Exciting day ahead! We are in Williams, AZ, and we are boarding the train bound for the Grand Canyon! I’m not sure if I’m more excited about the Grand Canyon, or about the train trip…! (Full disclosure: I saw the Grand Canyon in 1961 when I was 10 years old… I was not impressed with a big hole in the ground… On the other hand, Lynda has not seen it, so this will be a first for her…)
The day began with a corny “wild west” shootout…
Then we boarded the train; we were seated in the full-length dome car. We thoroughly enjoyed the panorama view of the beautiful countryside…
What’s better than a train ride!
We arrived at the Grand Canyon. Yep – it’s still a big hole in the ground…
We did enjoy the various rock formations…
And the buildings are certainly worth looking at… Above is the El Tovar Hotel…
And this (above) is one of the many gift shops, and it is also a great place to take photos…
We even tool pictures of the picture takers…
We had lunch at the El Tovar Hotel, with a lovely scenic view…
After lunch we walked and looked at more rocks…
And then, just like that, it was time for the return trip on the train…
This time we were seated in the parlor car, at the very end of the train; it even had the outdoor viewing platform.
Riding backwards was a great pleasure – watching 270 degrees or a panorama of the mountain landscape…
Also, from the observation platform we could get a good shot of the entire train…
As we approached the station in Williams the train made a “Y” turn so that we could back into the station. Standing on the open air observation platform was a lot of fun – we could watch the conductor step off the train and throw the switch, then we proceeded to back into the station…
So we returned to the Villa and enjoyed Happy Hours. We turned in early, because tomorrow is another long travel day…
And an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 
August 20, 2018 at 1:25 pm
Spectacular!
Sue Nienhuis 😊 Sent from my iPhone 6
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August 20, 2018 at 3:01 pm
For my 65th birthday, we stayed in the Fred Harvey Suite at the El Tovar.
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August 20, 2018 at 5:53 pm
They didn’t have the train in ‘61 not when we lived in Flagstaff years later. From the pictures the train looks really cool! Maybe some day we’ll get to Williams again! Great pictures!😊
Sent from my iPhone
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August 20, 2018 at 6:00 pm
Amtrak stopped in 1958; this train service started in the late 80s
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