Urban legends are not confined to, well, “urbania.”  I got proof of that one cold fall morning as I worked at my office at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  It was mid-October 1995.  I’d been at the Grand Canyon for 7 years at that point, and round about that time of year is when the old timers would trot out their Grand Canyon ghost stories. 

One such tale revolves around one of the Grand Canyon’s older buildings and a lone caretaker who spent the night in said building so he could get an early start on closing it up for renovations the next morning.  Apparently the gentleman emerged from the place the next morning white as a you-know-what.  Things……lots of things…if that was indeed what they were… had gone bump in the night and he swore he’d never venture into the place alone again.

Or the one about the Harvey Girl whose spirit was said to wander the halls of another of the park’s older structures at night, still in her trademark black dress and starched white blouse.  

Or the one about “la Llorona,” (Spanish for ‘the weeping woman’), an apparation whose “mournful wail” has not only been heard by hikers on a certain Grand Canyon Trail, but near waterways throughout the Southwest and Latin America.  Her story is excerpted in Andrea Lankford’s book, “Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America’s National Parks,” and is also mentioned in this collection of ghost stories in the Yuma Arizona Sun Newspaper.    

The other day in my on-line wanderings, I even happened upon an old abstract about “The Brocken Spectre,” a phantom said to “reside” in yet another of the Grand Canyon’s historic landmarks.   

In all the years I’d been in the park, I’d never had such an encounter.  But on one clear October morning, as I worked away by myself in the old office building in Grand Canyon Village, I had one.  It was about 6.00 AM.  I would sometimes go to work early to catch up on paperwork before my phone started ringing (which it would do non-stop till closing time).  I was doing that very thing when all of a sudden I heard a loud *SMASH!* 

My heart skipped a beat as I whirled around to see what it was: a potted plant that I had kept on my desk had flown – yes, FLOWN – across the room and splatted on the floor!  Was I visited by a poltergeist?  Had the building been haunted all this time?  Some, upon my telling of the story, seemed to think so.  To this day, I have no explanation for what happened.   

Should you be scared?  No, not really.  In fact, in my 20 years as a Grand Canyon vacation planner, I’ve never heard a visitor call me back with any ghost stories.  But, those of you who like that sort of thing will certainly find fodder for your imagination in Arizona. 

Arizona is home to many “ghost towns”.  Some, like Jerome, and Tombstone, now enjoy modern “reincarnations” as artist colonies and tourist destinations.  There are some beautiful hotels, bed and breakfasts, etc. located in either town.  For Jerome, you can also find lodging nearby in Sedona or Prescott.   If you’re visiting Tombstone and can’t find lodging in town, look to the communities of Benson or Sierra Vista. 

Others are ghost towns in the true sense of the word.  On the Grand Canyon Railway, for example, you’ll pass by Apex, Arizona, which was a “company town” for Grand Canyon train workers from 1928 to 1936.  If you blink, you might miss it.   

Arizona has its own “ghost highway,” the remnants of Old Route 66, one of which you can actually still drive on from Kingman to Seligman.  Some of the kitschy old mom-n-pop shops are still open and operating; others, like the sign in the above photo, stand in eerie testament to a bygone era, one that still lives on in the hearts and minds of those who once travelled “The Mother Road” and even some who weren’t even born when it was bypassed by Interstate 40.

Happy Halloween, everybody!  

Alley Kaye

P.S.  Want to read some really good ghost stories?  These stories from Tucson’s Arizona Daily Star will send chills up your spine!  Tell ‘em to your little ghosts and goblins this Halloween night! 

P.P.S.  Here’s more ghost stories from Payson and Williams.

Good morning everyone!  So did you set your clocks back?  I didn’t.  Neither did most of my neighbors. 

Welcome to Arizona.  You’ll find we’re a very independent bunch out here, and here’s a prime example: a good majority of our state does NOT observe daylight savings time.  Grand Canyon National Park is on Mountain Standard Time year-round.  That means, when the rest of y’all fall back, we stay put.  Same deal when the rest of you spring forward. 

That means that Las Vegas is now an hour behind us; Utah, Colorado, New Mexico etc. are on the same time as we are.  Why should you care about that?  Well…. let’s just say I’d rather not have you find out about this when you pull into Williams an hour late for the Grand Canyon Railway ’cause you didn’t know Williams was in a different time zone than Las Vegas – not the kind of news you wanted to hear after driving for four hours since some ungodly hour of the dawn… Likewise if you were driving over from somewhere in Arizona to catch a Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tour only to find that you could have slept another hour! 

To every rule there is an exception, and there is one here – the Navajo Indian Reservation does observe Daylight Savings Time.  Which means they’re on the same time as the rest of the state now, but when daylight time goes back into effect, they’re one hour ahead of the rest of the state, which will be important for those of you visiting Monument Valley on your Grand Canyon vacation.  That’s a post for another time entirely!  

