20. Grand Canyon Caverns

About 35 miles past the Hackberry General Store and a mile off Route 66 lies the roadside attraction Grand Canyon Caverns (not to be confused with the Grand Canyon). Now this is a place that requires little imagination to experience what a Route 66 roadside attraction felt like in the highway’s heyday! Save the incorporation of modern amenities, this attraction appears as it might have in the 1960s. The first site that caught my eye entering the property was the still operational Googie-style service station, now known as Radiator Springs Gas Station, made popular in the animated Pixie-Disney movie Cars. A classic police cruiser and other vintage vehicles had pulled into the station, ready to fuel up.

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We ventured farther into the property. Gigantic dinosaurs roaming in a field confronted us. A long, rusty sign for the Motel at Dinosaur City (minus the “M” in “Motel”) protected us from these prehistoric creatures. (At one time, in the post-World War II era, the caverns received the name Dinosaur City after a skeleton of some animal had been found. (The caverns had been known by various other names in the past). In 1962, the name changed to Grand Canyon Caverns. That was the time the service station and other amenities were added.)

We parked and walked into the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn, which includes a restaurant currently serving food, and a diner, empty at the time.

Betty Boop welcomes customers just outside the classic diner boasting red booths and a black-and-white checkered floor. A map of “America’s Main Street” highlighting the states through which Route 66 winds hangs on the wall above a set of booths.

We drove about a mile farther into the property to the building with the actual entrance to the Grand Canyon Caverns. Another domineering dinosaur guards the building out front.

Before entering the building, we passed a “Dope on a Rope” display. As explained here on an information board, Walter Peck originally discovered the entrance to the caverns in 1927. To profit from the stream of tourists travelling by on the newly commissioned Route 66 highway, Peck devised a system whereby for 2 bits he lowered visitors 220 feet down into the caverns on a rope attached to a winch, as the reconstruction demonstrates. (You can see why we use the expression “dope on a rope” today to refer to morons or idiots!)

The information sign adds, “Just imagine doing that!” No, thanks. I couldn’t imagine doing that, nor, because of time constraints, were we able to take the highly recommended tour, though an elevator now takes visitors down the 200 plus feet. Today, tours are either along paved walkways with handrails or off the beaten path for the more adventurous spelunkers. Other amenities on the expansive property include horseback riding, wagon rides, ghost walks, a Frisbee disk golf course, a seasonal outdoor pool, a rodeo ring with live events, an RV park and camp ground, biking and hiking trails, a curio shop, and a convenience store. Off-site attractions, such as the Supai Falls (named for a local tribe), are nearby. All would have to wait for a return visit. After eating lunch in the cafeteria by the entrance to the caverns, we moved on to finally reach our destination for the night, Seligman.

(to be continued) SUBSCRIBE to my blog at the very bottom of the page!