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Former River Runner Develops All-Natural Skincare Products for Arizona Outdoor Lifestyle

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Wandering the West collection available in Prescott and across the country.

Winter conditions in Northern Arizona can be brutal on your skin. DeeAnn Tracy, who has been developing all-natural, plant-based skincare products for the high elevation outdoor lifestyle since 1993, knows that well. The outdoorswoman grew up in the northland’s four seasons.

“Northern Arizona’s sun and wind are particularly brutal on skin because of the high elevation. We’re up on the plateau, and the elements are more intense here,” said Tracy, owner of Peak Scents.

“With so many days of sunshine here, we naturally have more exposure to the sun,” she said. “It’s that sun and wind that makes it so dry here in Northern Arizona.”

Tracy grew up in Flagstaff and spent time under the extreme sun as a river runner in the Grand Canyon. “My background as a rafting guide helped me see the need for non-chemical sun protection. I could wear sunscreen, but it would get in my eyes – I couldn’t see! Also, guests would get rashes [from some types of sunscreen], so I developed something non-chemical.”

Before her river running days, Tracy trained at Winter Sun Trading Company, a Southwest botanical shop owned by her mother, ethnobotanist Phyllis Hogan.

“Growing up in the herbal apothecary, I learned the way herbs could protect and heal our skin,” said the Flagstaff High School graduate. “After school, I ran Winter Sun. Customers would ask me for all-natural skincare products, but there were not many available at that time. So after hours, I started developing my own line.”

After graduating from Northern Arizona University, Tracy studied at the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine to learn more. Today, her experiences with her mother’s herbal apothecary, botanical medicine schooling and a love for the outdoors have come together to innovate skincare products that give people results without harmful chemicals.

“Unfortunately, the outdoors that we love so much wreaks havoc on our skin,” the herbalist said in a video on the Peak Scents website. “I drew on my background in herbal medicine and started making herbal-based, toxin-free skincare products for outdoor enthusiasts who need it the most.”

Tracy designed the plant-based skincare products to protect skin from harmful UV rays while keeping it moisturized and hydrated. The woman-owned business handcrafts creams, mists and facial serums with pure herbs, vitamins and minerals.

“We source from a wide variety of suppliers and try to source as local as possible,” she said. As a result, many of the all-natural, toxic-free ingredients are native to the area.

“A woman on the Hualapai Nation harvests the pinyon pitch [an ingredient in the Pinyon Pine Balm]. The distiller for our sage essential oil is out of Utah. Kate Waters of Wild Heart Farms in Rimrock is growing roses for us next season. I used to do foraging, but I just don’t have time to do it anymore.”

It’s no wonder. Tracy runs a business concurrently with handmaking the plant-based skincare goods and developing formulas for new collections.

Peak Scents offers five collections, including:

Power Repair is her first skincare line, created to help fellow river runners, which has a foaming cleanser, toner, serum, sunscreen and face mist.

Organic Rose Phyto³ is formulated with rare selections of restorative proprietary ingredients like plant stem cells, peptides and powerful superfruit extracts.

Body Nürish offers facial masks, body scrubs and formulas that are created to keep dry, mature, sensitive skin radiant and glowing.

The Super Salve Co., a sister company founded by Tracy’s sister, Denise, in 1990, offers natural herbal skincare for the whole body.

Wandering The West Apothecary is created with plants that grow in the American Southwest. Formulas feature the highest quality herbal extracts, oils and butters that soothe and calm dry, chapped skin.

“Wandering the West was born out of a gift line for visitors; now it’s in natural product stores across the nation,” Tracy said. That happened in 2016 when an airport gift shop group reached out to Tracy to design a collection of skincare products that would fit the needs of visitors to Arizona.

Wandering the West collection is available at Fite and Son’s Mercantile and Ice Cream in Prescott, airport gift shops at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, Rainbow’s End and Winter Sun Trading Company in downtown Flagstaff, Indian Gardens Cafe & Market in Oak Creek, L’Auberge de Sedona and Xanterra giftshops in Williams and the Grand Canyon. The popular collection is also available online and in the Flagstaff shop.

