Day 10, Tuesday, September 3, 2019
Today was a nice quiet day. Our total driving distance was 5 miles.
We decided to take a break from the Route 66 trip and take a trip up to the Grand Canyon. I am loving the journey on the Route, but I have to admit that it was nice not having to either navigate or drive at all.
The morning started at 9am with a quick old west shoot out to get us in the mood before loading the train that would take us up to the Canyon. Mom and I decided to splurge a little on the train ride up and we got seats in the in the dome car so we could see all the sights along the way. Turns out, we were in the front row of all the dome cars so we truly had an unobstructed view of the terrain. The only draw back to our seats was that there was very little leg room. By the end of the 2+ hour ride, my legs were starting to get a little cramped. During the ride, they had refreshments and entertainment. We even saw the North Pole village they use during the winter months when they run the Polar Express train.
At the Canyon, we hopped on a bus and they took us around to see a few different viewing points along the south rim. This was not my first time to the Grand Canyon, but I guess my memories have a faded a little. In my head I know how massive it is, but to see it again I had forgotten just how overwhelmingly large it is. Standing there on the edge, it does not look like it’s 10 miles across or a mile down. It’s so majestic.
Our tour guide was full of information and even took the time to show us some ancient footage of when the Canyon was just being formed (Fred Flintstone). We had to constantly stop the bus so the other passengers could view the deer along the side of the roads. Seeing as I have to avoid the deer on an almost daily basis at home, I did not share in their enthusiasm. I will admit, it is cool to see those types of things when they are not part of your normal daily life. Our tour guide enjoyed pointing out the tiny packs of homo sapiens and they’re movement patterns (i.e. usually the one leading is lost).
It was not a long visit, but enjoyable none-the-less. On the train ride back to Williams, Mom and I decided to opt for a lower class so we did not have dome view we had going up, but that’s alright since the long day and walking around in the hot sun was very draining. I will admit, the entertainment on this car was better too so that was another plus. Of course the train got robbed on the way back, but fear not, the sheriff caught the bandits.
Back in Williams, we enjoyed dinner at the Route 66 diner where I finally was able to get my Strawberry Malted Milkshake. Mmm mmm good!
Tomorrow is going to be a loooooooong day. At least 400 miles to get to San Bernardino. Time for some shut eye.
Journey On 