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16A- RED ROCK NEWS, Sedona, Arizona Wednesday, May 26, 2010
By Hoyt.C. Johnson
LARSON NEWSPAPERS COLUMNIST
Pratt was fascinated by the almost
Believe it or not, I keep a shiny, silver bugle
standing upright on top of a bookcase in the
office where I write my columns for this news-
paper. I guess it's kind of a reminder of the
days when I played trumpet in the University of
Wisconsin symphony orchestra and concert band
a long time ago. Hey, Ieven marched during the
halftimes of Badger football games. At any rate,
when I recently learned that Pink Jeep Tours
was celebrating its 50th anniversary, the first
thing I wanted to do was grab my bugle and play
reveille in order to wake everybody up, and then
sound taps in honor of a guy named Don Pratt,
who was a Sedona real estate salesman about 54
years ago.
Why did I even think about doing this? Well,
my silly notion was motivated by a story I had
heard about Pratt, an enterprising sort of guy
with an old jalopy and a cornet. According to this
old tale, Pratt blazed trails while driving
prospective buyers into back areas full
of wildlife; beautiful flowers, plants and
trees; and spectacular, towering buttes
and pinnacLes He added a novel amenity
to his trips, too -- he stopped to play his
comet at favorite spots where his notes
echoed off the sheer, rock walls that
surrounded this areaSs vast canyons.
As the story goes, approximately
five years after Pratt established his H0 r c.
real estate tours, he visited Hawaii and
stayed at the Kaiser Hotel on Waikiki JOHNSON
Beach. Henry J. Kaiser, famous for
building ships and automobiles -- espe-
cially Jeeps -- owned the hotel, and guests were
provided courtesy cars.
These cars were Jeeps, of course, and they
were painted bright pink, just like the hotel. Pratt
was fascinated by the almost shocking, pink-
colored Jeeps, so when he returned to Sedona,
he outfitted his business with pink Jeeps and
they've been that way ever since --- for half a
century.
That's why I momentarily entertained the
idea of playing taps .-- to honor Don Pratt and
today's world-famous Pink Jeep Tours. Instead,
I left my bugle on its shelf and just hummed to
myself.
Though Pratt is credited with the origination of
P.ink Jeep Tours, it was a gregarious, fast-talking
resident, John Minnick, who effectively led this
landmark company through its early years of
impressive growth and development. And with
due credit to Minnick, during his proprietor-
ship, tours conducted by wisecracking drivers
were considered a novel experience. However,
though the tours were conducted by consent of
the U.S. Forest Service, some observers said the
consent wasn't always accompanied with totally
sincere blessings.
Nonetheless, this is not the case today; in
fact, it hasn't been since a former Texan, Shawn
Wendell, who has been a proud Sedonan for 22
years, acquired Pink Jeep Tours in 1988.
shocking, pink-colored Jeeps, so
when he returned to Sedona, he
outfitted his business with pink
Jeeps and they've been that way
ever since D for half a century.
Indeed, immediately upon acquiring what
has become a world-famous tour company, this
serious, dedicated owner injected a heavy dose
of efficiency and style, thus fostering a mutually
beneficial relationship with the Forest Service
that quickly became the envy of similar vendors
throughout the Southwest. He also rebuilt
and expanded his company's headquarters in
Uptown, thus creating an extremely
attractive facility identified as Pink Jeep
Plaza, which features spectacular views
of Oak Creek, Schnebly Hill, beloved
Snoopy Rock and the Mogollon Rim.
And in 1995, Wendell acquired Ancient
Expeditions, making the tour company
with this state's most scenic tours the
company that also has the most inter-
esting historic treks.
Imagine, the only company authorized
to operate on Broken Arrow Trail also
became the only "priority use permittee"
authorized to transport passengers to
Honanki, an amazing ruin site under
jurisdiction of the Forest Service.
Today, it is difficult to believe that visitors to
Sedona and the Grand Canyon, as well as Las
Vegas, can enjoy an amazing assortment of Pink
Jeep tours that I suspect rivals the number of
items on the combined menus of McDonald's,
Burger King and Wendy's. Admittedly, it's hard
to keep track because apparently there always
is something new, but at last count I totaled 13
choices at Pink Jeep Tours in Sedona, 11 at the
Las Vegas headquarters and three related to the
Grand Canyon site. And imagine, this aggres-
sive Sedona company is in the special events
business, too, offering choices that include
formal dimaers -- except for attire serious
meetings, weddings and team-building sessions
with box lunches. Also, tours can be combined
with a chosen activity.
Whatever the reason, if you want to see
Sedona's spectacular sights, if you are curious
about the fascinating geological formation
of this wondrous land, if you want to become
acquainted with the Sedona that locals know
and love, simply contact the popular tour
company that has been featured in every major
newspaper, as well as the subject of programs
on every major television network.
That would be extremely popular Pink Jeep
Tours, of course, which unbelievably is 50 years
old.
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