PHANTOM RANCH

The first picture is the Phantom Ranch area at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It sits on the north side of the Colorado River, at the junction of Bright Angel Creek. The only way to get there is either by foot, mule, or helicopter. If you're rafting down the Colorado River, that would be the only other way to reach Phantom Ranch.

In the 1920's, right after Grand Canyon became a National Park, the Fred Harvey Company hired Mary Colter to design the ranch and it's buildings, to better accommodate the increasing number of tourists who were hiking, or riding mules down to the river. With the exception of much of the native rock, all of the building supplies were hauled down by mule. The popularity of the ranch has grown over the years, requiring reservations to be made in advance, sometimes over a year ahead of time.

The second picture was taken without a zoom, and the Phantom Ranch is almost impossible to see. It sits at the junction of the two inner canyons, about in the middle of the picture. I took these pictures yesterday from Mather Point Amphitheater, which was an area I had not previously visited. As much as we have both seen the canyon in the last several weeks, it still takes my breath away with it's stunning beauty.

Looking at Mather Point from Mather Amphitheater

These last two photos were taken at Mather Amphitheater which was created at the rim of the canyon out of native rock. It's an incredible vista where the speaker (in this case a ranger), had her back to the canyon, and the audience is looking across the canyon at the north rim.

I caught the tail end of the ranger presentation about the natural history of the canyon, then wandered over toward Mather Point where I took the pictures of Phantom Ranch. It's doubtful that Patty and I will ever make it down to the Ranch, but the idea of a raft trip down the canyon, with a stop at Phantom Ranch, is now more visible on the future radar. I understand these sometimes week long trips are very expensive, and must be booked well in advance, but what an adventure that would be. It doesn't hurt to dream.

This morning I'm off to Flagstaff for the second time in two weeks. Lost a crown on one of my back teeth, so I have an appointment this morning to get it cemented back on.