When Lance Syrett takes his family on a drive through Red Canyon between Panguitch and Bryce Canyon, he can't help but think about how far things have come since his great-grandfather Reuben “Ruby” Syrett packed his family in his carriage to make the same journey 100 years ago.
Lance Syrett said it was in the spring of 1916 that Ruby Syrett decided to leave the life he knew as a flour mill worker in Panguitch to become what he had always wanted to be: a cowboy.
With dreams of owning acres of land and having the freedom to raise his family away from factory life, Ruby Syrett packed his family and belongings in his wagon and took the three-day trip to what is now the city of Bryce.
When he arrived that spring day, what Ruby Syrett experienced was nothing short of spectacular, and he knew he had found the place he wanted to call home, purchasing a homestead on 160 acres, according to Lance Syrett.
A little later that spring, a fellow farmer by the name of Claude Sudweeks asked Ruby Syrett if his family had seen "Bryce's Canyon," wrote A. Jean Seiler in his book, "Images of America: Ruby’s Inn at Bryce Canyon." Sudweeks described the canyon as "just a hole in the ground” but urged the family to see it. According to Seiler's book, as Syrett looked over, he was able to feel the warmth of southern Utah on his face, but as he gazed out over the miles of red rock in the canyon below, he could still see the remnants of the newly past winter as snow still grazed the tops of the majestic hoodoos.
Like Sudweeks, Syrett wanted to share this beauty with others, but he took it a step further by sharing it with everyone he knew. He and his wife began inviting friends and family to share in his newfound sanctuary.
As people came to experience Bryce Canyon, Syrett and his wife would provide hospitality by serving meals and pitching tents nearby for visitors to stay awhile. Syrett quickly saw that the tourist business was a lot better than even ranching, and he set out to build a lodge that eventually became known as Ruby’s Inn.
It hasn’t been all smooth sailing over the past century, however, according Lance Syrett, who is now the general manager of the inn. But this family owned business has weathered the storms.
Right after acquiring the land and building the lodge, Ruby Syrett learned that he had built the lodge within the boundaries of what was then Bryce Canyon National Monument, bringing with it some potential issues with the government.
Ruby Syrett didn’t accept defeat, Lance Syrett said, but turned it into an opportunity by offering the government part of his land to build a road into the park to the north, which in turn provided an entry for tourists into both the park and the lodge.
It was this inability to accept defeat that helped Ruby Syrett and his family weather future storms, including a fire that destroyed the lodge in 1984.
“The fire in 1984 was a very bad deal for us,” Lance Syrett said. “The original lodge here at Ruby's Inn was still part of that building, and there was a lot of history and memories that went up in smoke that day.”
Lance Syrett said that because the fire happened at the beginning of the tourist season, closing wasn't an option. Instead, they set up a temporary restaurant and front desk to make ends meet until permanent plans could be made.
“Though we lost the history, the fire was a catalyst for growth, and we can look back at that event as starting a period of growth that continues till present day,” he said.
That growth came in the form of Lance Syrett's uncle Bob Syrett, who saw the rebuild as an opportunity to reach out to international visitors.
“My uncle Bob Syrett was instrumental in building this business as he realized what potential it had," Lance Syrett said. "To this day, we still benefit from the relationships he built in building up the international business to the area.”
Lance Syrett said it has become a joke among the family that the business grew because the family did. Although Ruby and Minnie Syrett only had two children survive to adulthood, future generations have had larger families of six or more children, resulting in exponential growth of the Syrett name.
"The growth of the business kind of matched the growth of the family,” Lance Syrett said.
Ruby’s Inn has become Garfield County’s largest employer, Lance Syrett said, and it employs approximately 600 people during its peak season.
As revenue grew, so did the population around the lodge, and in July 2007, the 2,300-acre area became its own town by the name of Bryce Canyon City — something that brought with it a bit of controversy and a news story in the New York Times.
The Syrett family has continued to take it all in stride while always remaining one step ahead, just as Ruby Syrett did, Lance Syrett said. He said many family members are still part of the business and that being part of the tourism industry and taking care of people is "almost second nature" to him.
"Another reason that I think has helped keep it in the family is that we live in a beautiful place in a small community which makes it a great place to raise a family," he added. "A family business in a community that is all about family, you can't beat that."
A century later, many things have been changed to provide modern amenities and much-needed comforts to today’s travelers, Lance Syrett said.
“Even with modern amenities, the lodgelike atmosphere is reminiscent of Ruby’s first settlement, (and) the hospitality is still superb," he said. "And when families come to Bryce Canyon and Ruby’s Inn, they will still be able reconnect while exploring the outdoors, just as Ruby wanted to do with his own family — but with a wider range of ways to do so.”
With a recently completed bike path running through Red Canyon, visitors can not only experience Bryce Canyon but also walk, run or ride along the same path Ruby and his family took all those years ago.
For more information on Ruby’s Inn and activities, visit rubysinn.com.
Arianne Brown is a mother of seven young children and is a Salomon at City Creek, Nuun and Unshoes sponsored athlete. For more of her writings, search “A Mother’s Write” on Facebook. Twitter: A_Mothers_Write