The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (3 page)

If you’re interested in pioneer and Native American life, check out the
Dakota Discovery Museum
(1300 McGovern Ave., 605-996-2122,
www.dakotadiscovery.com
, $5), a kid-friendly interactive center. For American political history buffs and fans of Senator (and onetime presidential candidate) George McGovern, the
George McGovern Legacy Museum
(1200 W. University Ave., 605-995-2935,
www.mcgoverncenter.com
, closed Sat.–Sun.) at Dakota Wesleyan University recalls his accomplishments.

This is true farm country. Lodging includes campsites, chain motels, hunting lodges (pheasant hunting and bass fishing are big), and working farms like
der Rumbolz Platz B&B
(40732 266th St., 605-227-4385) in nearby Ethan, where a double room costs $70. At
Flavia’s Place
(605-995-1562,
www.kentoncompany.com
), a bed-and-breakfast in Mitchell, rooms start at $60.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Corn Palace,
604 N. Main St., Mitchell, SD 57301, 605-995-8427,
www.cornpalace.com
.

Mitchell Convention & Visitors Bureau,
601 N. Main St., Mitchell, SD 57301, 866-273-2676,
www.visitmitchell.com
.

immerse in desert architecture

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, ARIZONA

People should be looking at the Grand Canyon, but they turn around, and—I’ve seen it—they literally touch the stonework.

They actually physically interact with a piece of architecture.

—
FILM DIRECTOR KAREN BARTLETT,
MARY JANE COLTER: HOUSE MADE OF DAWN
(1997)

3 |
The majesty of the Grand Canyon will overwhelm even the most worldly traveler, but the canyon is not the national park’s only attraction. Architect Mary Colter’s buildings, constructed a century ago for tourists arriving by railroad, look like rustic landmarks and restored Indian ruins. “Mary Colter’s work doesn’t stand out from the landscape, it’s part of the landscape,” says park ranger Maggi Daly. She often encounters visitors on Colter quests, who are seeking out her every work.

Long before women could vote, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter created these buildings, pioneering what has become known as “parkitecture,” the rustic design now common throughout the National Park System. The former St. Paul, Minnesota, teacher was drawn to the region by her love of Native American culture. She designed themed hotels and gift shops for the Fred Harvey Company, which served tourists across the West.

Searching for Colter’s eight Grand Canyon park buildings makes for a fascinating vacation. All but one can be seen in a day, as most are clustered along the park’s South Rim.

Start with the 70-foot
Desert View Watchtower
at the east park entrance (park admission $25 per car, good for 7 days). The curio shop appears centuries old, but the rough stone exterior hides steel beams and electric wiring. Colter was so exacting that when workers placed a large rock in the wrong place during construction, she ordered the section torn down and rebuilt. While admiring the canyon from inside the structure, look for black glass reflectors by the windows. These reflectoscopes, an invention of 17th-century French artist Claude Lorrain, help compress views of the canyon and accentuate its rich colors.

GRAND CANYON FACTS

 The oldest rocks are two billion years old.

 The canyon is 1 mile deep.

 It took the Colorado River more than six million years to carve the canyon.

 In 1869 John Wesley Powell became the first European to float through the canyon.

 The park is 277 miles long.

Next stop: Grand Canyon Village, the park’s hub, where five Colter-designed buildings stand. The 1905
Hopi House
is another faux ruin, with low ceilings and traditional design.
Lookout Studio
literally hangs over the canyon rim. And you’ll want to stay, of course, at the
Bright Angel Lodge & Cabins
(888-297-2757,
www.grandcanyonlodges.com
). The wonderful surprise is that rooms start at $79 a night, although you’ll have to share a bathroom. The hotel also has a fireplace with a secret: Colter designed it so the rocks match, layer by layer, the geological structure of the canyon. The last two Colter-designed buildings are the men’s and women’s dormitories for employees; although they are not open to the public, you can easily admire the exteriors, and the park’s long-term plan is to convert them to guest housing.

