The Hixson Holiday Headlines: Grand Canyon, Arizona

Grand Canyon March 16-19, 2022

After dropping Chad and Kathy at the airport, we drove to the entrance of the Grand Canyon...

spending the night in these cute little cabin rooms that were dedicated to past cowboys....

ours was Roy Rodgers suite. What a cute idea!

The next morning we were thrilled to find the entrance did not have the long lines

that we had found in 2021.

That morning we walked the ridge of the Grand Canyon taking in the fantastic views. We were here last year and were still in awe of its grandeur.

We also eyed the Bright Angel Trail....nervously. Tomorrow we would be riding a mule down that narrow.....and YES, ICY path.

Evidence that it had snowed the day before.

We watched the mule riders heading their way back up Bright Angel Trail.

We really enjoy seeing the original stone structures that date back to the earliest visitors...

and it is always a joy to spot wildlife. These elk didn't seem bothered about our gawking.

We enjoyed walking through the Lookout building. Mary Colter designed this building on the promontory that captivated visitors and integrated the natural surroundings. It is hard to distinguish where Mary Colter's wall and the canyon wall begins. It blends magnificently.

With it's cozy fireplace and charismatic view, it was hard to leave this dwelling.

We visited the old lodge, to confirm our reservations for our Mule Ride. Magnificent antiques were on display.

Larry's favorite sight...a moose.

We also found this advice to be timely!

That afternoon we drove down to Grand Canyon East....the sun went behind the clouds and the temps dropped.

In the spirit of the prehistoric cliff dwellings, Mary Colter's Watchtower stands as a beacon lighthouse in the east view of Desert View Drive.

Mary Colter was a school teacher in St Paul, Minnesota during the 1890's.

She became an architect, designer, and decorator in the 1900's influenced by the Native American cultural heritage rather than imitating European styles.

The Watch Tower

Taking on an unusual power and influence for a woman during that time period, Mary Colter decorated hotels, restaurants and train station facilities. She designed many building in the Grand Canyon area:

Hermits Rest, 1914

Lookout Studio, 1914

Phantom Ranch, 1922

The Watch Tower, 1932

Bright Angel Lodge, 1916 and 1932

The inside ceiling in the Watch Tower was much different from the rock structure itself.

It was interesting to spot the Colorado River winding through the Canyon.

A local Miner, turned Hotel Entrepreneur, started a tourist business after finding that the mining business was not profitable.

In 1893, awestruck tourist quickly forgot their bone jarring 12 hour stage coach ride out of Flagstaff, Arizona. Trips were offered on mules to the bottom of the canyon back then. Tourist stayed in crude log cabins until 1898 when the Grandview Hotel was built. A trip to the Grandview became one of the most popular tourist attractions in 1901 when the Santa Fe Railroad stopped 11 miles away from the Grandview.

Our mule ride began at 7:30 am. We were given about a half an hour of instruction, saddled up, and moved out directly down the Bright Angel Trail. There was no practice riding on the mule. At the beginning of the day I questioned, what the heck am I doing...

WHAT UP CLOSE INCREDIBLE VIEWS....if you dared to take your eyes off the trail.

The leader kept saying, "Trust your mule! It doesn't want to go over the edge of the trail."

It was difficult to relax. The trail was ice covered and full of hikers. Our mules had crampons on their shoes that grabbed the ice....most of the time.

After the first mile, our leader asked if we wanted to get a refund and return to the Grand Canyon Ridge. They truly didn't want you to continue if you were uncomfortable. Larry and I eyed each other, and silently kept going.

Can you tell I finally started relaxing?

We finally arrived at the half way point called Indian Gardens....about five miles down. It was about 1:30pm. Here we were able to dismount and have a lunch, use the restroom, and shake the numbness out of your booty. This was greatly welcomed. This was the only dismount that we had until the end of the day.

There were seven of us tourist on mules with two leaders....0ne in the front and one at the end of the line....that was too keep anyone from lagging behind. The mules loved to stop to take a nibble of the brush or bushes that we passed causing them to pause along the way. The trail leaders urged us to keep the mules going.

Larry loved his mule named "Fooler".

About four or five time on the way down and, especially on the steep way up, the trail leaders stopped to give the mules a rest. Lordy our fannies needed the rest; however, we ended up staying in the saddle. Anyway, each time we stopped , the mules faced the great view of the Grand Canyon. It was an awesome view, but it was scary as the devil facing the cliff overhang. I was almost afraid to breathe or even wiggle thinking my mule would take a leap over the side. Eeeeek!

Guess what I am thinking? "Why does the trail leader get to dismount and us customers don't?" A potty break...

We thought that we were finished with going down once we got to Indian Gardens....were we ever wrong! It flattened out for a little while and then started going up, up, up before going down, down, down again. OH MY THIS WAS A TRUE ADVENTURE!

We were still smiling even though our bodies were shouting, "It's time to be at Phantom Ranch."

The young folks were so much fun on this trip...they kept us going.

At the end of the day, our little log cabin of bunk beds was a welcome sight! We had a huge steak dinner and hit the sack. They brought breakfast to our cabin door the next morning.

The next morning it was chilly so we suited up in layers and saddled up by 7:30 am....going up the same trail that we came down the day before.

Going up the steep trail.

Up there is where we were going...INCREDIBLE!

Usually they take you on another trail going back but the trail had too much snow and ice....so I didn't
have a complaint.

The supply pack mule team passed us going into Phantom Ranch. They had left at 4:30 in the morning with all the drinks, steaks, breakfast supplies needed for the riders coming for the evening to Phantom Ranch. They were tied to each other led by two trail guides.