Ah, but what does man know of time?  Once you see the Grand Canyon, your concept of time will change completely. 

Hey stay tuned, it’s gonna be a “November to remember” around the Grand Canyon! 

Alley K

P.S.  For more important stuff to know about your Grand Canyon vacation, download our free Grand Canyon Fall Travel Guide (not coming in fall?  Order advance copies of Winter ‘06, Spring and Summer ‘07 Grand Canyon travel guides at alleyk@grandcanyon.com)

The silence on the phone is a dead giveaway. 

It tends to happen when we ask folks what hotel they’re staying at the night before their Grand Canyon tour.  That pregnant pause, that second of dead air narrows the selection down considerably.  Then all we have to ask is one question: “does the hotel have a funny name?”  If the answer is yes, then we usually know that it’s either Maswik or Yavapai Lodge. 

Be prepared, would-be Grand Canyon travelers: Arizona is rife with hard to pronounce place names.  Similar to some of your town names out east (people are always floored when I can spell “Massapequa” or “Naugatuck”), they mainly come from our state’s rich Native American heritage.  Grand Canyon hotels , landmarks, schools, counties are often named after Native tribes or cultural symbols.    

Here’s an overview of some of our regional tongue-twisters, and their meanings:    

Maswik (MAZZ-wick): one of the in-park hotels at Grand Canyon South Rim, named for one of the wuya, which are the most important katsinas in the pantheon of Hopi Indian mythology.  Katsinas are spirits capable of influencing world events, and the Hopi Indians are famous for their hand-made dolls that represent the earthly embodiment of these spirits.  The Katsinas themselves are said to live in the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff.  Maswik Lodge is located 1/4 mile from the Canyon Rim. 

Kachina (kuh-CHEE-na): one of the rimside lodges at Grand Canyon South Rim, named for the Hopi deties and dolls mentioned above.  In recent years, the spelling “katsina” has become somewhat more favored.  Some of the rooms at Kachina Lodge have a Grand Canyon view, therefore, they tend to book up many months in advance. 

Yavapai (YAV-uh-pie [think “apple pie”]): also one of the in-park hotels at Grand Canyon South Rim, named for a Native American tribe of central and western Arizona.  The Yavapai Indians are represented by two distinct tribal groups: the Yavapai-Apache Nation, who reside in the Verde Valley, and the Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe in Prescott.   You’ll also hear of Yavapai College, and Yavapai County.  Yavapai Lodge is located 1 mile south of the Canyon rim, across from the Canyon Plaza Marketplace Business Center.  This name is probably the most mispronounced of Grand Canyon National Park’s lexicon. 

El Tovar (el toe-VAR): the flagship hotel at Grand Canyon South Rim, named for Don Pedro de Tovar, a Spanish conquistador with the expedition of Nuno de Guzman and one of the first white men to visit the Hopi Pueblos of Northern Arizona in the early 1500’s.  Built in 1905 on the the very rim of the canyon, the El Tovar Hotel was once the most luxurious hotel east of the Missouri River.  Today, it is still extremely popular, requiring advance reservations of a year or more. 

Tusayan (TOO-see-yon): a Native word for “place of no water,” now a small town located just 1 mile south of the park gates at Grand Canyon South Rim.  Site of 5 Grand Canyon hotels: the Best Western Grand Canyon Squire Inn, the Red Feather Lodge, the Holiday Inn Express, the Quality Inn Canyon Plaza and the Grand Hotel.  The IMAX Theatre and several restaurants and tour outfitters are also located in Tusayan.  You’ll also find the Tusayan Ruins and Museum on the East Rim drive of the Grand Canyon just 1 mile west of Desert View. 

Kaibab (KIE-bab): a Paiute Indian word for the Grand Canyon, which transliterated to “mountain lying down.” This word is used often in Northern Arizona.  At the Grand Canyon, you’ll find the North and South Kaibab Trails, the Kaibab National Forest, a rock formation called Kaibab Limestone, and there’s also the Kaibab Lodge at the North Rim. 

Havasupai (hav-uh-SOO-pie): another of Arizona’s Native American tribes, their name means “people of the blue green water,” and it is a most apt designation.  The Havasupai Tribe make their home at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in Havasu Canyon to be precise, which was carved out by Havasu Creek.  The Havasupai homeland is famous for its four spectacular waterfalls, which are visited by thousands annually.  Getting there is not easy – it’s a 12–mile hike (or horseback ride) down a canyon trail.  Permits are required, and lodging and camping are typically booked up a year in advance.  Or, you can get there by helicopter on the Havasupai Heli-Hike Day Tour.   