$PLURGE

ABOVE IT ALL

The newest way to see the canyon is not for the faint of heart, nor for the penny-wise. The Grand Canyon Skywalk will have you literally floating over the canyon on a glass-bottomed terrace 4,000 feet above the Colorado River. The view is stunning, and most would agree that the $84 price of admission is worth every penny. The walk is not located at the national park, but a 242-mile drive away on the Hualapai Indian Reservation.
Grand Canyon Skywalk, 888-868-9378,
www.grandcanyonskywalk.com
.

Eleven miles west of Grand Canyon Village, reached by the park’s free shuttle bus service, which runs throughout the day,
Hermits Rest
is a favorite Colter building. It is fashioned to resemble a hand-built stone hut.

To see the last Colter work, you’ll have to hike or take a mule 10 miles down to
Phantom Ranch,
a collection of stone shelters at the canyon bottom.
[$
PLURGE
: Accommodations at Phantom Ranch range from $42 for a bunk, to $473 for a round-trip mule ride and room and board; reservations are available 13 months in advance. A less expensive splurge is the three-hour mule trip that doesn’t reach the canyon bottom. It runs $117.]

On your tour of the park architecture, be sure to take in the other sights. The park can keep you busy for several days. The easiest way to see the Grand Canyon is to stroll the flat, 12-mile Rim Trail. But you don’t have to walk it all—free shuttle buses stop along the route. To hike into the canyon, try the Bright Angel Trail, and if you’re feeling ambitious head 4.5 miles down to Indian Garden. But make sure to pace yourself. This is mountain climbing in reverse and the hardest part is climbing back up.

For a true escape, sleep in the canyon itself. While nearly five million visitors come to the park every year, less than one percent camp out (permits required, 928-638-7875, Mon.–Fri. 1 p.m.–5 p.m.). Back on the rim, catch a free ranger talk on the California condor. The species, once on the brink of extinction, has been reintroduced to the area and is easily spied from Grand Canyon Village spring through early fall.

SLEEP EASY IN WINSLOW

Long before The Eagles made Winslow, Arizona, famous with their 1972 hit song “Take It Easy,” the railroad brought tourists to this desert town. The Fred Harvey Company and architect Mary Colter crafted
La Posada,
styled after a grand hacienda.

The timing was terrible. The hotel opened in 1930, just as the Great Depression swept the country. After decades of struggle, it closed in 1957, and the Santa Fe Railway used the space as offices. By the 1990s the place was a wreck.

In stepped Arizona artist Tina Mion and her husband Allan Affeldt, a self-taught architect. In 1997 the couple bought the hotel and began a lengthy restoration. Today airy lobbies and lounges showcase contemporary Southwest artists, including Mion’s own striking canvases. Guests play checkers, gather around the fireplace, or sprawl in nooks, book in hand. Guest rooms—named for famed past guests, including John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Mary Pickford—are comfortably cozy, with rustic Mexican and Southwest decor.

Room rates start at $99. Note that the train still rolls right behind the hotel; if you’re in the back, you’ll hear its rattle and whistle.

Even if you don’t snag a room, try the hotel’s Turquoise Room restaurant, where the artful dishes are worth every calorie. Don’t miss the warm prickly-pear-cactus bread pudding—unless you order the pistachio-and-piñon pie instead.
La Posada, 303 E. 2nd St. (Rte. 66), Winslow, AZ 86047, 928-289-4366,
www.laposada.org
.

HOW TO GET IN TOUCH

Grand Canyon National Park,
P.O. Box 129, Grand Canyon, AZ 86023, 928-638-7888,
www.nps.gov/grca
.

Xanterra Parks & Resorts,
6312 S. Fiddlers Green Circle, Ste. 600N, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, 888-297-2757 or same-day reservations 928-638-2631,
www.grandcanyonlodges.com
.