These are from the same collection as the ’41 Mercury coupe, but in this case it’s the 1951 Ford pickup owned by the poster’s grandfather, the photographer’s father. And the truck is featured in settings that would almost certainly be off limits to vehicles today.
Beautiful photography.
And for those concerned about parking too close to the edge, perhaps viewing the 1964 Chevrolet ad in Monument Valley, with the young lady, will supply another perspective.
I’d post a link, but I’m too lazy.
Another one, better color but no narrative description preceding:
That lady in the 64 Chevy had bigger balls than King Kong!
I hope she, and the crew that got the car up there, got paid handsomely.
The same helicopter crew probably also flew the cameraman. $$$$$
I’m trying to imagine the drugs she was required to ingest before they helicoptered her (in her party dress no less) onto that rock pinnacle and Super Glued her to the seatback. If it had been me I’d have requested a double layer of Depends as well.
Thank you for finding these and posting them up. I think I first saw this on a B&W television while watching “Bonanza”.
And getting back to the GC photos, I can’t say I’ve ever seen better.
The car was a dummy, lifted up in three pieces and assembled on top. The model wore a safety harness, and there was a technician up with her, holding on to her ankles, hidden by her skirt.
He too was there for the canyon view.
I think these pictures may have been taken at Toroweap Point, in the north rim outside the current National Park boundaries. I drove there in the late eighties (in my own similarly sized Ford Ranger) and one could theoretically drive to the edge then; it was probably signed as prohibited, but not fenced. I recall a Toyota 4Runner ad a few years later where the vehicle was placed right at the edge but I’m pretty sure it was just superimposed imaging. I tried to find the ad online but struck out.
exactly
I did the same and it does look like Toroweep overlooking Lava Falls
six hours on a washboard road to get there
black widows loved the porta-pottys
The sun angle definitely suggests North Rim, which as the South Rim has gained more of a Big City Amusement Park aura, has, at least to me, become more of an attraction.
Love the truck as much as the pics.
After years of walking right up to the edge of cliffs just like this in the canyon country, I’ve kind of been cured of the desire to do so anymore, whether on foot or truck. You know how, one time in a million, you trip on nothing or mistake the gas for the brake for a split second while parking? I believe the chance of this happening increases exponentially with proximity to the cliff edge.
One advantage is that old truck and the ’41 from the other day would have had manual transmissions. A wrong-pedal application would normally just mean noise since one foot has to be on the clutch to engage gear anyway..
Shut the motor off with it in reverse – both for maximum rolling resistance and to ensure that if you lurch on startup you’ll lurch *away* from the cliff edge – and set the parking brake.
Amazing how the addition of the truck makes the photo so much more interesting as a time capsule. There’s a zillion photos of the Grand Canyon, but only a few in the 1950s with that truck.
Looking at Google Maps that’s definitely Toroweap Overlook, panning around it looks straight down to the river there, and gives me the willies just looking at it on the screen!
(Yes I did not do well on my real visit to the Grand Canyon, I was practically velcro’d to the rocks at Ooh-Aah point, which should be called Holy &^%$* point)
If I’d seen some of these pictures without any background info, I’d have assumed they were photoshopped. The second one in particular doesn’t look real to 2020 eyes.
You cannot be anything but awed by the Grand Canyon. This reminds me of that.
I remember my first trip to the South Rim in the mid-’80’s. At that time, you drove up and parked, and walked up to the edge, all of a sudden, THERE IT WAS IN ALL ITS’ SPLENDOR! I shot 9 rolls of Kodachrome, got a sunset and a sunrise; intended to get full moon night shots, but was too pooped and slept through. I seem to recall reading that now, due to the horrendous traffic, one must park at lots away from the rim and take tour buses up for viewing. One of the best experiences ever!! 🙂
Years ago I did a helicopter trip that involved landing on a 1000+ foot high butte near Lake Powell. As the tours had only started within the last few months, I was wary of going too near the edge for fear of finding a soft spot on the largely gravel surface. No such worries at the Grand Canyon where people have been tramping up and down for 200 years or so!
Found your blog via Facebook, I have posted these pictures on Flickr years ago.
Photos taken by my dad Lester Womack. The other pictures are Cape Solitude, above the confluence of the Little Colorado River and the Colorado; he got an article published in FORD TIMES August 1954.