RAILS TO THE RIM

The first order of business yesterday morning, was to take Sami over to the RV Park Office, where they have a super nice kennel for dogs and cats. I suspect most of the usage is from folks like us who ride the train. At $23 a day, (weekly rates also), it's a little pricey, but when you're gone from the motor home for almost 10 hours, or more, it's nice to have a convenient place for your dog.

"Wait a minute, what did we do to deserve a jail cell?"
Sami above, Nancy's Jessie & Cooper lower left, and Bill & 'D's' Sophie & Bitsy lower right.
All 5 in the slammer!

With the dogs safely incarcerated for the day, we wandered over to the wild west shootout before boarding the train. This 15 minute skit plays out every morning, and provides a few laughs, as the characters have fine tuned this melodrama over the years. The backdrop is a false front western town.

Two friends waiting for the train.

Our steam engine for the trip to the Grand Canyon was #4960, a 1923 Baldwin locomotive, that has been restored to an almost new condition. It has been converted to burn waste vegetable oil, and if you closed your eyes next to the engine, you could almost smell the french fries. We departed the depot in Williams at 9:30 sharp, for the 2 + hour ride to the canyon.

A picture of Bill Hall after he took some pictures on the train.

Nancy, Bob Tucker, Patty standing, Ed & Anita Price.

Ron & Ann Slavicek, & Bill & 'D' Hall.

We had a crystal clear weather day, with temps in the mid 70's. Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon Village, lots of people gathered around the steam engine for pictures. Our fearless photographer, Nancy, found the perfect angle for a photo in front of the engine.


Ed & Anita took advantage of a tour & lunch offered by 3A, and the remaining 8 of us walked to the Bright Angel Lodge for lunch. After our meal, we walked down to the Red Route, and boarded one of the shuttle buses for a trip up on the Hermits Road. We were able to make 3 stops for different views of the canyon, and then it was time to make the return trip back to the train.

This picture of Bill, 'D', Nancy & Patty was taken from the Trailview Overlook bus stop, looking back at the Grand Canyon Village.

What would a train ride be, without a train robbery? Well, we weren't disappointed, as the train robbers dismounted their horses outside of Williams, and came through the cars, posing for pictures, and relieving those of their money, who volunteered to be robbery victims. Hot on the heels of the train robbers was the marshall, who couldn't quite muster the speed to catch up with the bad guys.

Upon return to Williams, we posed for a picture next to the steam engine. After the dogs were busted out of jail, we headed downtown for a dinner meal at Poncho's Mexican Restaurant, and brought an end to a great day on the railroad.

Left to right -Anita, Ed, Ron, Bob, Nancy, Patty, Bill, Ann, & 'D'.