GRAND CANYON
Rules and Regulations
1920
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REST HOUSES.

THE LOOKOUT.

The Lookout is a quaint observatory and rest house, built on the edge of the rim near the head of Bright Angel Trail. It is equipped with a large binocular telescope in the tower, for observing the most distant reaches of the canyon by day and for viewing the heavens by night. There is a small library for the layman and scientist. Canyon maps and photos are for sale. The reception room has spacious windows, a fireplace, Navajo rugs, and easy chairs; it is electric lighted and steam heated.

HERMIT'S REST.

Where Hermit Rim Road ends and Hermit Trail begins is a unique rest house, built into the hill, with a roofed-in porch and parapet wall. As the name implies, it is intended to provide rest and shelter for parties who take the Rim Road drive, or the Hermit Trail trip. Guests may sit at the tables outside or sheltered by the glass front inside, according to weather, and enjoy a light lunch in unusual surroundings. Admission is by ticket. Tickets may be obtained at El Tovar or Bright Angel Camp, at 50 cents.


SHOPS AND STORES.

HOPI HOUSE.

Opposite El Tovar is a reproduction of the dwellings of the Hopi Indians and several Navajo hogans.

In Hopi House are installed collections of Indian handiwork. Here also live a small band of Hopis, who are among the more primitive of our Indians. The men weave blankets and the women make pottery.

The homes of the Hopis are on the edge of the Painted Desert, perched on the crests of lofty mesas where they live as did their forbears and cling to their high dwelling place. They are industrious, thrifty, orderly, and mirthful. A round of ceremonies, each terminating in the pageants called "dances," marks the different seasons of the year. Subsisting almost wholly by agriculture in an arid region of uncertain crops, they find time between their labors for light-hearted dance and song, and for elaborate ceremonials, which are grotesque in the Katchina, or masked dances, ideally poetic in the flute dance, and intensely dramatic in the snake dance. In the three and a half centuries of contact with the white race their manner of life has not materially changed. The Indian tribes that roamed over mountain and plain have become wards of the Government, but the Pueblo Indian has absolutely maintained his individuality.

The Navajo women weave fine blankets and many of the men are experts silversmiths who fashion bracelets, rings, and other articles from Mexican coin silver. The Navajo Indian Reservation—one of the largest in the United States—borders Marble Canyon on the east. They are a pastoral people, intelligent, and, like the Hopis, self-supporting. They own large numbers of sheep, cattle, and horses. The Navajos are tall, rather slender, and agile. They have been rightly called the Bedouins of the Desert. Nowhere are they gathered into permanent villages. Although "civilized," they still cling to old customs and old religious forms. The medicine man, or Shaman, has a large following, if not a large per cent of cures. Their dance ceremonies are weird in the extreme. The fire dance is a spectacular 10-day ceremony, seldom witnessed by white men, and occurring only once in seven years.

Supai Indians from Cataract Canyon frequently visit El Tovar.

The Independent Store, which is situated on the Rim just east of the Hopi House, carries a stock of Indian handiwork and curios in addition to a limited supply of groceries and dry goods.

Kolb Bros. studio is at the head of Bright Angel Trail. The Kolb Bros. give, each day at 5 p. m., an interesting lecture, illustrated with motion pictures, describing their boat trip through the canyons of the Green, Grand, and Colorado Rivers. Admission, 50 cents.

Here, too, visitors may view the canyon through a telescope. Photographic views of the canyon are for sale.


PUBLIC UTILITIES AND CONVENIENCES.

POST OFFICE.

The post office, which does all kinds of postal business, is situated near the Hermit Rim Road about 400 yards west of the railroad depot. It is open from 8 a. m. to 6 p. m. Mail trains arrive at 8.10 a. m. and 4.15 p. m., and leave at 8.10 a. m. and 9 p. m.

TELEGRAPH.

The Postal Telegraph Office, at the railroad depot, is open for all business from 7.30 a. m. to 10 p. m.

TELEPHONE.

There is telephone connection between the El Tovar Hotel, National Park Service Office, ranger stations, and Hermit Camp. There is no telephone connection outside of the park.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE STATIONS.

There are ranger stations or camps where assistance and shelter may in emergency be obtained at places here named. These may be unoccupied, and it is well to inquire at the superintendent's office:

Hermit Basin, Tram Camp, at mouth of Bright Angel Creek on north side of Colorado River; Pipe Creek, on Tonto Trail 2 miles east of Indian Garden; Salt Creek, on Tonto Trail 5 miles west of Indian Garden; Grandview Public Camp; Rowe Well; and Grand Canyon village.

MEDICAL SERVICE.

There is no doctor within the park. The nearest doctor is at Williams, Ariz. There is a hospital at Flagstaff, Ariz. There is a trained nurse at the El Tovar Hotel.



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1920/grca/sec4.htm
Last Updated: 16-Feb-2010