Last Friday, as a special treat for Father's Day, we took the Grand Canyon Railway train from Williams to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. So many people we've met in our travels highly recommended it, so we thought we'd check it out too. It was nice for Tom to relax on the train journey instead of driving along the highway, with lots of stop and go traffic and endless miles of construction.
The Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and the Maswik Lodge (at Grand Canyon) are hotels on either end of the train line, and many people stay overnight. The train seamlessly takes care of your luggage, and transports it right to your room at the Grand Canyon. We did not stay overnight anywhere.....just rode the train for a day at the South Rim....and it was just perfect for us. There are several different levels of seating available, at all different price points. We opted for the dome car on the way up, and the basic (air-conditioned) car on the way back. It was wonderful. Especially the dome car...since it was so much more luxurious and offered breakfast! The views were nice, but nothing outstanding, unlike the trains in Alaska! We enjoyed reminiscing though! For more information on the Grand Canyon Railway, click
here.
Before boarding the train, there are a lot of things to keep the passengers occupied. After walking through the gift shop, we headed to the bleachers for a seat to watch the short western show before boarding the train onto our assigned seats. Fun and funny! Very well organized operation!
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| having fun waiting for the train |
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| a western show before boarding the train |
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| we have seats reserved on that dome car |
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| pretty cool! |
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| the last row on the dome car...perfect! |
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| old trains |
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| steam engine (only runs on Saturdays) |
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| here we go! |
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| the whole town comes out and waves to the train |
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| Very luxurious! Breakfast as we traveled....all you can eat! |
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| they would wave too, but they can't lift their hooves up that high |
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| there is one car not air-conditioned...i think i see it |
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| got a nod from this elk |
We caught a peek of the Grand Canyon as we pulled into the train depot. A short walk gets you between the Hopi House and the El Tovar Hotel, right along the rim. Need I say it again....the views were just outstanding.
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| first view of the Grand Canyon when arriving on the train |
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| the train depot...a log depot (historic?) |
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| the train was pretty long |
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| once up the stairs from the depot, we were at the El Tovar Hotel and Restaurant |
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| the Hopi House |
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| and the view....from the rim trail.....just awesome! |
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| amazing colors |
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| gorgeous |
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| check out the canyons down there! |
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| the Bright Angel Trail going across the desert there |
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| another peek at the trail down below-and the campground |
As we looked across the canyon, we spotted our destination of the day....the Kolb Studio. You can see how it sits very near to the edge. At the Lookout Studio, we clamored onto the viewing deck, which descends 20 feet down from the rim. I was doing pretty well with the height thing and the low walls, when the man behind me wiped out on the stone steps. Woah! Thought he got really hurt, but he just popped back up and said he was fine. Good! We all enjoyed the views from there.
(Oh, and on our walk over to the studio, we spotted some
idiot guy that hoped over the Rim Trail wall, and was headed back up the steep slope. Tom thought he may have dropped something. It was really windy. But seriously......just buy a new hat already)!
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| the Kolb Studio across the way |
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| close up |
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| another close up....see the viewing deck....20 feet below the rim |
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| expansive views |
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| the El Tovar Hotel across the way, and the American Flag (that is where we came in from the train) |
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| look at the side of the canyon....near the brown rock |
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| see this guy trying to get up the canyon! |
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| heading toward the viewing deck |
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| hanging on....the views are awesome! |
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| wow...wow....wow |
The Kolb Brothers were photographers and adventurers! They were the first to film the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, and did other spectacular photography of the Grand Canyon as well, to promote their photography business. Check out some of the places they perched to get a picture! WOW! And they weren't using little cell phones either...but these monstrous and heavy-looking cameras and photographic equipment. Mind-boggling! We really enjoyed the little museum on the site of their studio.
