from cloud
to crag and ran down the buttes like
rim-lighted rivulets. Ear-splitting peals
of thunder followed, and curtains of
rain dropped across the gorge.
J. E. Colburn, writer for Picturesque
America said : "A thousand streams
gathered on the surrounding plains and
dashed down into the depths of the
canyon in waterfalls many times the
height of Niagara."
Thomas Moran knew the gods were
talking to him, and he answered them in
a language they understood. " In my
way too, I am something of a creator.
I cannot, of course, do what you do,
for you can do everything, but I am an
artist and with a few pigments, some
oil, a piece of canvas and some old
brushes will try to create a masterpiece."
text continued on page 37
AHM33
•
The Grand Canyon from Rowe's Point, from a portfolio of Thomas Moran's sketches. Courtesy Grand Canyon Natural History Association.
By the early 1900s, Thomas Moran's work had
become so valuable that several fakes
appeared. Aware of the fraud, he began to
include his thumbprint with his signature.
(Lower right corner of painting at right.) In
his later years, Moran made a trip to the
Grand Canyon with a party of fellow artists
including Elliot Daingerfield and Edward
Potthast. It was a time when the Canyon was
at its "show time" best. During 10 rewarding
days, storms filled the abyss with clouds . The
artists painted with enthusiasm, and Moran
felt impelled to record the Grand Canyon in
Mist (right) . Oil on canvas, 14 x 20 inch es
(detail far right is almost actual size).
Courtesy Gerald P. Peters Collection.
34AHM
\
36AHM
Swedish-born Gunnar Widforss is buried at
the place he most lov ed, the Grand Canyon. A
Kaibab limes tone boulder marks his grave
among the pines in the small cemetery. On a
bronze plaque are th ese lin es by Robert
Browning: " Bury th is man there? Here, here's
his place, where meteors shoot, clouds form,
lightnings are lo osened, s ta rs come and go,
lofty des igns must close in like effec ts lo f tily
lying, leav e him s till loftier than the world
suspects, living and dy ing." Untitled study.
Watercolor, 24 x 30 inches. Co urtes y Sherman
Haze ltine Coll ection.
""'~'-•1111.• _ ~ A~,,,·-~ (18 66-1955)
~"""He r;;;,,., .4~ was a con-temporary
of Rem ington and Russell, but long
outlived bo th of them. For nearly 50 y ears
W estern vis ta s, Indian s, and cowboys flow ed
from his brush with a v itality which reflect ed
his love of the Old W es t. From Impressions
of an Artist While Camping in the Grand
Canyon, Arizona, we ca n learn of his experience.
"On eith er side of my ten- foot-wide
perch and in f ro nt, the eye drops into chasms,
two, three, and four thousand fee t deep .. .
Th e f ierce light dazzles . . . Oh, for a breeze.
Th ere is a torpo r, a spell upon the atmosphere
. .. Suddenly the peak I have been painting is
plunged in shadow . . . A low rumble expla ins
the reason. The vanguards of a storm are
hurrying up the sky . .. and now the sp ell is
broken." The Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
Oil on canvas, 37 x 61 inches. Courtesy lames
S . Fowler Collection.
text continued from page 33
Thomas Moran had experienced the
miracle he needed. Having experienced
the savage fury of a storm in the Grand
Canyon he could now portray the almighty
power and compelling sublimity
of the chasm.
He made some on-the-spot sketches
- but more - the sensual impact of the
experience was branded on his memory.
In October, 1873, Moran began the
7 foot by 9 foot painting of the chasm.
When Powell visited him on Thanksgiving,
he had barely sketched in the
charcoal plan. But Powell's imagination
saw beyond the charcoal, and he praised
Moran, who immediately attacked the
huge canvas with renewed vigor.
Moran wrote : "It has progressed
wonderfully and promises all that I
could desire of it. I have got the storm
in good."
Moran's painting was developing into
more than a visual image of the chasm
itself. It was the whole country through
which the river had cut its way. The
distance represented was spectacularly
immense, with a clear visual range
across an expanse of more than 120
miles.