The five-person team at Peak Scents includes Tracy and her husband, Eric Brown, who is involved in production.

Peak Scents has partnered with American Rivers to help protect wild rivers and conserve clean water for people and nature. The company also partners with Greenspark and Eden Projects to offset their carbon footprint. In addition, Peak Scents donates to Eden Projects to plant a tree with every online purchase.

Last August, as part of Peak Scents’ commitment to reducing waste, the business brought in a line of refillable products, including hand and body soap, lotion, massage oil, dish soap and laundry products. Shoppers can bring their own containers or buy refillable containers at the shop. “It feels good to reuse containers,” Tracy said.

What’s next for Peak Scents? “When I slow down, I want to be a beekeeper,” said Tracy with a smile. “Then we can use the beeswax in our collections.” QCBN

By Stacey Wittig, QCBN

Products can be ordered online at peakscents.com. Peak Scents Plant Based Skincare Collections

1000 E. Butler Avenue, Suite 101, Flagstaff

M-Th 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fri: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sat: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

928-556-9499

peakscents.com

Architect Mary Colter’s Legacy Captured in Stone

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Grand Canyon buildings continue to inspire a hundred years later.

She was tough, funny, fearless, dogmatic, imaginative, and her Grand Canyon architectural marvels continue to intrigue historians and fascinate visitors, including the only inner canyon lodging facility, Phantom Ranch, which turned 100 years old this year.

Meet Mary Jane Elizabeth Colter, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1869. She was 33 years old when she was hired as an interior designer and architect by the hospitality forerunner Fred Harvey Company, a contractor for Santa Fe Railway. That was in 1902.

A few years later, Colter was asked to design the Hopi House, an indigenous-influenced architectural design that launched five other projects at the Grand Canyon: Lookout Studio, Bright Angel Lodge and cabins, Hermit’s Rest, Desert View Watchtower and Phantom Ranch, named after nearby Phantom Creek.

She also designed the men’s dormitory at the Grand Canyon and Colter Hall, the women’s dormitory.

According to the Grand Canyon National Park Website, NPS.gov, Mary Colter designed buildings that would become part of their surroundings, that “would create no discordant note against the time-eroded walls of this promontory. To obtain this result, Colter insisted that the rocks not be cut or worked…so they would not lose the weathered surfaces so essential to blend in with the Grand Canyon walls.”

Flagstaff residents Allen and Carol Naille lived at the Grand Canyon for 13 years. Allen worked for Fred Harvey Company in several positions before assuming the position of general manager there, eventually moving to Flagstaff to accept his role as president of the company. In all, he worked for the company for 25 years. Carol was in charge of the Grand Canyon library.

“Mary Colter was a woman in a man’s world and her characteristics made her unique,” said Carol, who had a friend whose father knew and was employed with Colter. “She worked with men but was able to get her way. She stood up to men but she was tactful. She had to be. Also, at the time, Fred Harvey Company had all male managers. I believe she was an amazing person because of her talent and her ability to get along with the men she worked with. I’ve always admired her.”

In a Jan. 23, 1904, article, the Minneapolis Journal referenced Colter, describing artists as people who develop themselves. “There is no necessity of seeking for art genius. When it occurs it will make itself apparent.”

Though much has been documented about Colter’s design style and how she was adamant that things were done her way, little is known about her personal life.

“You don’t hear many stories about her other than her work. I would like to know what drove her to do what she did,” said Edward “Ted” McClure, librarian at the Grand Canyon National Park research library. “She traveled all over the Southwest looking at Native American construction and patterned her design for the Desert View Watchtower on what she saw. I think what is most important is that she was her own woman in a man’s world.”

Senior Contributing Editor at Preservation Magazine and author Arnold Berke in his book, “Mary Colter Architect of the Southwest” titled his first chapter “Drawn by the Desert: An Incomprehensible Woman in Pants.” Berke wrote, “She possessed a special genius for interpreting the past to create new buildings and interiors that, with their striking forms and fanciful atmosphere, have enchanted generations of travelers crossing the American Southwest.”