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| these guys are fearless! |
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| heading for the studio |
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| the adventurers! |
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| wow....talk about taking your life in your hands for a picture! |
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| a boat they used to "shoot the Colorado River" through the Grand Canyon |
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| can you imagine???? |
Nearby the Kolb Studio was the start of the Bright Angel Trail. Tom hiked on that trail many years ago. Wow! What a feat! Actually, he went down the South Kaibab Trail and back up the Bright Angel Trail. About 16 miles of hiking. Isn't that amazing? He did it in one day, without sleeping down in the canyon, and he said the way back up was a killer because that is when you are the most tired. Plus...he walked from the campground to start on the Kaibab Trail and back to the campground once up the Bright Angel Trail! So, being that he did that already, we decided not to repeat that adventure (hahahahhaha....I WISH I could accomplish that...in two days)! Tom - my hero!
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| amazing views |
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| Bright Angel Trail |
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| a section toward the beginning of the trail (or end, depending where you start!) |
In honor of Father's Day, we planned to celebrate with lunner (lunch/dinner) at Bright Angel Lodge. We had worked up an appetite, and we were ready to chill out with some air-conditioning! The temperatures were getting up there, but it was the sun that really got
us me. Our burgers were great, but the brownie sundae we shared was the best! Hahah!
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| Happy Father's Day Tom! |
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| sweet potato fries....my fav! |
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| we ate that brownie sundae in two minutes.....delish! |
After our late lunch, we headed out to the Trail of Time section of the South Rim Trail, but we were sidetracked by a performance by the Navajos outside the Hopi House. The program was educational, and demonstrated some of the intricate ceremonial garments (not called costumes!) and ceremonial dances. My favorite was the hoop dance, which was just amazing.
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| can't get enough of the views |
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| incredible |
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| Navajo performance (love the turquoise jewelry!) |
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| these are ceremonial clothes, not costumes |
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| the dances were so energetic...especially in the heat |
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| so colorful! |
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| another ceremonial outfit...check the things on her skirt |
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| they are sheep hooves! |
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| this was amazing...the hoop dance |
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| it was like watching magic |
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| so smooth |
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| an intricate part of the dance |
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| can you believe that? |
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| wow!! lots of clapping for that dance! |
Some movement caught my eye, and we spotted some red-tailed hawks flying over the canyon. We were hoping they were California Condors, but no. Too small. Seriously though, California Condors do live in the Grand Canyon, but they are endangered and I don't think there are that many. We thoroughly enjoyed watching the hawks soar over the canyon!
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| majestic |
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| soaring high above the canyon |
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| there were two of them |
The Trail of Time is right after the Verkamp's Visitor Center, along the South Rim Trail. There are examples of the types of rock found in the layers of the Grand Canyon, and the ages. It is impressive! The amount of people thinned out on this section of the trail, and we enjoyed a leisurely walk (in the heat) before heading back to catch the train. We took the 9:30 train in, and had reservations on the return 4:30 train. Perfect amount of time for a hot day!
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| another Visitor Center along the rim |
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| Trail of Time section |
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| lots of colors of rock |
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| such a colorful place! |
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| this trail is a bit close to the edge Susie...watch your step! |
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| check out that view! |
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| the views ....can't stop admiring them |
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| picturesque |
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| we are leaving soon...one of our last views |
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| aahhhh...shade (its wickedly hot!) |
The views were just awesome, and we really enjoyed our day in the park. Out last stop was the Hopi House, which is a gift shop with gorgeous things in it. We were just window-shopping, before heading to the porch at El Tovar, right near the train depot. It was very refreshing rocking in the shade! Apparently, lots of the train passengers were doing the same thing, before heading down the stairs to the train platform!!
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| so beautiful |
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| an amazing place! |
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| another great day! |
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| Hopi House |
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| chillin' |
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| cooling off for a few minutes before heading on to the train depot |
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| there's our train now |
On the train ride back, we spotted some wildlife....some elk, pronghorns, coyotes, cattle (I've never seen cattle run that fast!), and ....train robbers!
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| elk |
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| cattle - scared by the train! |
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| wildfire in the background - from lightning strike the end of May! |
Part of the fun, especially for the little kids, is the train robbery that occurs when the train is just about back to the depot. Actually, that is how you tip the actors from the morning show (if you so desire, which we did). The sheriff comes aboard as well. Oh, and we were serenaded by a country singer for a bit too. It was a fun experience to ride the train to the Grand Canyon!
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| uh oh |
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| stick em up |
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| oh no! |
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| restoring law and order |
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