Very long post. But lots of pictures:-)
All Aboard!
Smile, Mom.:-)
Sometimes Mike gets sleepy on trains, especially when the previous night's sleep was poor. As it was in this case.
Most of the scenery on the 2 hour and 15 minute ride was a bit drab.
Since it was a bit drab, they entertained us with a Marshall,
Musicians, who regaled us with songs of a cowboy and/or train nature,
And
A nice personable guide guy who told us what to watch for, shared jokes, passed out handouts, etc. Dennis was very sweet. He let us know when to watch out for the right times when the front AND back of the train could be seen at the same time going around broad bends.
When we arrived at the Grand Canyon Village Railway Depot, he (Dennis) was kind enough to direct us to the ADA shuttles so Mom and Mike didn't have to hike up stairs or a very LONG and steep ramp to get to the Hotel El Tovar and the rim.
I kind of forgot that Mom hates Wind. Poor Mommy. It's WINDY there! But it was in the 60's, so tolerable with jackets.
While Caroline and I waited for the shuttle to bring up our group, we checked out signs, views, buildings. There is a lot of ALL of that.
I forgot to go INside the Hopi house, but here's the outside and it's information.
Pretty cool. C and I had time to peruse one of the many, many gift shops while waiting, too.
We tried to find an out-of- the-wind place to have our lunch, which we had brought. Good plan, as the snack shops were quite crowded. Here was our lunch companion in the tree above our picnic table-- he sat there and talked to us much of our meal. Mom wanted to feed him ( it's a big black raven, in case you can't tell) so badly! I wouldn't let her-- there are signs everywhere saying NOT to.
There was little wildlife to be seen, truthfully. Some ravens, turkey buzzards, deer and antelope from the train, but that's all.
We snugged mom away in the Hotel El Tovar lobby atea to await our return to the train. They had a nice bathroom we needed, and some soft seats. A lot of people and lines, too! Such a busy place. Mike wandered over to the Hopi House, Caroline and I wandered the Rim Trail and learned about placing telephone or telegraph lines across the canyon among other things.
We saw some other buildings and went in to enjoy looking at views and arts and crafts and kitch.
You can see Bright Angel Trail below. It is a great source of pride for both me and Mike that WE HIKED up that Trail! Of course it was over 20 years ago... But still.. We did that!!
Just how many pretty views and photos can you take of the Grand Canyon? A never-ending amount!
I think this photo above is the back side of that Kolb Studio.
These are a few of the trail's switch-backs that lead hikers up out of the canyon.
The Grand Canyon averages 10miles across at the top, and is on average one mile deep. We could not see the river from this part of the Park.
Inside the Bright Angel Lodge was a very cool history room. Like this fireplace constructed from stones representing each layer in the canyon. In order. River rocks at the bottom hearth, moving up geologically. Cool
They had displays of Harvey Girls, Fred Harvey's contributions, etc, etc. Lots of fun history to read about and see. We were quick about it since we had only one hour before we needed to catch our train back to Williams, AZ.
More pictures!
Jenny Lind wood carving. One of only FIVE created, and it's here, advertising cigars in the Grand Canyon from years gone by.
Harvey Girls
She took photos of me there, but I can't find them from my blogger app very easily.
Or at all, apparently!
Then it was back to the train station and Williams.
I told Mike, "It makes me happy to be sitting here next to you on a train," and here's the selfie to prove it.
We look a little wind- blown. Because we were.
The train ride was the same, different view/side because they give us the same seats, coming and going, which was nice.
Mom was able to climb the steep steps into and out of the train with minimal assistance. She had been practicing at home for weeks!
But the shuttle gave her a run for the money and she almost couldn't heave herself into that van. Plus in and out of our truck? She did amazing ( and said, "No more trips for me!").
The return trip DID have similarities and differences.
Mike slept. Caroline slept.
Snow-covered peaks in the distance around Flagstaff. We did see some pronghorn Antelope.
We had a singing cowboy serenade us again.
Caroline found an empty seat next to us and sacked out. She was pretty allergy-ridden the whole time we were gone, poor thing.
Oh, and our train was robbed.
They boarded, that nasty, no-good Cataract Canyon Gang, and told every one to put their hands up. He demonstrated how it was to be done, below. They were so funny!
That's Mike's hands, holding a phone camera and a dollar bill( which was ROBBED!!).
I'm so glad they entertained us, cuz we were plum tuckered out!
After arriving in Williams at 5:30 p.m., we de-boarded the train, drove to Flagstaff, found a Denny's restaurant next to our Ramada hotel, ate a hearty breakfast for dinner, checked in and went to bed!
Long, lovely day at the Grand Canyon.
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