Colter “may well be the best-known unknown architect in the United States who helped to create the National Park Service rustic style,” stated Preservation Magazine.

Though historians, architects and visitors find her work fascinating, the Desert View Watchtower stands out, built on the South Rim with views of the Painted Desert to the east, the San Francisco Peaks to the south and the Colorado River as it exits Marble Canyon to the north.

“After exploring archaeology sites in the Four Corners region, Mary Colter closely supervised the design of Desert View Watchtower, a majestic recreation of an ancient stone tower rising from the eastern rim of the Grand Canyon,” said Grand Canyon Conservancy Director of Marketing Mindy Riesenberg.

“The conservation of the historic murals inside the Watchtower was completed in 2019 and the second phase of the development of an Intertribal Cultural Heritage Site at Desert View started this winter with work on a new amphitheater on the rim of the canyon. In the next few years, the area will see many changes, including redesigned pathways, a new tribally-
run welcome center and expanded capabilities for hosting cultural demonstrators,” said Riesenberg.

Other structures built under Colter’s architectural ingenuity outside the Grand Canyon include La Posada in Winslow, El Navajo in Gallup, New Mexico and La Fonda in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She also has her mark on the restaurant at The Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal.

Colter died at age 88 on Jan. 8, 1958. T-shirts and stickers commemorating the 100th anniversary of Phantom Ranch can be found at shop.grandcanyonlodges.com. QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Jeff D’Arpa is the Man Behind the Adventure

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Grand Canyon Railway general manager enjoys working where others play.

Going to work in places where he could play is what Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel General Manager Jeff D’Arpa had in mind while growing up, and that’s exactly what happened.

With ski resorts, national parks, hotels and now the Polar Express and Grand Canyon Railway in his professional queue, D’Arpa has completed 25 years with the Xanterra Travel Collection.

In his new position as Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel General Manager, D’Arpa oversees 280 to 340 employees and said, “The team I work with is outstanding and makes this a manageable assignment. To be able to incorporate trains and hospitality at this scale is a unique opportunity and I cherish the challenge it provides me.”

D’Arpa’s career began at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, where he began working in the ski shop. “My goal was to manage a ski or golf resort,” he said.  Again his dream was fulfilled as he stepped into the role of restaurant manager at Deer Valley.

When the snow melted, D’Arpa took off to work at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon as a food server in the summers. He stayed busy hiking the Grand Canyon trails and climbing the corporate ladder.

Starting as a food server for Xanterra Travel Collection in 1996, D’Arpa was able to work his way up to management.

He served as regional general manager of Zion National Park in Utah, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon National Park before becoming director of resort operations at the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams.

Chief Parks Officer Gordon Taylor has worked alongside D’Arpa for many years. “He certainly has integrity, intelligence and the energy to get things done.  I am a very lucky man to have the honor to call Jeff both a teammate and a friend.”

Along with his responsibilities at the Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel, D’Arpa also oversees the Grand Hotel in Tusayan and the Tusayan Trading Post.

Born in Yonkers, New York, where he spent his formative years, D’Arpa moved to Florida when he was 16. While working at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, D’Arpa would visit Flagstaff in the mid ‘90s. “I always enjoyed the atmosphere, lifestyle and community. I also had some great friends from back East relocate to Flagstaff, making our transition to the area quite easy.”

Married to Lisa, the couple has two daughters and spends their free time hiking, skiing and cycling. D’Arpa also enjoys playing drums. “Weekends are never long enough,” he said.

The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel is located in Williams and has daily round-trip excursions to the Grand Canyon. The Polar Express will run through Dec. 30. For more information, call 888-848-3511.

Biggest Influence
I’ve been fortunate to work for Xanterra’s Chief Parks Officer Gordon Taylor since 1996. He has trusted and supported me through all my years with Xanterra, allowing me to grow and enjoy many achievements both personally and professionally.

Character Qualities Most Admired
Hard work and honesty.

Favorite Places to Visit
The bottom of the Grand Canyon and top of Humphreys Peak. To have these gems in your backyard and not make regular pilgrimages to enjoy them wouldn’t make sense to me.