Were all that there is in that space
depicted, the result would be pure
chaos. But Moran, boldly and brilliantly,
simplified details to a masterful
standard of austere minimalism while
maintaining basic harmony that is a
testimony to his genius. Instead of literally
interpreting the scene, Moran conveyed
a feeling of truth with a touch
of romance and believable fantasy.
Major Powell described it best: "His
picture not only tells the truth ... it
displays the beauty of the truth."
Although the critics of his day regarded
the artist and his work with
great respect, they advanced barrages
of academic reservations. Moran survived
them all, however, and realized
his triumph when, · in 1874, Congress
appropriated $10,000 for the purchase
of the painting to hang in the Senate
lobby along with his painting, The
Grand Canyon of the Y ellowstone.
Were it possible to bid on The Chasm
of the Colorado in an art auction, one
would not be a fool to assume that it
would command in excess of $5 million.
Moran's view of the Grand Canyon,
and the West in general, attracted the
promoters of the Santa Fe Railroad,
thus began a period when sponsors sent
artists to paint the Grand Canyon,
Indians, life in the West, and later on
much of Arizona and New Mexico. But
the worldwide exposure was almost
completely established because of
Major John Wesley Powell, Thomas
Moran, and the efforts of W. R. Leigh,
and railroad officials.
In addition to Thomas Moran, our
selection of fine artists who found their
heart's delight in the Grand Canyon includes
W. R. Leigh, a contemporary of
Moran, foreign-born Carl Oscar Borg
and Gunner Widforss, and contemporary
masters Clark Hulings and Wilson
Hurley. Among the most recent interpreters,
young Arizona artist-teacher
Merrill Mahaffey' s work on the Grand
Canyon also shows major promise for
incorporation into future exploration in
these pages. D
The Grand Canyon, probably 1873 fro m a
port fo lio of Thomas Moran's ske tches.
Courtesy Grand Canyon Natural His tory
Association.
AHM37
.. f
Back to
the Basics
Life at the Bottom of the Canyon
Bruce Aiken gestures toward the
stream that rushes past his front
porch and the steep canyon wall beyond
it as he talks to his wife, Mary. "This is
the real world," he says, and she shakes
her head, counters as if on cue: " This
isn't the real world, Bruce. The real
world is up there, and it's a mess. Down
here, this is better, but you can't say it's
the real world.
"The real world is full of pollution,"
she says, "and problems and families
that aren't close. We've escaped from
the real world. We're lucky."
"We're lucky alright," amends Bruce,
"but we haven't escaped the real world.
We've escaped to it."
Both recite their lines with the familiarity
of actors in a play that is enjoying
a long and successful run. After all, a
good-natured argument is an old-fashioned
form of entertainment, and Bruce
and Mary Aiken, by inclination as well
as circumstance, are very much attuned
to the simple joys.
They have to be. There is no television
in their lives, no movies, no cocktail
lounges. For about 10 months each
year, Bruce and Mary and their three
small children live at the bottom of the
mile-deep Grand Canyon without those
20th century amenities. Their life-style
was chosen years ago when Bruce was
an ambitious geology student, so ambitious,
in fact, that he set his sights
low. He knew there was room at the
bottom.
"Hey, if you love rocks, there's no
by Bill McClellan
38AHM
place like the Grand Canyon. First time
I came here, I thought it would be like
a fantasy to live on the Rim. Then later,
when I found out that there was a job
that would mean actually living in the
Canyon itself, well, I knew that somehow
I had to get that job."
His voice trails off. A small yard separates
his house from Bright Angel
Creek. In the mornings, it's not uncommon
for deer to graze in the yard. In
the evenings, Bruce and Mary often
haul out mattresses to sleep under the
stars that blanket the sky on clear
nights.
" Yeah, I heard about this job," Bruce
continues. "I was summer help, working
on a trail crew living over at Cottonwood
Camp. We were working on the
North Kaibab Trail, so we used to come
right past this house on our way to
work. I used to look at it and think
how great it would be to live here. And
then, of course, I got the job. That was
eight years ago.
