Back Where It All Began
Grand Canyon from the El Tovar Hotel
It was the spring of 1975 and Terri and I were about to graduate from City College of San Francisco with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Hospitality companies came to CCSF to recruit graduates. One of those companies was the Fred Harvey Company, who ran operations at the south rim of the Grand Canyon. They offered free room and board in dormitory facilities, and paid a whopping $10 per 8-hour shift. Work and live with other college graduates, with the Grand Canyon as a backdrop. It sounded like fun to us.
Terri left San Francisco a week before me in June. She took the train to Los Angeles, then transferred to a train to Williams, AZ. From there she took a bus which dropped her and her luggage at the bottom of the hill that led up to the El Tovar Hotel and the Human Resources office. I followed a week later in my ‘66 mustang. Things were pretty progressive with Fred Harvey in ‘75 and they let Terri and me room together in Trailer Village employee housing.
Rouzer Hall, Employee Housing
That first summer was as wild and crazy as you can imagine. We met other kids from all over the country, who came to the Canyon for the same reason we did... have fun. Let your imagination tell you the rest of the story.
Fast forward 48 years to the month, and we’re back at Trailer Village. This time in our Vienna with all the luxuries glamping brings. We arrived Friday, June 16, right after check-in in the early afternoon. After setup we made our way to the rim walk for the 1 mile hike to the El Tovar hotel. We took our time along the way to re-live some of our favorite views; Zoroaster and Brahma temples, The Battleship, Indian Garden (now Havasupai Garden), Bright Angel Canyon.
EL Tovar
The El Tovar hasn’t changed a bit, which is fitting. Some things are sacred and should be left unspoiled. We stopped in for a charcuterie and a couple of glasses of wine. We then walked on down to the Bright Angel Lodge for more wine. Another building that hasn’t changed in 48 years sits right between El Tovar and Bright Angel. Colter Hall was one of the nicer employee dormitories, and many of our friends resided there. It was a bit more civilized than some of the other dorms because it sits in the middle of Thunderhead and Kachina lodges, which were always 100% occupied by high paying guests.
We woke up Saturday to beautiful, clear, blue skies and very little wind. A load of laundry was on the agenda and we got an early start. We were back in the rig and ready to venture out to Hermit’s Rest on the west rim by 10:00 am. We found it surprising that there was so little traffic for a mid-June beautiful day. Shuttle buses run regularly and can get you wherever you want to go. We started at Bright Angel and hiked the first section of the rim trail to Trail Overlook. There you can see the last few torturous switchbacks of the Bright Angel Trail. Both of us have miserable memories of that last mile or so on the walk out, back in ‘75.
We would ride the shuttle to a couple of other points along the west rim. Hike for a while and then catch the shuttle to Hermit’s Rest. Same thing on the way back. Dinner Saturday was the bar at the Bright Angel. We rode the shuttle to the village about 6:00 pm so we could have a quick dinner and then catch the sunset at about 7:30. Sunsets are always great at the Grand Canyon, except when there are no clouds. The day had been a perfectly sunny day, so we didn’t get that “grand” sunset. Regardless, we decided to take the rim walk back to the east and ultimately Trailer Village. All that walking and hiking resulted in some very tired feet.
We were up very early Sunday as it was get away day for our drive to Las Vegas and the Jenkins family reunion. Breaking down our rig was interrupted briefly by a very thirsty cow elk. Water is scarce at the south rim and the elk have taken up residence in Trailer Village where they can get a drink from leaky faucet and hose connections. Our tank flush hose leaks pretty good at the RV’s wet bay, and a young cow elk decided that was the best place for her to get a morning drink.
We manage to shoo the elk away an finish our breakdown, and head on to Vegas. The stars were aligned that day and all parties for the reunion arrived via plane and auto without incident. Our memories of the Canyon were thick on that drive, and our anticipation of new memories kept us focused on what was a stressful, wind driven trip across northwestern Arizona.