The Last Time I Laughed My daughters make me laugh all the time. Somehow they are the funniest humans alive. Any of their TikTok videos put me in stitches.  QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Saying ‘I Do’ to Micro-Weddings

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With concerns about public health and travel, brides and grooms are choosing small, intimate celebrations

Event planners are busier than ever and, not surprisingly, smaller weddings have taken the lead, especially in Northern Arizona.

“We’ve had a lot of micro-weddings of 50 people or less since March this year,” said Prescott-based Luella House Weddings and soon-to-open historic Willow Creek Inn owner Nancy Bewley. “I think it’s because small weddings make sense to people right now. People can spread out and the couple can have those who are most dear and closest to them attend, plus the expense is lower and the event is more manageable.”

Rhonda Messal, of Fort Worth Texas, planned her micro-wedding at Moran Point at the Grand Canyon last May. A total of four guests attended.

“I thrive on simplicity. I chose to have a small wedding because I’m a simple girl who was raised in the mountains of Colorado and I prefer a more minimalist approach to things,” said Messal, a human resources executive. “Getting married on the rim of the Grand Canyon and taking in God’s beautiful creation was simply amazing, and keeping it small was so hassle-free.”

Choosing to have her wedding at the Grand Canyon in April, April Margulies, owner and founder of Trust Relations Agency in Williams, said, “With COVID, there was no telling when things would open up again and we didn’t really want to wait to find out. My parents would not have been comfortable traveling at the time, so asking anyone to attend seemed unfair. In the end, it was a great excuse to keep the moment intimate and just focus on each other rather than planning and executing some complicated event.”

According to Las Vegas-based Cactus Collective Weddings owner McKenzi Taylor, 2021 weddings have become much more intimate affairs and micro-weddings have gone from second-best to many couples’ first choice.

“Gone are the days of the 300 person guest list, the splashy banquet hall and multi-tiered wedding cakes, at least for most post-pandemic couples who are more conscious of the health of their guests as well as the health of their bank accounts.

Williams Justice of the Peace Robert Krombeem confirms the trend as well. “With COVID making many of our hopes, dreams and plans for the future come to a screeching halt, we have seen a definite increase in small, spontaneous courthouse weddings.”

In Flagstaff, Sutcliffe Floral Owner Kelly Tulloss says she has seen a lot of brides have their weddings at Airbnb’s, out in the woods, backyards and courthouse weddings. “I think Flagstaff provides the perfect setting for smaller, intimate outdoor weddings, and they are very popular here.”

Churches also are seeing the shift to smaller weddings. Flagstaff’s Mountain View Church Pastor Nathaniel Bradford is preparing to officiate a micro-wedding consisting of the bride, groom, maid of honor and best man.

“Pastor Nathaniel and I are honoring the couple and their wishes to have just their immediate family present,” said Bradford’s wife, Cindy, who is the wedding coordinator at MVC. “They decided to keep their wedding small and simple and believe their love for each other and their faith is more significant than any crowd.”

Weddings in Sedona owner and Senior Planner Susan Perry says small weddings have always been popular in the Red Rock Country and continue to be. “We have a healthy range, from small elopement, to micro, to large custom weddings. Because we are such a popular wedding market, couples come from around the world to get married here.”

Meanwhile, Viola’s Flower Garden Wedding Coordinator Jessie Bangle says smaller weddings are here to stay. “Since COVID, people are sticking to 50 people or less, mostly for regulations, but also because these weddings are more intimate and less expensive. Going forward to 2022, we’re not seeing big numbers and the trend is unique styles of decoration and scaled-down weddings where the bride and groom can spend more time visiting with their guests.” QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Brenda Halvorson Soars with The Papillon Group

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Helicopter company CEO has spent a lifetime enjoying the Grand Canyon from top to bottom.

From a young age, the late Seattle contractor and aviator Elling Halvorson was known for his bold business ventures like building the ATT relay lines from New York to Los Angeles and bidding on construction projects in remote locations like Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. However, his decision to take on the monumental task of building a water pipeline through the Grand Canyon led to the development of Papillon Helicopters and Grand Canyon Airlines.