"And I'll tell you something else, and
I'm really serious. Mary and I kid about
it, you know, but right now I'm being
serious. I think this is the real world."
Mary has gone inside and is reading
to the children. Only the slight whirl of
a tape recorder and the rushing of the
creek disturb the silence. Since neither
seem able to respond to the cue, Bruce
shifts to another subject.
"I don't know if I want you to print
this, but the Bright Angel, at times, has
the best trout fishing in the state ... "
He talks for a minute about the dietary
habits of brown trout and the
convenience of having dinner swim by
the front porch, then excuses himself.
It's time to go to work.
"Drop by the pumping station later,"
he says. " I'll show you around."
text continued on page 43
(Above) Bruce Aiken tends the water
pumps at the Park Service facility at
the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
A iken lives in the Canyon with his
family 10 months out of each y ear.
Jeff Kida
(Right) Mary Aiken helps tend the
garden, part of which is visible at the
left, and shares the task of educating
her three children, to mention just a
few of the things necessary in the
family's back-to-basics life-style.
Jeff Kida
(Right) The beauty of the Grand
Canyon' s nearly perp endicular rock
walls provide more than just physical
boundaries of the Aiken's Canyon
existence. Michael Collier
Canyon Life continued from page 38
Ill he North Rim of the Grand Canyon
.I.is one of the wettest dry spots in
the world. Despite an average annual
rainfall of more than 22 inches and
an average annual snowfall of more
than 120 inches, there is virtually no
groundwater. It disappears into the
250-foot-thick layer of Kaibab limes
tone that forms the capping formation
of the north and south rims. This limestone
is a perfect aquifer, readily diss
olved by water with a slight acid base.
The pine forests on the northern rim
add just the right touch of acid to the
rain and snow.
The limestone soaks up the water like
a sponge, temporarily holding some
while the rest passes down through
channels that are steadily being carved
and enlarged. After having descended
more than 4000 feet and taken on the
appearance of an irresistible force, it
runs smack into the immovable object
- the Bright Angel shale.
When the water hits the shale, its
downward flight is abruptly halted . It
moves along the top of the impermeable
shale until it finds an opening in the
canyon wall. Then it pours out of that
opening with such force that it could
have only one name - Roaring Springs.
At certain times of the year, the water
rushes out at a rate of more than 5000
gallons a minute.
(Background) Water, percolating
through several thousand feet of limestone,
bursts out of th e Grand Canyon's
walls in small sprin gs and often
as violent cascades, such as these falls
in D eer Creek Canyon. Josef Muench
At Roaring Springs (inset) a similar
phenomenon supplies the Park Service
pump facility, where Bruc e Aiken
works, with more than 5000 gallons
' a minute. Bruce McClellan
And when that water coni.es roaring
out .. . Bruce Aiken is waiting for it.
His job is to send it back up.
There 's something special about night
in the Grand Canyon. Mary slips into
an almost rhapsodical monolo gue about
night in the Canyon, as she moves along
a trail on the way from the house to
the pump station, half a mile away.
" I never u sed to like it, you know,"
she says about life at the bottom, "until
I started walking at night. See Bright
Angel Creek? It £litters like that at
night. It sparkles like diamonds as it
goes over the rocks. It looks like a river
of diamonds rushing past our house ."
The trail she's taking is a shortcut.
In one sec tion, it begins to wind along
the edge of a steep cliff. Mary turns on
the flashlight she almost forgot, had
remembered only as an afterthought,
and shines it behind her as she walks.
The night is dimly illuminated by a
quarter-moon and countless stars. The
canyon walls are somehow more awesome
in the faint light.
"You can feel God," Mary says without
pretense. " I never really knew God
until I walked down here at night. I
mean the power, the glory, all that stuff.
You can feel God, sense His presence."
A visitor nods his assent. The sense
of the creation, that this is how it all
looked in the Beginning, is almost intoxicatin
g. It's easy to see why Bruce
and Mary laug hed at a question about
drugs. They're both under 30. The question
hadn't see med so silly in the daylight,
but who needs an artificial h ig h
when the real thing comes every nigh t?
