To Grandmother's House We Go!

I'm trying something new with the blog. This is a test of sorts.

Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona, just of Highway 89A, north of the Grand Canyon.

Just off the highway is this spot I'm sure everyone has seen. It's the old Cliff Dwellers Lodge. We've stopped before but this time we took photos.

There are a few different stone huts or places for storage around.

Marie & Grace in Front of Blanche Russell's Cliff Dwellers Lodge.

If you don't know about this place its kind of interesting. Apparently, during the depression, the husband of Blanche Russell, herself one of the famous Ziegfeld girls, came down with Tuberculosis. As was common in the day, the two headed west from New York for a more suitable climate. While headed down the highway in Arizona, the car broke down and stranded the couple at the foot of the Vermillion Cliffs.

Blanche decided she liked the scenery and thought they'd make a go of it. They set up a crude lean-to of tarpaper and boards and settled down. Blanche would feed passers-by in exchange for labor and built this "lodge". It became somewhat of a restaurant frequented by travelers including Mormons headed north to be sealed in the St. George Temple (part of the famous Honeymoon Trail). They sold water and pigeons and eventually added a gas pump.

After a decade Blanche sold the lodge and left for California. It was transformed into a bar during WWII and was eventually abandoned in the 50's when it was replaced with a new Cliff Dwellings Lodge not far away. (Most of this info came from az.central.com.)

Can you imagine living out there. If you're ever traveling Hwy 89A you'll notice just how desolate the area is.

Andrea & Emma tucked away in stone hovel.

The Lodge

Joseph and Andrea at play.

Porter looking through the roof of the lodge.

From inside the lodge.

Behind the lodge