What wasn’t risky for this risk taker was hiring his daughter, Brenda Halvorson, to serve as his assistant in 1986, a position that led to her current position today as CEO of Grand Canyon Airlines and Papillon Helicopters, the largest scenic helicopter tour company in the world.

“Realistically, I started working for my dad when I was a kid,” said Brenda, who lived at the Grand Canyon from fourth to sixth grade. “We moved here so my dad’s construction company could begin the Transcanyon Water Pipeline project, which entailed an immense amount of helicopter flights into the canyon. Soon after the project was completed, he started selling helicopter flights.”

When Brenda was 12 years old, she worked out of a 6’ x 6’ shack on the side of the road in Tusayan on Sundays, selling helicopter tours. “Dad always wanted me to come work alongside him when I got older,” said Halvorson. “When his assistant quit, he asked if I would fill that position.”

At the time, Halvorson, an avid skier and outdoorswoman, was on her journey as co-owner of Scott Sports. In 1991, she became vice president of Grand Canyon Airlines and Papillon Helicopter. “We had expanded our helicopter operations to Hawaii on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui, so I would go over to Hawaii once a week out of every month and afterward, I would come to the Grand Canyon to work with the CFO on budgets and cost analysis to determine how we could do better.”

Today, The Papillon Group (Papillon Grand Canyon Helicopters, Grand Canyon Helicopters, Grand Canyon Scenic Airlines and Canyon Flight Trading Company) corporate offices are housed at their Boulder City Aerocenter, an ultramodern $9 million terminal.

Halvorson loves her work, as well as the people she has hired to work alongside her. Some of her employees have been with her for over 30 years. “I had a really good knack at hiring the right people and taking good care of them,” she said. “They are my friends, and we built this together. I certainly didn’t do it on my own. I’ve got the best of the best and a rock-solid group of people who work here.”

Director of Operations and Chief Operating Officer John Becker has been with Papillon Group since 1994. “After retiring from the Army, I came to work here as a line pilot,” said Becker. “The Halvorsons have treated me like family. They are very ethical and fair to all their employees and safety is their absolute No. 1 priority.”

“Brenda is not only my boss, but my good friend, and our kids went to school together,” said Human Resource Director Isla Harvey. “This is a great family-oriented company. I’ve worked in many different positions here and my job has expanded to where I am now.”

“My dad put a lot of trust in me,” said Halvorson. “When I asked him for direction, he wouldn’t give me any. He would just say, ‘You can figure it out for yourself.’ So, I did.”

A year ago last month, her dad died unexpectedly at age 88. “He was my best friend,” she said. “I went to him when I needed to hear his voice, it brought me peace. He was my peace.”

She says the greatest gift her dad gave her was confidence. “He would always tell me to have faith and never give up and when there’s a will there’s a way. That’s what I really admired about him.” In his book, “Detours to Destiny,” the elder Halvorson wrote about never giving up and having the strength to forge forward.

Brenda cherishes her childhood memories of playing at Phantom Ranch during the time Elling was building the pipeline. “I loved it down there. We would take the helicopters down to the canyon from Yaki Point where dad had a heliport and play all day riding our trail bikes. It was so much fun.”

Today, Brenda says her life is full with The Papillon Group and family, which includes her husband, Mark, and eight grandchildren. QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Marlboro Man in Action at the Grand Canyon

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Some boys do grow up to be cowboys, and some cowboys even grow up to be Marlboro men. Such was the case for Grand Canyon National Park Service (NPS) Wrangler Ed Forbis.

Born on a ranch in Deer Lodge, Montana, from the brim of his hat to his well-worn boots, Forbis is a genuine cowboy. His warm country accent and perfectly-shaped thick cowboy mustache portray the rough cowboy on a bucking horse that he portrayed in Marlboro advertisements.

“I grew up living next to Darrell Winfield, who played the famous Marlboro Man for over 30 years,” said Forbis. “He was a horse trader and he’d have about 300-400 horses on his ranch.”

“After I graduated high school, I went to ride colts for Darrell . He’d pick out young dummies like me to get on them brooks and break them in.”

