Grand Canyon

We're staying at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams, AZ, a lovely and convenient starting point for our adventures today. (We'd booked this a month or so again, which was why we couldn't bail and find a hotel somewhere else last night when things got late on the road.) What a great day it has been! Yesterday evening's frustrations seem forever ago.

Our first stop this morning was a brief "Wild West" show adjacent to the parking lot of the hotel. It was meant to be more humorous than educational, and I think the adults enjoyed it more than the kids, but it was a fun way to set the stage for the morning. 

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Then we made a 2-minute walk to the Williams train depot. We had tickets to ride on the Santa Fe Railroad's Grand Canyon route, a 65-mile journey on a line that has been in operation for over a century. We all were excited to get aboard!! 

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The landscape changed several times en route, taking us through ponderosa pine forests and high desert plateaus. (Photos taken through the windows as we barreled along at 30-40 mph...)

The ride took just over 2 hours, and the time passed quickly with a conductor in the car who regularly provided information and humorous commentary along the way. There also was a guitar-strumming musician who came through and entertained us with both his music and his side comments. He was excellent, and William enjoyed popping a dollar bill tip into the hole of his guitar. :)

 

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And then we were there: The Grand Canyon! 

It was majestic. Words can't do it justice. The frigid air temperature (in the 20s) meant we spent a fair bit of time in and out of buildings to thaw out, but the colors and views were phenomenal and made the intense cold entirely worth it. We carried William much of the time, since it was icy on the ground and there are precious few barricades against one going clear over the edge. Jesse was holding him when we first approached the rim. "Oooooooohhhhhh," he said with 3-year-old awe and big eyes. "Coooooooool." That pretty much captured all of our sentiments.

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Several hours later we were back on the return train to Williams. It was called the Williams Flyer, by the way, which of course warranted yet another photo (with a tired little boy who was not much interested in pictures):

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Between the bitter cold, the walking, and the thin air we all were a little weary by the time we boarded the train, but another guitar-strumming musician, more commentary, and some snacks Mommy had kept in reserve kept us going. So did the train robbery that took place as the sun was setting around 5 p.m.!

So there you have it. We're thankful to have a second night in the same hotel so we haven't had to rush repacking everything again today. And by this time tomorrow night—hopefully!—we'll be in our new "home" in San Diego.

See you on the other side!