Towers and Type setting in the Grand Canyon/NPS

When was the last time you used a manual typewriter? What would you write if you came upon one not far below the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park? Those questions came to mind for Elyssa Shalla, who decided to see how visitors to the park would respond if they came upon such a setting.

The results were philosophical, occasionally filled with awe, and sometimes poetic. 

Oh colorado how do you feel?

Do you change color with the seasons?

Do you like your coffee black?

Do you get jealous?

Have you ever had a midlife crisis?

Ranger Elyssa Shalla is the winner of the Intermountain Region 2018 Freeman Tilden Award/NPS

"Grand Canyon provides so many opportunities to connect with the park. Some of the most powerful connections occur when visitors are immersed in the backcountry," says Ranger Shalla, whose Towers and Type project earned her the 2018 Freeman Tilden Award for the Intermountain Region. "This project allowed us to tap into those connections by providing a venue for visitors to share their stories."

Dear Grand Canyon National Park,

Today I ponder the New Year Amidst a Landscape shaped by millenia. It is all relative, a matter of time and scale. I am humbled by this place.

The Towers and Type program is an example of an audience-centered experience. For this particular program, Shalla set up a typewriter for three days at Plateau Point, a popular backcountry destination below Grand Canyon Village. Plateau Point offers a well-known scenic view and requires a 12-mile round trip hike. Visitors to Plateau Point do not usually have the opportunity to connect with park staff or other visitors.

"I was seventeen years old when I acquired this typewriter from the Iowa City Goodwill store. Its mustard accents, the crisp reflexes of its keys, and its sturdy traveling case were worth the five dollar price tag," the ranger says in an introduction to her finished project. "Neglected in my parents’ basement, I rediscovered it a decade later, stashed it in the trunk of my car and drove it west to Grand Canyon National Park. A couple of years after that, it was packed down the Bright Angel Trail in the pannier of a mule named Cookie. In the final 48 hours of 2017 a new ribbon was installed and it was carried in a backpack from Indian Garden to the edge of the Tonto platform.

"A thread stretching across seemingly flat and verdant terrain, the hike to Plateau Point is irresistable," she continued. "After descending 3,000 vertical feet and emerging from the dense vegetation of Indian Garden, the landscape no longer appears two-dimensional. One is immersed in the heart of the Grand Canyon, surrounded by towers. Their names - Vishnu, Zoroaster, Angel’s Gate, Brahma, Buddha, Manu, Cheops, Isis, and Shiva. They appear as far as one can see..."

Many of those who hiked down and came upon the typewriter were greeted by a message inviting them to "take a seat in the chair and relax. Look around. Take it all in. What does this moment mean to you?"

If you happened upon a typewriter at Plateau Point, what would you do?/NPS

Many embraced the project. Some struggled with the typing.

I proposed to my beautiful girlfriend here yesterday.

What better place to tell someone you want to spend the rest of your life with them? I love you Rachel*

I said yes. I am so ... to have him in my life. I love you Benjamin. p.s. This is harder to type with than it looks.

The project earned Ranger Shalla the opportunity to represent the Intermountain Region in the National Freeeman Tilden Award competition. The overall winner will be announced during the Excellence in Interpretation Awards Ceremony on Thursday, November 29, at the National Association for Interpretation Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This is Peter Griffin. Why is there a type writer here? So HIPSTER. BUT I love it!

OK I,m Done... ...

Shalla is the North Rim and Canyon District seasonal supervisor for the Division of Interpretation.