" It's really easy to hike in the moonlight,
beautiful, too," says Mary. "It
gives everything a different look. Some
nights it's so clear down here you'd be
amazed. And the stars. There are clouds
of them.
"No, I've never seen a UFO. Not up
close anyway. I've seen a lot of strange
lights, but they were probably satellites
or something. I used to look at the stars
and think 'Come and get me' but that's
when I lived in the city. I guess cities
do that to you. "
Vou ought to be able to hear the
.I.pump station before y ou see it -
inside it's loud enough with its clanking
and churning that you have to yell to be
heard by a person four feet away -
but the water at nearby Roaring Springs
is too much competition. Still, it's a
noisy place to work. Outside the roaring
of the water, inside the din of the
machinery.
" I used to tell myself I'd never work
around noise," hollers Bruce, as he
shows a visitor the new pumps . " I was
into quiet. Now I' m at home with this.
I can hear a strange sound in all this
noise and pick it up immediately. I
know something' s wrong, and I can
usually tell by the sound what it is ."
The pump station, which Aiken operates
and maintains, supplies the North
Rim with its only source of water. The
first pumping facility was built in 1928
by the Union Pacific Railroad, which
h a d been.awarded a contract to develop
the North Rim of the Canyon. Three
pumps, each powered by its own 50
horsepower motor, were installed to
pump water 4000 feet up through 2.5
miles of pipeline.
The railroad turned the s tation over
to the National Park Service in 1972,
and the three original pumps which
Aiken named the Primera, Segunda, and
Stupida.
The old station was demolished, and
Aiken is sad about that decision. He
thinks i t should have been made into
an historic landmark.
"I suppose I'm sentimental about
things like that, but for years it was the
heart of the North Rim," he says, and
amid the clanking and churning of the
pumps, his metaphor seems strangely
appropriate. Then, detecting a foreign
noise somewhere in the clatter, he
jumps up to adjust a valve. When he
co mes back, he's smiling.
"Even new equipment requires atten- .
tion once in a while."
T ife at the bottom isn't all picking out
.1..11 noises, nor is it all religious hikes in
the moonlight. There is the matter of
making a home.
Mercy is 8, Shirley is 5 , and Silas is
approaching his 3rd birthday. The .
Aikens have been educating their children
themselves. Mary has been teaching
English and math and Bruce the
sciences. The Aikens have no misgivings
about teaching their children , but
Mary sometimes worries about the lack
of social interaction.
But that will be remedied this fall
when the children will be enrolled in
school in Ajo, the Aiken's winter home .
"There aren't many children hiking
around down here. Whenever I see
somebody with kids (the Aiken home is
at the foot of the North Kaibab Trail) I
rush out and offer to babysit. Usually
the parents are delighted. But, like I say,
it's unusual to see small children down
here ."
AHM43
On the other hand, Bruce sees some
advantages to the children's relative
isolation.
"When we're on the outside, they
fight a lot. Down here, they have to get
along together. After all, if they can't
get along with each other, who are they
going to play with? And I think they
learn to use their imaginations much
more, too. They're always inventing
games or singing."
Actually, the family's life-style is
geared toward education. Bruce and
Mary are both avid readers, and their
interest has rubbed off on their children.
Mercy already reads very well,
and both parents constantly read to the
children.
The world of consumer credit, however,
will have to be taught. The kids
won't learn by observation. Except for
a grocery bill that arrives shortly after
the monthly order has been flown in,
and a telephone bill, the Aikens have
few expenditures. Utilities are furnished
by the Park Service and the monthly
rent is automatically deducted from
Bruce's paycheck.
The grocery bill is usually kept low
through the family's self-sufficiency.
Bruce often catches dinner in the Bright
Angel, Mary is an accomplished baker,
and a garden provides the family with
fresh produce.