Further down the road, Forbis was hired by Marlboro to ride bucking horses as a stuntman for Marlboro advertisements and television commercials, a job that lasted 12 years. Footage of Forbis riding a bucking horse with a herd of wild stations not only became popular in the United States, but worldwide.

“When smoking advertisements were banned in the United States, other countries who didn’t have regulations picked up the commercials and ran them,” said Forbis.

“Almost all Marlboro’s commercials had footage of wild horses and a cowboy galloping through. It charmed people,” said Forbis. “Most filming was in Wyoming and other states and some filming was in the ocean on the coast of California. We got beautiful shots, but the waves were cold and almost drowned me.”

“When I tell people about my dad, they kind of listen in [disbelief],” said Forbis’s youngest son, Doug, who works as a Crisis Clinician with Terros Health in Flagstaff. “I’m really proud of my dad and I’ll probably tell people about him the rest of my life. We’re close, but due to work schedules, it’s been hard to see my dad as much as I would like.”

Forbis has another son in Scottsdale and a daughter and three grandchildren who reside in Montana.

Rodeoing is also a Forbis favorite. “Bucking horses, bulls, cattle, roping calves, I do it all and love it,” he said. “I never had a desk job in my life and never will. I work on a horse. If I ever had to quit saddling a mule or horse, I’d be done. I can’t imagine myself doing anything else but what I’m doing.”

The worst accident Forbis remembers is when he got bucked off a horse. “I slipped and fell and we both went down. Then the horse got up and stepped on the back of my head. I got 14 stitches and was back at work.”

As a packer for the National Park Service (NPS), Forbis takes supplies down the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trails, sometimes staying at Phantom Ranch.

“Ed is a great guy and great to work with,” said NPS Lead Packer Chris Clark. “He does a good job and he’s a good friend. He’s been with us for about five years.”

Rambo Three and Stagecoach are two movies that Forbis worked in as an extra.

Created by Leo Burnett Worldwide, the Marlboro advertising campaign is noted as one of the most brilliant advertisement campaigns of all time and achieved the goal of bringing a masculine edge to the filtered cigarette, which were considered feminine.

This Marlboro man, Forbis, never smoked.

I can describe myself in one word: Simple.

My favorite thing to do:

Rodeo. Team-roping with my horse, Angel.

My favorite place to travel:

Mostly in the United States. I don’t need to go anywhere else except maybe Brazil, great beaches. Also, maybe Canada because there’s great fishing there.

My favorite food and restaurant:

Mexican. Plaza Bonita in the romping town of Tusayan.

The actor who will play me in the movie about my life:

Kevin Costner. Costner seems to ride a horse pretty well. That’s one thing I can pick out in Western movies is how well actors can ride. So many of these new guys don’t ride well – and I can catch it. QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Tusayan’s Clarinda Vale Enjoys Her Small Town Beside the Grand Canyon

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Living your life in a really small town might seem limiting, unless your town borders the seemingly endless Grand Canyon and your dark skies show off the mind-boggling expanses of the universe.

Clarinda Vail was born and raised in Tusayan, the smallest town in Arizona by its population of 560 residents, located about seven miles from the Grand Canyon’s south entrance. The town houses several motels and hotels, restaurants, an IMAX Theater, a general store and several eateries.

Vail is the property manager of the Red Feather Properties and her family’s holdings in the town. She is the granddaughter of R.P. “Bob” Thurston, one of the first hoteliers in Williams, circa 1929, and one of the original families to pioneer the town of Tusayan in the early 1950s.

With fondness, Vail recalls riding her tricycle all around Tusayan, picking up food items for the family. “When I got older, my dad dug ditches behind the gas station, the Red Feather Lodge and around our house so I could ride my dirt bike,” she said. “I wasn’t very tall so the ditches allowed me to stop and go.”

These days, when Vail’s not working, she is hiking the trails of the Grand Canyon, boating on Lake Powell, river running on the Colorado and attending as many concerts as possible. Her husband, John, is a member of local band Exit 64.

Red Feather Lodge General Manager Julie Aldaz has known Vail for 30 years and worked for her for 20.

