AA-2026-B9E37F
On the image
Three white Ford Econoline vans have pulled off a gravel access road deep inside a canyon corridor near the western rim of the Grand Canyon, and the passengers have spilled out with the slightly purposeful air of people who were told this stop was optional but didn't want to be the one who stayed in the van. It is the early 2000s, when helicopter-and-van combo tours out of Las Vegas had turned a geological wonder into a day-trip product, delivering groups of strangers into the desert and retrieving them before dinner.
The travelers move in a loose cluster across the rocky flat, a few carrying hiking poles despite the terrain being more 'parking lot' than 'trail,' which was the era's signature compromise between adventure and convenience. The canyon walls rise in tiered Cambrian limestone behind them, indifferent to the scheduling.
By 2002, the western approach to the Grand Canyon had become the accessible alternative for visitors who wanted the experience without the permit lottery or the overnight mule reservation — the canyon had, in effect, been productized, and the convoy of identical white vans was the clearest evidence that it had succeeded.
Visually related — by likeness
Grand Canyon West Rim Tour Convoy, Arizona, 2002. 2002. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-B9E37F. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-west-rim-tour-convoy-arizona-2002.
@misc{aaAA2026B9E37F,
title = {Grand Canyon West Rim Tour Convoy, Arizona, 2002},
year = {2002},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-B9E37F},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-west-rim-tour-convoy-arizona-2002}
}TY - ART TI - Grand Canyon West Rim Tour Convoy, Arizona, 2002 PY - 2002 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-B9E37F UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/grand-canyon-west-rim-tour-convoy-arizona-2002 ER -
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