Pam, Willie, and the Grand Canyon Railway

Riding the train from Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon is something we've had on our travel "to do" list.  So, when we found out our friends were in Williams and planning to ride the train, we jumped at the chance!  Before we actually changed our route, we had Willie check to see if there was room at the campground.  Affirmative! Off we went.  Here are a couple of shots through the windshield.

 

I had to share these pics of Mickey.  He's such a good traveler!  He does get a little car sick, but most of the time he's sacked out on the back of the couch in the corner.  I show you Iris, but it's hard to get a photo of her under my seat!  The minute Glenn turns on the motorhome, under the seat she goes! 

Pam and Willie Gros are from southern Louisiana and we met them the first year we worked for Amazon.com in Campbellsville, Kentucky.  They were already parked at Three Springs RV Resort when we arrived.   Pam was taking a break from workamping, but Willie worked in the same department we were in.  We had a great group that year at the campground and had many potlucks, campfires and Sunday brunches together.

We stop to visit them in Louisiana on our way west in 2012.  That's where Willie taught Glenn how to eat crawdads.

So back to the train trip.....before boarding, we were treated to a short cowboy skit.

Pam and I having a little fun with the cowboys....

while Glenn was having fun with the horse!

After the skit, it was "All Aboard" for the Grand Canyon!

Pam finds her seat

 The scenery on the way to the Grand Canyon was a little disappointing, but the car was comfortable and we had a great guide.  One car had snacks and drinks available for purchase.  The train ride was a nice break for Glenn from driving and missing all the sights.  We had a group of Brazilians in our car.  They were pretty entertaining!  And we had real entertainment, too.  A couple of brothers sang and played the guitar and mandolin on the way up and a lady sang and played her accordion on the way back.

 

Pam and Willie



Our first glimpse of the Grand Canyon

As we pulled into the station, it was about 11:45am.  We would need to be back at the station by 3:15pm for the return trip.  I'm going to save images from the Grand Canyon for the next post, but will finish telling you about the train ride.  We had packed lunches for the trip.  We walked around a bit and found a spot to sit and enjoy our sandwiches.  After lunch, we spent our time in the Grand Canyon Village area.  Glenn and I would be spending several days more at the park, so we weren't in any hurry to take it all in.  We did learn that Willie was a wee bit uncomfortable looking over the rim!  Of course, Glenn is never happy when I want to get close to the edge, either.

 

Time to board the train!  Everyone got settled back in their seats for the journey back to Williams.  About 1/2 hour into the ride, the café car was re-opened.  Glenn and Willie had beer and Pam and I had ice cream.  I think we made the better choice!

 

A lady with her accordion came to entertain.  Next thing you know, some of the passengers were doing the chicken dance in the aisle!  When the entertainer learned Willie was from Cajun country, she added in a bayou song.

We were well into the ride back when we looked out the window and saw a couple of suspicious characters on horseback.  Hmmmmm... The train came to a stop and next thing we knew we were in the middle of a train robbery!

The marshal came through looking for the bandits.  I don't think he was able to catch up with them so they were free to rob the train another day!

 

It was a great day and loved that we could share it with Pam and Willie!  We're glad we took the train ride but I don't think we would repeat it.  Maybe if the grandkids were with us....  The Grand Canyon Railway also does the Polar Express at Christmas time.  Now that would really be fun to take kids on!