Hualapai (WALL-uh-pie): also a Native American tribe (Arizona is home to 21 federally registered Native American nations!).  Meaning “people of the tall pines,” the Hualapai people reside on their own tribal lands which are located smack dead center between Las Vegas and Grand Canyon South Rim as the crow flies.  They are the principal operators of a developing visitor services complex called “Grand Canyon West,” where tourists can take part in Grand Canyon tours such as trail rides, Indian village tours, cultural programs and even helicopter rides to the bottom of the canyon.  Grand Canyon West is also the future site of the Grand Canyon Skywalk.  The main access road to Grand Canyon West is presently unpaved, therefore it is recommended that those interested in visiting Grand Canyon West do so on a Las Vegas Grand Canyon tour or a Grand Canyon South Rim tour.  Grand Canyon West and the Hualapai Indian Tribal Lands are also where you can take part in the Grand Canyon’s only one-day white water rafting trip.

Oh – an honorable mention goes to Moqui (MOE-kee), a word said to mean many things, amongst them “those who vanished,” which is is appropos for the now defunct and demolished little lodge that used to be located half a mile south of the park gates on the South Rim.  *sigh* many of us old timers can recall many a pleasant evening spent at the lodge’s wonderful Mexican restaurant.  Alas, it is no more, but you may encounter the word at other points on your travels, such as Kanab Utah’s world-famous “Moqui Cave,” or the “Moki Dugway,” a fear-inspiring dirt road overlooking Utah’s Valley of the Gods, eventually leading to Halls Crossing on Lake Powell. 

Speaking of Lake Powell, there’s also Wahweap (WAH-weep) which means “place of bitter water.”  It used to be the name of the lakeside resort, but in the last few years, they’ve preferred to call it “Lake Powell Resort.”  A bay on Lake Powell retains the name, as does the small tributary that feeds it. 

So there you have it – the names most oft-mutilated place names in this extraordinarily beautiful part of the country.  I’m sure I’ve left a few out, so those of you reading this (all 3 of you ha ha ha) – bring ‘em on!  We’ll make another entry out of it.  Come on, I dare ya (just playin! )

‘Til next time – Happy Travels! 

Calling all Phoenicians, Vegans, ‘Lakers, Denverites, Angelinos, et al (a.k.a. urban dwellers of the Southwest): you’ve had a crazy summer and I know you’re just itching for a good excuse to get the heck out of the city and beat a hasty retreat to some wonderful small town where the air is clean and the folks are friendly.  Well, the next couple of weeks will bring you a ton of reasons to pack your bags and hit the road for a fun-filled weekend getaway in Northern Arizona.  The hard part will be choosing where to go! 

Take this upcoming weekend for instance.  This Friday (10/27) in Prescott, Arizona you can meet a gentleman TV Guide calls “the funniest man on TV,” none other than PBS host and CNN commentator Mark Russell.  He’ll be sharing his timely observations about life and the news at Yavapai College at 7.30 PM.  Tickets are around $35/each.  Want more info?  Call 877.928.4253 or you can buy tickets online at www.tickets.com 

That Saturday (10/28) in Prescott, you can listen to “seven spooky (and some say true!) tales of the afterlife” as the Prescott Fine Arts Association presents its 9th Annual Prescott Ghost Walk at the Sharlot Hall Museum.  This 45 minute tour willl take place 4 times that evening, and for the first time, this year’s event will feature a simultaneous Old Time Live Radio Show by the New Mercury Theatre Players.  You can do both the Walk and the Radio Show for a mere $10 – what a bargain!  For more info, call 928-445-3122.

Just up the road in Sedona, beautiful Red Rock State Park marks its 15th Anniversary on Saturday (10.28.06) from 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM.  Former Arizona governor Bruce Babbitt will be on hand to cut a ceremonial cake and celebrate the park’s 15 years as a haven for hikers, birdwatchers and folks seeking meaning and beauty in their everyday lives.  There will be guided hikes and bird watching programs, and the normal $6/vehicle entrance fee will be waived.  Bring the wee ones as there’ll also be a special presentation called “Bats Are Where It’s At!” by Arizona Fish and Game Biologist (or “batologist”) Nancy Reniston.  For more information on this event, call (928) 282-6907.

Sedona is well-known for its artistic community, so, why not get a head start on some Christmas shopping?  Head to the Sedona Heritage Musuem for their annual Fall Arts and Crafts Show and browse exquisite hand-made creations such as gourd art, quilts, glass art, handmade cards and more. Want to attend?  Call 928-282-7038 to learn more. 

