AllMovie

Part 2 of four. Touring lodges in the Grand Canyon (Ariz.), Zion (Utah) and Bryce Canyon (Utah) National Parks. All were built by railroads: the Santa Fe's El Tovar, on the Grand Canyon's South Rim, is the oldest, dating from 1904. It's "a wood-framed time capsule, [offering] a warm contrast to the hostile desert surroundings," says narrator Ted Roisum. To the north, the Union Pacific built three rustic "loop-tour lodges," which it linked by buses: at Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon's North Rim and Zion. Says a long-time Zion employee: "Some of us never learned to relax, but you sure can do it here."