Perhaps partially because of their diet
- "We couldn't run out and have junk
food for dinner even if we wanted
to," says Mary - the Aikens are an
extremely healthy family.
"We've probably got the cleanest air
in the state down here," says Bruce,
"and the water from the springs is just
great."
Also keeping the family healthy is the
fact that they must walk everywhere. In
fact, the only time the Aikens get ill is
when they go topside.
"It happens like_ clockwork," laughs
Bruce. "As soon as we get to the top,
we rush out and do all the 20th century
things. We go get a pizza or some hamburgers,
go to a movie and buy some
candy. By the 2nd or 3rd day we're all
sick, but at least we get those things
out of our system."
Although the Aikens seldom drink
alcoholic beverages they usually order
beer with the groceries. The beer is reserved
for drop-in people.
Sometimes the people are relatives.
"They call this the Bright Angel Rest
Home," laughs Bruce. "They come
down and all they can do is rest. We
just love it when they come.
44AHM
"Yeah," he says, in response to a
question, "they're all afraid of the hike
up. Who isn't? It's a long climb. Sometimes
just the thought of it makes them
stay longer. We've had them stay for
up to 10 days. But like I say, we love it.
Just one time in 8 years have either
Mary or I been sick and that's when
Mary had a sore throat and could hardly
talk. I keep telling her, she brought it
on herself by talking to her sister so
much."
Sometimes the visitors are invited
guests. Governor Bruce Babbitt, his
wife Hattie, and their oldest son Christopher,
stayed with the Aikens several
years ago, when Babbitt was attorney
general. He had been unable to get a
reservation in any of the regular campgrounds
and, through an uncle who is a
friend of one of Babbitt's hiking partners,
the Aikens invited the Babbitts to
stay with them.
" It was great," recalls Mary. "I really
like them. They're just regular people."
Sometimes the people who drop in,
do so inadvertently. As employees of
the Park Service, the Aikens offer first
aid and help to hikers whose expertise
is overmatched by their enthusiasm.
Some hikers fail to carry water with
them. Some expect to find a hotel or a
restaurant at the bottom of the trail and
are dismayed to discover that the closest
Grand Canyon monoliths and
early morning fog are the
kinds of scenes that have
reawakened Bruce Aiken's
interest in the visual arts, particularly
painting. He has two
successful showings of his
work on the South Rim to his
credit. Jeff Kida/
Kathleen Norris Cook
thing, the snack bar at Phantom Ranch,
is nine miles away down Bright Angel
Canyon.
Because of their isolation, the Aikens
have had to manufacture their own diversions.
Both Bruce and Mary paint.
Bruce, who studied visual arts before
moving to Arizona and falling in love
with geology, has found that his interest
in painting has been rekindled. He
devotes much of his leisure time to
the art, and has had several successful
showings of his work on the South Rim.
The sales of his paintings have increased
dramatically, and Bruce says his
art would be the only reason for leaving
the Canyon.
Then there are the usual family singalongs,
the nights spent reading together
and, of course, the family hikes
to fill up their time. The Aiken home is
less than three miles from Ribbon Falls,
one of Mary's and the children's favorite
spots.
Perhaps most importantly, there have
been hours and hours of talking. And at
least a few minutes of old-fashioned,
enjoyable disagreements.
" It's a back to basics kind of life,"
says Bruce. "That's why I call it the real
world."
Mary smiles, shakes her head, counters
as if on cue, "Bruce, this isn't the
real world .. .. " 0
Bookshelf by Mary Lu Moore
Inqu iries about any of these titles
should be directed to the book publish
er, not ARIZONA HIGHWAYS.
AN INTRODUCTION TO GRAND
CANYON GEOLOGY. By Michael
Collier. Grand Canyon Natural History
Assn., P.O. Box 399, Grand Canyon,
AZ 86023 . 1980. 42 p. $2.95, softcover.
The author, a graduate geologist,
photographer, writer, and veteran Colorado
River boatman, involves his
readers in a search for understanding
the complex geological history of the
ever changing, ever constant Grand
Canyon. In a conversational manner, he
describes the Colorado Plateau; sedimentary,
metamorphic and igneous
rocks; and structural and erosional history.