In Flagstaff, the world-famous Museum of Northern Arizona celebrates Arizona’s Hispanic heritage with their 3rd Annual Celebraciones de la Gente this Saturday (10.28.06) and Sunday (10.29.06).  A re-creation of “Dia de los Muertos” or “Day of the Dead,” a holiday celebrated in Mexico and elsewhere throughout Latin America, here is an opportunity for you to see spectacular Aztec fire dancing and ballet folklorico, listen to mariachi bands and modern Latin music, and learn how this holiday is seen through the eyes of local Flagstaff families.  Take advantage of the opportunity to see the Museum’s permanent exhibits as well.  928-774-5213 for more information.

Last but not least, come on up the road a ways and you’ll run into Page, Arizona on the shores of beautiful Lake Powell!  This Saturday (10.28.06), the citizens of this picturesque little town will attempt to re-set the record for the most lighted jack-o-lanterns in one place as they celebrate their 4th (?) Annual Pumpkin Festival   What would such an event be without live music, great food and craft vendors?  They’ll all be there, all day long.  Come out in costume and you could win a prize in the contest. 

Sound like fun?  It definitely is…. we’d love to have you join us!  Autumn is a wonderful time of year around the Grand Canyon, and here’s the best part: GrandCanyon.com can help with your hotel reservations in any of the above towns – just visit our hotels page http://www.grandcanyon.com/hotels.html, type in the city you want to visit and hit “search.” 

Piece of pumpkin cake! 

Have a great day everybody.

Hey everyone, what’s up?  For those of us at the Grand Canyon, the answer to that is the temperature and the cloud cover!  It’s a crisp 47 degrees out and just a few clouds are hanging in the sky – in other words it’s a gorgeous autumn day here in the great Southwest and we wish you were here. 

And yet another seasonal milestone has passed: a couple of days ago marked the annual closure of the Grand Canyon Lodge at the North Rim.  Breakfast in the dining room was the last meal served before the entire visitor service complex closed its doors for the winter. 

At 8,000’, Grand Canyon North Rim gets a LOT more snow than the South Rim does.  Averages there run anywhere from 6’ to 25’ a year with the first major snowfall usually occuring sometime around November.  The lodge and surrounding services (camper store, gift shop, saloon, etc.) closes in anticipation of Old Man Winter’s annual visit and remains shut until mid-May. 

Does that mean you can’t visit the North Rim now?  Well, no, but it means a. you’d best hurry up and visit soon ‘cause you won’t be able to for long and b. you’ll have to find your hotels and dining elsewhere. 

See, even though the visitor services at Grand Canyon North Rim are closed, Highway 67 from Jacob Lake, Arizona into the park is still open and will remain open until Mother Nature herself decides to shut it down.  What does that mean?  It means that even though you can’t stay inside the park, you can still go there for a day visit as long as the highway remains open. 

Last year, the highway to the North Rim stayed open until well after Thanksgiving due to an unusually warm and dry winter.  This year, who knows what’ll happen.  Cedar City, Utah, got snowed on the other night! 

So for those of you who’d like to try and squeeze in a trip to the North Rim before the snow starts flying,

* Book a hotel room in one of several gateway communities nearby, such as Jacob Lake, Arizona (45 minutes away), Kanab, Utah (90 minutes away), or Page, Arizona (2.5 hours away)

* Pack a picnic lunch.  Pick up your supplies at Super Wal-Mart, Safeway or Basha’s in Page, or Glazier’s Food Town or Honey’s Jubilee Foods in Kanab  OR

* Enjoy lunch at the Jacob Lake Inn’s old-fashioned diner.  Homemade sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads, baked goods, and real ice cream shakes….Yummyyyyyy! (I don’t care who you are, ice cream tastes good any time of year!) OR

* Grab a bite at the Marble Canyon Lodge Dining Room or Cliff Dweller’s Lodge restaurant (Cliff Dweller’s is reputed to be one of Northern Arizona’s best kept secrets for dining!)

* Bring a coat, hat, scarf, gloves, etc.  Snow or no, it’s gonna be cold!

* And most importantly: check the weather before you set out!  If a winter storm watch or warning is called for, forget it, that’s a sure invitation to get yourself stuck.  Also, verify that the road is still open.  You can log onto the Arizona Department of Transportation’s website at www.az511.com or call the National Park Service’s automated weather and road conditions line at (928) 638–7888. 

Also, be prepared to not see much of anyone – after the closure of the lodge, visitors to the North Rim tend to be few and far between.  Who knows, you may feel like you’ve got an entire National Park to yourself! 

For those of you saying, “no thanks” to the above proposition, you’ll be happy to know that Grand Canyon South Rim remains open year-round, and pretty soon, you’ll be able to take advantage of off-season rates up there, too.  Stay tuned for more on that. 

L8R – Alley Kaye