To really get a sense of the park’s natural beauty, take a guided mule ride along the South Rim, where the park’s experienced (and always colorful!) wranglers will give you insights into the Grand Canyon’s geology, cultural history, and more. Once you’re in the park, stay at the El Tovar Hotel, in the heart of the must-see Grand Canyon Historic Village, which opened as a Harvey House in 1905. Travel to the park via the historic Grand Canyon Railway, where the train depot and hotel in Williams, AZ was a Harvey House in 1908. Between the 1880s and 1960s, hundreds of thousands of women worked for the Harvey House restaurants, helping to make travel throughout the mostly unsettled West a lot more enjoyable.Įmbrace the Harvey Girls’ adventurous spirit by … booking a solo adventure in The Grand Canyon. The ads stated that Harvey was looking for women who were single, between the ages of 18 and 30, and had to be attractive, well-mannered, and of good moral character. These women-true pioneers in the sense that they left home on their own to work outside the home, which is something few women did at the time-answered newspaper ads placed by Fred Harvey, who was reported to believe that hiring women to work in his restaurants would “bring down the testosterone” level that he’d experienced at other restaurants along train lines. In 1891, Harvey had 15 “Harvey House” restaurants-though arguably even more popular than the food was the pleasant, efficient service provided by “The Harvey Girls.” So, the entrepreneur recognized a business opportunity: He struck a deal with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to open depot restaurants along its rail lines. It was before the era of dining cars, after all, and finding a good meal at the roadhouses near railroad stations was a challenge. When the west was still wild, a freight agent named Fred Harvey would travel by train and find himself underwhelmed by the dining options. The Harvey Girls: The Wild West’s Original Waitresses

Do you long to have an adventure in one of our country’s National Parks, but have no one to do it with? Or are you eager to travel on your own, looking to feel inspired in the specific kind of way a solo trip provides? Whatever your reason for venturing out on your own, our national parks are filled with opportunities for solo travelers-and these trailblazing women who played a key role in the history of the parks may just inspire your next trip.

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