Each chapter has a brief summary,
with a synopsis of two billion years of
Canyon geo logic history at the end of
the volume. Maps, illustrations, and
absorbing color photographs are skillfully
used to illustrate points mentioned
in the text. There is a bibliography for
additional general and technical reading.
Here is an easy, painless, sometimes
humorous introduction to a complicated
subject.
CAVES AND CANYONS. Illustrated
by De Grazia; Words by Sister M.
Angela Toigo, 0 . S . B. Benedictin e Sisters
, 3888 Paducah Driv e, San Diego,
CA 92117. 1979. 48 p. $3.75, hardcover.
Once again Ted De Grazia and Sister
Angela have combined talents to bring
us a pensive, spiritual, colorful, work
of art. While Sr. Angela's sensitive
poetry can be interpreted as reflecting
moods of the Grand Canyon, it can be
even more appropriately viewed as
describing the recesses of the human
mind contemplating God. De Grazia's
visual imagery deftly projects the same
feelings. A charming and enriching
sequel to God and a Mouse.
WHERE WATER FLOWS: THE
RIVERS OF ARIZONA. By Lawrence
Clark Powell, with photographs by
Michael Collier and a foreword By
Bruce Babbitt. Northland Press, P. 0.
Box N, Flagstaff, AZ 86002. 1980. 64 p.
$25.00, hardcover.
Angel's Window , near Cape Royal, on Grand
Canyon's North Rim, is one of countless
geological attractions which continues to lur e
visitors to this scenic never-never land of the
Southwest. Dick Dietrich
As Governor Babbitt states in his
foreword, "In the Sonoran Desert the
wet rivers are lifelines that delimit
where people settle, how they live, what
they grow, and ultimately, the shape
of their culture." Powell's retrospective
essay - historical yet contemporary,
objective yet personal - acknowledges
that essential vitality. Treating the
seven largest rivers individually, and
using their original Spanish names, the
author gives each a biography and relates
his personal experiences with
them. Readers will encounter along the
way a number of well-known personalities
and references to other authors
who have written about our state.
Michael Collier' s splendid color photographs
capture the immensity and
distinct personality of each river. Don
Bufkin' s map places them all in perspective,
although map devotees may
reach for a more detailed map. This is
a thoughtful, timely publication which
will be valued by those who esteem
Arizona's geography, history, and literature.
THE ENCHANTED LIGHT; IMAGES
OF THE GRAND CANYON. Photographs
by Barry Thompson; Introduction
by Stephen Carothers. Museum of
Northern Arizona Press, Rte. 4, Box
270, Flagstaff, AZ 86001. 1979. 73 p.
$7.00, softcover .
In his introduction Grand Canyon
naturalist Carothers philosophizes
about his increasing feeling for, awareness
of, and reactions to, the Canyon
and the Colorado River. With great
feeling, photographer Thompson captures
nuances of the Canyon's light and
shadows in black and white photos of
incredible clarity and depth.
THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO AMERICA'S
NATIONAL PARKS. Compiled
by Patrick J. Quirk and Thomas F. Fise.
National Park Foundation, P. 0. Box
57473, Washington, D. C. 20037. 1979.
292 p. $4.95-85¢ mailing, softcover.
Beyond the unassuming title are
descriptions of 353 national parks,
monuments, recreation areas, seashores,
historical sites, and more - arranged
alphabetically by state. For each state
there is a map showing major highways
in relation to national parks and monuments
within it. Each entry contains a
mailing address and telephone number,
brief description, and directions to get
there, list of activities, accommodations,
and other data for visitors, and general
information including any necessary
safety precautions. A good table of contents
and index make this volume easy
to use. A list of peak visitation months
helps vacationers plan their visits
accordingly. Take careful note of the
mailing address, as it does not appear
in the publication.
THE GRAND CANYON: UP CLOSE
AND PERSONAL. Robert C. Euler and
Frank Tikalsky, Eds . Foreword by Bruce
Babbitt. Western Montana College
Foundation, Dillon, MT 59725. 1980.
