Several months ago I had signed up for a Good Sam RV Rally at Grand Canyon Caverns, AZ.
It was about a 4 hour drive from Mesa north on Highway 17 and then north and west on Highway 89 and then west on 40 to Seligman.
The final portion of the journey is on Route 66. There is a stretch of the highway that actually still stands alone as Route 66 going up and around from Seligman to Kingman.
The day was cloudy and cool but it didn't detract from the new to us scenery out there.
Seligman really capitalizes on the Route 66 aspect. But, I was a little confused by this sign that says "Norwegian Owned".
Tourist season must be officially on. No Vacancy. Good for them.
Not sure I am craving what is on their menu.
And there are Burma Shave sign series on Highway 66. Do any of you remember them? They were a series of 6 signs along the road ending with Burma Shave. I loved reading them on road trips as a kid. What is interesting is that when they were actually out there Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada never had the signs. The company felt that those states had insufficient road traffic to warrant posting them. So, whoever put these up as nostalgia put them up as a first for Arizona.
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Does your husband / Misbehave / Grunt and grumble / Rant and rave / Shoot the brute some / Burma-Shave
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Hardly a driver / Is now alive / Who passed / On hills / At 75 / Burma-Shave
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If you / Don't know / Whose signs / These are / You can't have / Driven very far/Burma Shave
We have arrived.
A mile from the highway is the entrance to the RV Park. We go in to the office & they tell us to park anywhere. No space assigned. Just park anywhere you can fit among the trees & bushes.
Ok we find a wide open space. We are supposed to be dry camping but there was an electric post and Walt put together an extension cord and with our normal cord we were able to have electricity. Yay! We are in the boonies...........it is really dark out there and just off batteries not sure how much light we would have.
This is the first rally we have attended and probably the last. The location was fun and if we hadn't come we probably would have missed this place so that was good. But, we had absolutely no communication from the Good Sam Group that was supposed to have put this together. All information came from the Grand Canyon Cavern business employees. They were nice and put on great meals that were part of the rally and offered any of their entertainment options. But, the Good Sam Chapter people did not come out and interact with any of the group and there was no indication of any activities other than what Grand Canyon Caverns provided. Many of the attendees had the same feeling and one couple even left a day early because they were so disappointed.
The Motel, another restaurant, bar, miniature golf course and museum are located on the Highway, a mile down the road. They have a shuttle ( a rickety old van but it gets us there) that we can take back & forth. They are very proud of their Route 66 location.
They are trying hard to recreate the 50's & 60's when it was in its heyday as a roadside attraction.
Betty Boop seemed to be a favorite.
Of course, there were a few dinosaurs. It wouldn't be a roadside attraction without them.
And if you need a saddle for that dinosaur they have that too.
They have horses. You can sign up and take a trail ride.
Walt was sure that this one could even carry him. We actually might have gone for a ride but it was COLD and windy so that would not have been fun.
We had hail, snow and rain. Luckily the moisture didn't last long but the cold temps did.
The highlight of the trip was the Grand Canyon Caverns. It didn't matter what the weather was above. It is a constant 56 degrees, year round, in the Caverns.
These are the largest dry caverns in the United States, located 21 stories below the surface. You are whisked down on an elevator.
Much better than the original way down. In 1927, a young woodcutter, Walter Peck, was on his way to play poker with his friends. Before reaching the game, he stumbled and nearly fell into a rather large, funnel-shaped hole. He continued on to the poker game. Once there he started telling his friends about a new, big hole in the middle of his trail. The next morning Walter gathered some friends. With ropes and lanterns, they went to explore the hole. A rope was tied around the waist of a local cowboy. He was lowered into the hole. By the time his feet touched the floor of the hole, 150 feet of rope had been let out. He found himself in a very large, dark cavern. Using the coal oil lantern, he began exploring. However, the only thing that excited him was the thought he had found a very rich vein of gold. As he’d cast the light from this lantern across the cavern it picked up some sparkles in the rock. He quickly gathered up a sack full of samples. He gave his signal, three tugs on the rope. Walter and the other men started pulling him back up out to the hole. Upon reaching the surface he excitedly showed the samples to Walter.
Walter purchased the property and the Caverns in preparation for mining gold! When the assay report came back, Walter was a mightily disappointed man. No gold was found — only lots of iron oxide or rust! Walter had spent his money on an empty, funnel-shaped hole.
Being a very enterprising young man, he soon came up with a brilliant idea. He would charge 25 cents to enter the Caverns. Visitors were tied to one end of a rope and lowered down by a hand-operated winch. These early tourists were expected to provide their own light source, usually a kerosene lantern. Yep, the original dope on a rope.
Over the years improvements continued with stairs and bridges that had you climbing down & climbing back up ( 15 to 20 stories....whew) and finally in 1962 the elevator was installed.
Since the caverns are dry caverns without water there would be no hope of your survival down there for more than 3 days but you would be nicely preserved. This bobcat died about 1850 but still has most of its fur.
This is Gertie. Her bones were found near the natural entrance. She is an extinct giant ground sloth. This animal lived and died during the Age of Mammals, when the Woolly Mammoth and the Saber-Tooth Tiger walked the earth. She stood 15 feet, 4 inches and would have weighed at least 2,000 pounds. Her bones were donated to either the U of A or ASU (can't remember which our guide said) and because of the donation they created this replica to stand in the place where the bones were found.
Poor Gertie. She really fought hard trying to get out. Those are her scratch marks on the rock where she tried to get back out of the hole.
The portion of the Caverns that is on the tour is HUGE. We walked & walked and only saw a portion. Because it is a dry cave and there is no moisture no new formations are being made and what there are are not as spectacular as the wet caves but the size is what overwhelms you. They have discovered more rooms and are working toward opening those up for tours. Right now you can book a Spelunking tour and visit primitively with ropes and headlamps and display your bravery.
In July of 1961 President John F Kennedy gave a speech during the Berlin Crisis. He warned that the possibility of nuclear bombs was frighteningly close. He vowed to identify spaces in "existing structures both public and private that could be used for fallout shelters in case of attack". Grand Canyon Caverns was one. (Wish I could have gotten a decent picture but the area that the storage was in was huge and very dark) Today supplies are still there and is still listed as a shelter and could be used if necessary. If you want to you can bring your own supplies and keep them there if you feel necessary. Intriguing era. Spent some time listening to podcasts about the time and most interesting was Abo Elementary School in Artesia, NM. Built underground as both an elementary school and a fallout shelter in the 60's.
You can spend the night in the Caverns for the mere fee of $800. That does include dinner. And it sleeps up to 6. It is the oldest hotel room - the walls are 65 million years old. It is the deepest hotel room - 220 feet below the surface. It is the darkest hotel room - they do give you control of the lights. It is the largest hotel room - 155 feet wide, 400 feet long and 75 feet high. It is the quietest hotel room - nothing lives down there.......just you.
Very interesting place. So glad we got to see it.