“Clarinda is a very caring and generous person. She gives of her time with many committees and organizations that she is involved with. She will always work to find common ground and she is always willing to give that helping hand to someone in need.”

Plaza Bonita Restaurant owner Miguel Arceo agrees. “She is one of the nicest people I know. She’s very understanding and always there for you, working on your behalf.”

Vail attended the Grand Canyon School, currently the only school in a national park that has kindergarten through 12th grade. She spent her junior and senior years at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. “I loved that school and it was good for me to leave for a bit because I had recently lost my parents and I wanted a change of scene.  It’s also where I met my husband.”

With a deep affection for the Southwest, Vail is eager to share her knowledge of the region with visitors. “While they’re here, I enjoy telling them about the area and making suggestions for [visiting] Monument Valley, Arches or Canyonlands, for example. I love the Grand Staircase. It takes my breath away.”

The dark skies of Tusayan and Grand Canyon are among Vail’s favorite topics. “I like taking people out into the woods and showing them the stars. There was one woman from Taiwan who had never seen the Milky Way before. She thought it was all made up.” QCBN

By V. Ronnie Tierney, QCBN

Grand Canyon Saddle Maker Enjoying the Ride

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Across from the Xanterra South Rim is a mule barn sitting on an inconspicuous lot at the Grand Canyon Village. The historic building was a blacksmith’s shop.

Inside, the old wooden floors show their age, while the aroma of worked leather and mules give away its purpose. This is Joe Marshall’s territory: the Saddle Maker’s shop.

Neatly arranged are leather straps and scraps, saddles, tools, machinery, a bottle of soda and a bag of chips. Like a Western Santa in his workshop, Marshall joyfully makes and repairs saddles, chaps, holsters, britches and “anything leather,” for Xanterra’s mule operations.

Marshall has been a saddle maker for more than 50 years and claims, “I’m probably one of the luckiest people on this property here. I’m doing what I love to do.”

All the tools and equipment in his shop belong to him.

Growing up outside of Phoenix, Marshall has worked as an animal control officer, police officer, carpenter and cabinetmaker.

“I then started working on ranches all over Utah, California and Arizona,” he said.

In 1981, Marshall built a house in Cedar City, Utah. He also built a saddle shop behind his house. “When the economy went south and our daughter, Danica, graduated high school, this job opened up here at the Grand Canyon. I applied and was hired, back in 2008. I feel real fortunate to have this job.”

His wife lives at their Cedar City home. He travels back and forth. “I work a four-day, 10-hour schedule and go home about every month or so.”

“Having the best equipment here is vital for the safety of our guests, employees and our mules,” said Livery Manager John Berry. “Joe does an outstanding job in mastering his craftsmanship to assure this.”

Matt Joseph, Xanterra packer supervisor, likes to visit Marshall in the evenings after work. “Joe has a really good sense of humor, so he’s fun to hang out with. He’s a good teacher, too, and if he doesn’t know an answer, he’ll find out. His saddles are great; they fit the mules really well and they’re comfortable. It’s important to have a sense of craftsmanship and Joe obviously has that.”

Marshall puts his mark on every saddle. “When you have a job that enables you to do what you love, it gives you a sense of immortality,” he explained. “I’d like nothing better than 50 to 100 years from now know someone is saying, ‘Yeah, this is a Joe Marshall. He made this for the Canyon.”

What is your superpower?

“I am the leather guy. I’m a mere mortal.”

 

What advice would you give a young person interested in learning your craft?

“Don’t. There are too many of us now. Marry well. Do you know what the difference is between a saddle maker and a large pizza? A large pizza will feed a family of four, a saddle maker won’t.”

What is your guilty pleasure?

“Jameson Irish Whiskey.”

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“My father said, if you’re gonna do something, do it right. Have a plan, implement the plan and stick to the plan. We’ll review later whether it’s a good plan or not.”

What’s your favorite time of the day?

“I like night. If you come by here late at night and you hear tapping and slow, sad country songs, I’m tooling leather and I’m in my element. There have been times I’ve looked up and it was 3:30 a.m. Just got lost in my tooling and forgot the time.” QCBN

Joe Marshall