88 p. $7.25, softcover (plus 55<t mailing).
A number of experts devoted to the
Grand Canyon have written essays on
their special area of expertise. Following
Governor Babbitt's general remarks
are chapters on Canyon geology, flora
and fauna, ecology, history, archaeology,
river running and exploration,
and hiking trails. Also considered is the
serious threat of the impact of man,
including his dams, which changes the
nature of the Canyon and the Colorado
River and adds human pollution. At the
end of each topic is a short bibliography.
Interspersed throughout the text
are 27 fine color photographs. Of varying
length and depth, these essays help
one acquire new perspectives and aesthetic
enrichment from the Grand
Canyon experience.
GRAND CANYON WILDFLOWERS.
By Arthur M. Phillips III; Photography
by John Richardson. Grand Canyon
Natural History Assn., P. 0. Bo x 399,
Grand Canyon, AZ 86023. 1979. 145 p.
$6.50, softcover.
This beautiful, sturdy take-along is
well indexed, with a glossary of
essential terms and a very pertinent
bibliography. There are meticulous descriptions
and locations of flora by geographical
distribution and seasons of
occurrence. Arrangement is by color -
a real boon for us botanical unsophisticates
- then within categories used in
most botanical manuals. The very
instructive introduction is to climatology
and botany of the North and South
rims and the inner Canyon. The many
photographs are of superior quality.
This book is a must for all who traverse
the Canyon by foot or water.
AHM47
Yours
Sincerely
Comments and questions from
around the state, the nation,
and the world.
Editor,
I have been receiving Arizona Highways
over fifteen years. Every year as
the renewal date comes due I feel it is
the one and only magazine I can' t do
without.
Helen Edward
Hillsboro, IL
P.S. I share all my issues with the Jr.
High School and I received a thank you
from the principal on behalf of all the
students.
Dear Helen,
Thank you for your kind letter. We
of ten receive letters and phone calls
from people like yourself, who have
subscribed to Arizona Highways for
years and now they don't know what
to do with all their back copies .. .
"they're too valuable to throw away."
We most often recommend that they be
given to schools, as you did, or librari es,
hospitals, old peopl e's homes, etc .
-th e Editor
Editor,
Each month we look forward to receiving
Arizona Highways Magazine.
It really blessed our hearts in January
to see our special bird, the sandhill
crane, in it. We have wondered where
they go, for we enjoy watching them
from early spring until it starts to turn
cold . We watch them in the fields about
a mile from our home . . . the world
around us is indeed beautiful and we
thank you for putting it in print.
Russell & Catherine Bradbury
Dell wood, WI
Dear Russ e ll & Catherine,
Sandhill cranes are indee d impressive
birds. They nest as far north as Canada,
Alaska, even Siberia, and they winter as
far south as Mexico.
-the Editor
Editor,
I was alarmed when reading the January,
1981, issue to find you have
moved the "Wilderness of Rocks" (page
29) from the Chiricahua Mountains to
the Catalina Mountains.
AHM48
K.C. Hamilton
Tucson, AZ
Dear K.C.
Our apologies. We switched photos
at the last minute and failed to change
the caption. Th e photo is of the Santa
Catalinas near Tucson. And the Wildern
es s of Roclcs is in th e Chiricahuas.
-the Editor
Editor,
Our son was recently transferred to
Phoenix from here in the frozen North.
In order to show us more of the beauty
of Arizona, he gave u s a subscription
to Arizona Highways. His statement to
us was," ... it's all here just as you see
it pictured. There is no way I can tell
you better."
T.J. Mahonik
North Syracuse, NY
Editor,
This past summer I had the pleasure of
experiencing the gorgeous state of Arizona
for the first time. I found the
scenery there to be the most breathtaking
I've ever seen. Arizona Highways
has been sent to me as a gift, and I could
never enjoy anything more! Your photography
and articles are most special
to me and bring back the memories I
treasure most from those "Islands In
The Sky."
