Thursday, April 14, 2011

Lee's Ferry Lodge

The hotels we stayed at were all nice, clean, lovely places. But one really deserves it's own post, and it is the Lee's Ferry Lodge. To get there, you drive through reservation land to approximately the middle of absolutely no where. Then you drive a little further, admiring the way the setting sun turns the canyon walls a fiery shade of red. After the Navajo bridge, turn left. Pass the first lodge and drive a few more miles to the second one (and only other on this stretch of road). You'll first be greeted by a friendly Great Pyrenees mix, who is doing a great job of guarding the place as she turns over for you to scratch her tummy. To check in, you'll go into the lodge restaurant where they will pull out a large paper ledger to find your reservation. With pencil in hand, the host will put a check mark through your name. Not a computer in sight.
Next, they'll hand you a key - an actual key! - to your room. The dog will follow you there and wait outside the door while you unpack. Head back to the dark, woodsy lodge for dinner before crashing in the pleasantly decorated bed. The room looks more like someone's guest room than a hotel room.
After you wake up, head back to the lodge for a delicious breakfast.
Ask your waitress for ideas of what you should do that day, as she'll know. She'll also be the one to snort "Good luck with that!" when you tell her that you're planning to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. See, she knows something you don't and that is that the road to the North Rim won't be open until mid-May due to snow.
But she'll give you ideas for other things to do, and those things will be fun too.
Marvel at your good fortune to stay and sleep and eat at some place so far from anywhere. Discuss with your travel partner whether you could live somewhere so remote, and decide that it was wonderful to visit, but no probably couldn't live there.

2 comments:

Keetha Broyles said...

Oh man! I wanna go there!

Keetha said...

Everyone should be so lucky to have a waitress like that, and a place like this to stay!