July 27, 2013 - Saturday

Today we traveled by train to the Grand Canyon. We boarded in Williams, Arizona and it was a two hour ride. There was a Wild West shoot out and even a “robbery” on our train and as the robbers fled, the sheriff boarded the train to look for them. We rode in a 1923 Pullman car-very nostalgic. This railroad was built to transport people and goods to and from the Grand Canyon in 1901. The weather was great and we passed a couple farms. One farm we passed was 160,000 acres and the biggest ranch near us was about 800,000 acres-these farms were enormous! Out here, you fence in what you don’t want the cows to get to and the cows graze, sometimes fenceless, everywhere else. You cross over cattle grates often on the roadway. This is where the farmers don’t want the cows to cross, and they won’t cross over the grate on the road, so they don’t need a gate or extensive fencing. I never would have believed before that this area in Arizona was primitive in s sense. People who live here have 2,000 gallon tanks on their property and pay about 75.00 per fill up; this is the only way they get any water. Some places cannot get electricity so they have to have solar panels. If it is a cloudy day or rainy, they may not get enough solar power to last the night, therefore, they run out of electricity and go to bed early(unless they have a generator). Wow!

We arrived and the sky looked iffy. There were a lot of dark clouds coming in. After all, it is monsoon season here. The lady who was in charge of our car told us the shuttles around the Canyon shut down if the weather is too bad and then you’re stranded and cannot get back to the train. The lady on our car handed out water and there was also a café train car behind ours. Anyway, she also informed us that 4 people had been struck by lightning this week along the rim of the Canyon and 2 died-eek! In other words, get away from the rim of the Canyon if you hear thunder! Yesterday, it poured and hailed here and the ground doesn’t absorb much since it’s still so dry. The ground here is like concrete so the water runs right off.

We stopped to admire the Canyon. It really looks like a painting; it’s utterly unbelievable in a sense. I mean, we knew we really were standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon, but it just doesn’t look real. It’s the first time something in nature really took my breath away. We took lots of pictures and walked toward The Village. On our way to The Village, we even got to see a condor flying above us. Their wingspan can reach 9-11 feet; they are the biggest bird in North America.

Shortly thereafter, it started to rain and we did not want to risk the shuttles not running, so we explored The Village along the rim. We could not go to the big, new visitor’s center but got to explore from a different perspective. The Village is where the original buildings stand from the time the railroad was going in. Some buildings were designed in the late 1800s and many were designed by a woman architect of the time, Mary Colter. We explored The Hopi House and ate lunch at Angel Lodge-it was tasty and for less than 30.00 you couldn’t beat it. We had an enjoyable time.

At 3 PM, we boarded the train to head back. It rained almost the entire way back, but we still enjoyed the ride. After perusing the gift shop, we got in the car and started to head back to our campground. We tried Grand Canyon beer at lunch and loved it. We looked for the brewery on our way out of town and discovered quite a gem. Williams, AZ has completely rebuilt itself because of the popularity of the railroad. It was the last town to be bypassed by 40 and since the company, Xanterra, purchased the RR, the town has been restored. The shops were cute and the town was quaint. There were lots of light-up and neon signs adorning Route 66 in Williams. We found Cruisers’ where the Grand Canyon beer is brewed and served. The place was fully decked out in car and route 66 attire and pieces of cars were hung around the restaurant. They had old gas pumps and old coke machines and it took you right back to another time period.  I ordered a steak and Chris had a half rack of ribs. The beer was cold and the meals were really delicious. We walked our dinner off around the town and browsed the shops. There was a really cool Western wear shop where they make saddles, belts, and other leather wear.

We found out from people talking around town that Interstate 40 West was closed because of all the rain. The road could be closed for a couple days as they remove debris from the roadway and wait for the water to clear. Again, the fact that this area doesn’t get much rain at all until this time of year, the ground has dried to a hard clay and nothing can absorb so it all sits on top until it can slowly drain. We left Williams around 9 and saw about 150 trucks lining the road. They must have decided to call it quits for the night because they could not go any further west.

We got back to the campground in the pouring rain and got ready to leave town tomorrow.

(can you spot the prairie dog?)