Grand Canyon Railway, Williams to the Grand Canyon

Monday morning we were up early making sure Freya had time to eat, take her medicine, and then have a good walk. Today is train day. Ray and I were off by 8:15 heading to Williams to catch the Grand Canyon Train to the Grand Canyon. We love train rides and this is awesome. Ray wandered around taking pictures at the station before we boarded the train. I walked down to see the "show" (the usual gunfight scene) before everyone was to find their car. Kinda lame but still funny. The OK Corral guys in Tombstone are better.

Grand Canyon Railway Complex

Grand Canyon Railway Hotel

Happy Halloween

The old steam locomotives on display:

Here is the historical Williams Train Station.

Ray and I met up to board our car, the "Chief".

Carolm our super car attendant.

 All Aboard!

Once aboard and we got moving, Ray purchased mimosas for us. They turned out to be a "healthy pour".  A great start to our day lol. I booked the Luxury Car, so Ray could just step out the door to the platform for his pictures and they had much more comfortable chairs. This is the only car you to access outside on.

100 years ago this is what you would have been doing riding the rails across the continent. Very comfortable chairs.

Our section

Our car is split into two sections by the bathroom and the bar.

The other section.

A great experience and a lovely 2 hour plus ride.

There are musicians who visit each car and performed well-known country songs to entertain all of us. (only 12 of us in this section of car and at the front another 12 people.

Ta Da, made it to the Grand Canyon again.

Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we made our way to the El Tovar Dining Room in the El Tovar Hotel. Good thing we went there first because it filled up quick. We consumed a great meal paired with prickly pear margaritas. What a beautiful old building, a little dark for my taste though.

The Legendary El Tovar - Grand Canyon's Premier Lodge

This celebrated historic hotel located directly on the rim of the Grand Canyon first opened its doors in 1905. The hotel was designed by Charles Whittlesey, Chief Architect for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway.  The Chicago architect envisioned the hotel as a cross between a Swiss chalet and a Norwegian Villa. This was done in an effort to appeal to the tastes of the elite from that era, who at the time considered European culture the epitome of refinement. El Tovar was one of a chain of hotels and restaurants owned and operated by the Fred Harvey Company in conjunction with the Santa Fe Railway. The hotel was built from local limestone and Oregon pine. It cost $250,000 to build, and many considered it the most elegant hotel west of the Mississippi River. In 1987 the Hotel was designated a National Historic Landmark.  In the past, the hotel has hosted such luminaries as Theodore Roosevelt, Albert Einstein, Western author Zane Grey, President Bill Clinton, Sir Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey, and countless others.

Today, El Tovar retains its elegant charm and is widely considered the crown jewel of Historic National Park Lodges. Located directly on the canyon rim, El Tovar features a fine dining room, lounge, gift shop, and newsstand. El Tovar offers guests full bell service, and in-room dining for breakfast and dinner.  El Tovar is a world-class travel destination.

Looking up at the hotel from the train platform

Hotel Lobby

Hotel Lobby

View from our table.

They have a table set up as you enter the dining room the maitre'd points out . Ray was fascinated by this chocolate taco but sadly his mahi mahi lunch feature filled him up so no dessert for him.

After lunch we leisurely walked along the Rim Trail for pictures. The pictures do not do the view justice, the light too bright. Ray will enjoy playing with sunrise and sunset pictures next week.

Here is Verkamp's Visitors Centre

All the people heading up or down the Bright Angel Trail to the bottom of the canyon.

They warn you not to feed the wildlife as most of the cases that come to the clinic are bites ... this guy actually knocked this out of the girls hand to eat her salad. They can be pretty aggressive.

Kolb Studio

The Lookout Studio

We were not in any hurry as we will be back on Friday to spend a week exploring. Ray and I were so lucky to see two Condors fly by in the canyon. Spectacular. They have been reintroduced to the Grand Canyon in 1996 I think.

Sep 19, 2019 - California Condors in The Grand Canyon. ... Look closer: bald red head, wide wingspan, triangular white patches under the wings - it's a California condor. And that makes you very lucky indeed, because the condor is one of the rarest birds in the world. About 70 condors inhabit the skies of northern Arizona and Utah.

We also checked out the Hopi House briefly.

The Hopi House (1905) is a large, multi-story building of stone masonry, shaped and built like a Hopi pueblo. When Mary Colter was commissioned in 1904 by the Fred Harvey Company to design an “Indian Arts Building” as the hospitality giant liked to call their souvenir shops, the talented and stubborn architect was eager to accept the challenge. She was one of just a few women in a male-dominated field, and “lady-like” wasn’t in her vocabulary. Neither were the words “traditional European influences.” Colter’s vision extended well beyond that. Inspired by the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, she wanted to design something that appeared native, natural and timeless.

Hopi House, modeled after the 10,000 year-old pueblo dwellings of the Hopi village in Old Oraibi, was a radically new experience for tourists. Colter’s attention to detail and human history created a strange and exotic world they could easily and safely enjoy.

Unfortunately for Ray, a hopi house is built with very low doorways.  He didn't duck low enough going through one of them and nearly knocked himself out. He managed to split open his head about an inch and a half long but not too serious, just split the skin. The worst part was crunching his neck. Poor guy that was it for much more walking around. Once again, back in a week so I can spend more time contemplating spending my pennies. lol

Boarded the train again at 3:15 for our return run to Williams. Very relaxing listening to the "clackity clack" of riding the rails. More entertainment in our car.

During our ride back we came upon some thunder clouds and a sprinkle of rain on the windows. The clouds look fabulous as they are puffy and then you see the rain gushing out of them in places, then it was gone and back to sunshine and only a few white fluffy clouds as we neared Williams.

Just before we reached Williams, every train is stopped by train robbers ... the same volunteers that put on the show at the start of our journey .. and eventually made their way to our car where they robbed us.

Galloping ahead to stop the train.

After robbing us of all our money (that we chose to give) the sheriff came and arrested them in our car.

There's Shorty watching out for the Sheriff!

Once back at Williams, we headed back home to Flagstaff. Poor Freya had been left for 10 hours with the A/C on. Did not know what I would be coming home to, but no messes. Thankfully, she is feeling much better. I did not read the fine print with our train trip. I thought it got back to Williams at 3:30, not leave the Grand Canyon at 3:30 ... oh well Freya survived and Ray had to take medicine so tomorrow will be a quiet day for him. A much longer excursion than normal, but with the comfortable chairs it was much more tolerable for Ray. Another wonderful experience for us.