Editor,
Jan Myers
Vincennes, IN
Having received now for the past
four years your indeed rarely beautiful
magazine, I feel it my duty to tell you
about the intellectual stimulation and
spiritual re-creation the interesting articles
and magnificent illustrations offer
me. Living in a small village in the Alps,
and standing at the threshold of age
when the end of one's life is always
present, I can hardly find words to
express my appreciation for this valuable
monthly diversion.
Editor,
Hedwig Thullner
Siebenburgerheim, Germany
It seems futile to select any one issue
for comment, but January 1981 was
outstanding ... particularly that story
on Fort Huachuca with the four cavalrymen
silhouetted against a backdrop of
Arizona mountains at sunset. Charge it
off to the foggy imagination that comes
with old age, but someone seemed to be
blowing "Taps" on a badly dented old
Army bugle.
Editor,
Margaret Delehanty
San Mateo, CA
I want to thank you for the lovely
article on my birthplace - Bisbee. I
spent my early years living on the hill
in Warren and have wonderful memories
of accompanying my grandfathers
around the area: trips to Fort Huachuca,
movies at the Lyric, Mass at .St. Patrick's,
tasting my first beer in Brewery
Gulch ... and my favorite outing -
breakfast at the Copper Queen Hotel!
... I thank those (who live there) for
their loving care, and I thank you for
taking me back to . . . my earliest
memories.
Editor,
Joan Cunningham Evans
Westminster, CA
Having taken your magazine for the
past 4 years I have accus tomed myself
to the excellence, with respect to your
other wonderful photographic contributors,
[and] of any Muench picture ...
I was full of expec tancy when on page
26 (December, 1980) there was a footnote
saying "Following panel, Colorado
River from Toroweap Point, Josef
Muench." But when I turned the page
I gasped to myself, " How did he get
th at!" In green "old" England that picture
really registered. Such a multitude
of red, orange, brown shades and such
brilliant sunshine! Thank you Josef
Muench!
Philip Newman
O xted, England
(Inside back cover) From the 3000- foot height
of Toroweap Point, on the North Rim of the
Grand Canyon, the river-runner's boat, lower
left, is an insignificant dot, racing to co llid e
with the violence of Lava Falls just ahead, on
the Colorado River. Josef Muench
(Back cover) Fill ed to the rim with cloud
vapor, the Grand Canyon takes on a strange,
s omber mood. Read mor~a bout the Canyon's
exciting visual variety b eginning on page 14.
David Muench
35mm COLOR SLIDES
This issue: 35mm slides in 2" mounts, 1 to 15
slides, 50¢ each, 16 to 49 slides, 45¢ each,
50 or more , 3 for $1.25. Allow six weeks fcir
delivery. Address: Slide Department, Arizona
Highways , 2039 West Lewis Avenue, Ph oenix,
Arizona 85009.
GC-416 View from Hopi Point .......... . . . . . Cov. 1
GC-417 Colorado River from Toroweap Po int .. Cov. 3
GC-418 River-runners on the Colorado . . . . . . . . . p. 4
GC-419 View of El Tovar Lodge . . . ........... . . p . 7
GC-420 Vista from Desert View . ....••.•.... P. 14-15
GC-421 Misty sunrise . ... ........ ......... p . 1~-17
GC-422 View from Toroweap ... .. .......... p . 18-19
GC-423 Snowstorm in the inner gorge ....... p. 20-21
GC-424 Vishnu Templ e from Cape Royal ... . . . . p. 22
GC-425 Rainstorm at sunset .................. p. 23
GC-426 Coronado Butte vista ........... .. . p. 24-25
GC-427 Mt. Hayden sun.set ........ .. ......... p. 26
GC-428 Clouds engulf Mt. Hayd e n ... . •..•..... p. 27
GC-429 Perpendicular walls ........ . . .. . .. .. . p. 39
GC-430 Early morning fog ........• . . • ..•..... p. 45
GC-431 Angel"s Window . ... ..• . .•. .. ..• .. .... p. 46
