Choo! Choo! Today was the day we rode the train to Grand Canyon National Park. We got up early to eat breakfast before boarding the train. It was very cold and windy in Williams, AZ. There was a wild west shootout prior to boarding, but it was too wet and cold to sit outside on metal bleachers to watch. We talked to a few of the cowboys and the Marshall before the show and then went back to the train depot to warm up.
Finally, we got the "All Aboard" signal and we boarded our train car, the Fred Harvey. Dean had purchased the luxury observation car so we could see the scenery from an elevated height. It also had a parlor down below if you wanted to relax a little bit. In addition, the luxury car also served morning and afternoon snacks! Yum!
During the trip, we had a cowboy singer come and serenade us as well as the Marshall come through and talk with each one of us personally, asking where we were from and what brought us here.
We quickly realized we had forgotten our umbrellas and our national parks passports in the car. We could make up for the passport by stamping blank paper and gluing it in. However, we definitely needed our umbrellas. We were hoping the rain would go away and the sun would come out.
National Historic Site #13 - Grand Canyon National Park
It was so cold, windy, and rainy in Grand Canyon National Park. There were 15 mph winds coming from the NW. The weather made it very difficult to stay outside of the bus for long. Since we rode the train in, we did not get our standard picture of the national park sign.
As we rode to our first stop, our bus driver, Larry, told us that the Grand Canyon National Park is the only national park which has its own K-12 school.
We got off the bus at our first viewpoint and quickly took a look and took some pictures, but we were wet and freezing so boarded the bus and waited. The Grand Canyon was beautiful but it was hard to take in its grandeur when you were so cold.
We moved on to our second stop and the rain had let up. We were able to stay outside a little longer, but it was still pretty windy. We did get to see the Colorado River very clearly at this stop. Larry explained that the Colorado River looks greenish blue due to travertine, a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs. Sediments are being stirred because of the storms mixing sediments from the confluence.
At our last stop, we were able to enjoy the canyon a bit more. We saw the trails that the mules used to take people down into the canyon. Larry had told us that the mules were used instead of horses were because mules are sure footed, don't get as hot, can see their back feet because their eyes are set out further than horses, and can carry more than than horses.
Our bus took us back to the train depot and we had time to explore on our own. We went to the El Tovar hotel and restaurant. The El Tovar restaurant is where Chevy Chase's character, Clark Griswald, takes the family to eat in the movie, National Lampoon's Vacation. We have been teasing Dean's brother and sister-in-law, Richard and Sharon, about being Aunt Edna and Cousin Eddie this whole trip. They are flying into Salt Lake City to join us for 12 days. They keep asking if we are going to have room for them and we tell them we might have to put Aunt Edna on the top! We have had a lot of fun with this. Anyway, we enjoyed looking at the El Tovar, we were hoping to eat there. Once we saw the menu and realized it was a fancy place, we knew we didn't have time.
Instead we went to the Visitor Center and it started to rain again. We then made our way back to El Tovar and waited for the rain to let up a little. Finally, we headed down the sidewalk and looked at the canyon views along the way. We ended up grabbing an egg salad sandwich and pretzels which we split. After doing a little shopping, we quickly made our way back to El Tovar where we could stay warm and dry until we could board the train.
Shortly after the 5:00 champagne/sparkling apple cider toast, the train was held up by cowboy bandits on horses. It was announced that one of the cowboys might be boarding the train to rob the passengers. The best way to appease him is to hide a dollar bill somewhere so he could see it and no one would get hurt.
"Trouble" started right back up again with Shaundalee. Of course, she egged him on and everyone was laughing at the two of them sparring back and forth. The problem was the photographer who had come through on the way up and back had already labeled Dean as a troublemaker. Do you see a pattern here?
On the train ride back, we met some more new friends who regularly go to Zion National Park. They gave us quite a few suggestions of how to make that day a good experience. Their daughter had just graduated from college with her degree and wanted to be a marriage counselor. We told her we were on Day 18 of a 49 day trip and that if she wanted to practice, we might be able to help her gain experience! Actually, we have really enjoyed our time together without any issues at all!
The Grand Railway Train runs a special train around Christmas time based on the movie Polar Express. We passed the North Pole Village as well as an area where they do something in the Fall with a pumpkin patch. Shaundalee also pointed out a nest of baby crows on one of the telephone poles. Elk were also spotted on the trip home by several different people. Unfortunately, we weren't quick enough to see them before we passed by.
We got back to Williams, wet and cold, but having had a great day in spite of the weather. No one could control the weather so we had to accept the fact that we got to see it in one type of weather. Maybe next time, it will be warm and sunny!
We immediately went to dinner and requested sitting by the fireplace again. Dinner was really yummy! We enjoyed watching the toy train go around the raised track as we ate our meals.
Since it was raining again, we went back to our room and warmed up so we could to sleep. Hopefully, the weather would be a little more cooperative the next day.
