Thursday, October 9, 2008...Southwest Trip

Thursday, October 9, 2008
Williams, Arizona

78 degrees and windy....BUT SUNNY!
(click to enlarge pictures)

Today is the day we saw the Grand Canyon. We rode the Grand Canyon Railway...this is a 65 mile trip to the Grand Canyon. It takes 2.5 hours...speed is between 30mph and 45mph. It was a long day. The train left at 10am for the Grand Canyon and returned to Williams at 6:15pm. We then ate dinner and was shuttled back to our Hotel. Mom did well today but is exhausted tonight and so am I.

We went to breakfast at Max and Thelma's at 8am. They served nice buffet breakfast.

This is a picture of the engine that took us to the Grand Canyon.

Even though the hotel, the restaurant, and depot are in the same area, it is a distance for my mother to walk...so they take us around in these little shuttles.

Granny is waiting to board the train...we boarded at 9:30am and the train left at 10:00am.

Opps! Here comes the Sheriff. This guy was quite a flirt with all the women...and...could he talk and talk and talk.

Our boarding passes.

We rode in the Coconino car. Coconino means...people of no water.

Before we could board the train we had a wild west show...it was like something you would see at Wisconsin Dell's.

Granny in her car seat on the train waiting to go. They let us board before everyone else, which was very helpful for my mother.

Some of the landscape as we are leaving Williams on the train. All that grows in this area is sage brush...few steers here and there.

They had entertainers go throughout the train cars. This is Colonel Jim Garvey. Really loved what he was doing...you couldn't help but enjoy him. Sang a lot of Johnny Cash songs and told stories.

After he finished singing he talked with each person and autographed this Territorial Times newspaper that we each were given (he has an ad in the newspaper). This was our chance to thank him with a tip.

More landscape on the way to the Grand Canyon.

This is Katie...she was really neat....great personality. Very helpful with my mother. She was in charge of the Coconino car. She served beverages and food...much like a airline steward/stewardess.

Of course, the Sheriff had to come through the cars to check on everyone.

More landscape on the way to the Grand Canyon.

I took this picture outside my window as we were turning a corner. There were a total of eleven cars. The most cars they can have at one time is fifteen.

I found these rocks very interesting and huge.

I took this picture along side the road. I do not know what type of plant this is...it is beige and really fuzzy on the top.

This is the train depot in the Grand Canyon.

When we arrived at the train depot in the Grand Canyon we immediately got on our tour bus. This is a tour bus, with NO bathrooms, so one must plan ahead.

The first item on the agenda was lunch. We ate at the Maswik Lodge. This lodge is located at the south-west end of the Grand Canyon Village area. Named for the Hopi kachina who guards the Grand Canyon.

This was our bus driver...I was a little concerned when I saw his bloodshot eyes, but he was just fine and very knowledgeable. He has worked for the Grand Canyon for eleven years...nine months out of the year...his last day for this year is October 25. When he isn't working he and his girlfriend go to southern Arizona and fish for three months.

These are the mules. Mule rides into the canyon have been popular since 1891.

We have arrived at the south rim. Since Granny has a fear of heights, she sat back by the sidewalk to enjoy the canyon.

The following pictures are of the south rim. It is really awesome. Everyone should put this on their bucket list and make sure you see it.

I saw this plate on a red Charger station wagon....Hawaii.

This is a part of the canyon that had a controlled fire last year. When they have controlled fires they do nothing but control the burn. Everything is left as is.

We drove to another area on the south rim..these pictures are from the south rim facing north.

If you look closely you will see little brown spots inside the green needles. They are called pine nuts...these nuts you will find on salads. Right now if you touch them they are really sticky. When they fall to the ground they are ready for processing.

More of the south rim facing north.

They had a board explaining about the Grand Canyon and where you are at...I couldn't fit it on one picture, so I split the picture. The bottom picture shows you where we were (yellow sign).

More of the south rim facing north. I have so many pictures of the Grand Canyon...it was hard to decide what to post.

People were walking, hiking and biking. I thought of Jennifer and Chris when I saw this couple biking.

Well, I have been looking and waiting to see some type of wildlife. What do I see... a deer AND it is running away from the road.

We boarded our train at 4:00pm for our return back to Williams. This is a Native American entertaining us. They are story tellers and he certainly was. I very much enjoyed his singing and stories.

I know, I know...I just had to take a picture of his long hair.

I took a picture of the bathroom on the train so you could see what it looked like...the bathroom was pretty big...they had a sitting room, an area for washing your hands, and a very small room for the commode.

Our train got robbed! About a half an hour before we got back to the Depot in Williams we saw these robbers and horses along the train...the train stopped and they boarded...they went through each car to rob us...course that was our cue to give them each a $1.00..they were happy.

Finally the Sheriff arrived...better late than never.

That was our day...it was long and very enjoyable. Tomorrow we are going to spend the day in Sedona and will be staying in Cottonwood Friday and Saturday. We have reservations on the Camp Verde Railway for Saturday. Sedona is about 97 miles from Williams, Arizona. We will be taking the switchback down into Sedona.

I will post pictures of Sedona tomorrow evening. Enjoy!