I don’t know the names of any of these vintage cars. They came before my time. (Found out they are all Franklins.)
It felt like I’d stepped back in time to the early days at the North Rim.
The McKee family operated a Wylie Way Camp from 1917-27 for the adventurous tourists which consisted of a central dining room and primitive lodge flanked by individual tent cabins located where the old and new cars park today.
People have journeyed to the canyon by many forms of transportation beginning by foot which continues to this day, also by horse and mule and eventually by just about any kind of motorization possible. Don’t we all want to see Grand Canyon?
The drivers from all over the US were touring national parks.
(Lomo-ish to imitate the toy camera)
Can you imagine driving one of these for three days from Utah before the 1930s on the first dirt roads to see the Grand Canyon? I can.
Nice old cars. I can’t imagine driving one of those anywhere. You’d have to be your own mechanic.
Boy I can too. They’d go just about my speed. Those are beautiful cars. Was a particular group of antique car owners? Those coupes are my favorites. Were most of them convertibles or are you just a big fan like I am?
I love seeing these beautiful old classics. That must have been a real adventure to travel to the Grand Canyon to stay at the Wylie Way Camp. To be able to do that and tour in such expensive vehicles the owners had to be wealthy because the average person wouldn’t have been able to afford them. I can see them pull into the camp in a cloud of dust. Although it probably would have been mostly men, It would have been interesting to see the reaction of the ladies when they spotted the tents they were going to sleep in…..
This would be such a fun adventure!!! I’d love to ride one of these cars. What a treat to see and what a great idea! Just as long as there were some mechanics in the bunch in case something broke down…..not so smart about fixing cars. I can do an oil change and change a tire or filter…that’s about it:)
I love old cars but maintenance costs are high! Great photos and thanks for sharing them. Diane
At the risk of being declasse, this is pretty much Scott’s wet dream.
Those are some seriously awesome cars! I can’t imagine what it would be like to travel a fair distance in one but I sure would like a spin around the neighborhood.
We saw these guys on their way in as we were leaving leaving the park.
My Dad talked about touring in Bryce and Zion back in the 1920’s. I have pictures from that trip in an old touring car and him standing in front of an old tourist tent. I think he was six or seven.