All aboard the Grand Canyon Express…<3
I have told Russ if I ever complain about not having enough time to do things after this teaching sub job gig ends, he has permission to take my phone away or put me in time out or whatever it takes.
Because yet again, I am feeling rushed to post about our trip this morning so we will suffice with photos and a few words about our ride to the Grand Canyon. This was a total bucket list item for Russ but I certainly enjoyed the experience as much as he did.
Details for this historic way to visit the Canyon will be at the end of the post.
The Grand Canyon Railway train departs from Williams AZ which is located on the iconic Route 66. Filled with hotels and restaurants, we had passed through here with the kids in 2022 and stopped for an ice cream at one of the diners.
At the time, we had no idea this treasure existed. It is about an hour drive from Sedona and we enjoyed the most beautiful snow dusted scenes along the way. The photo above does not do it justice.
We were joined by 898 fellow passengers that morning, so you can imagine how crowded the parking areas are!
That being said, they are definitely prepared for the volume of visitors and we enjoyed exploring the area. They have a Wild West show going on to entertain folks as well as a lovely gift shop. We got our tickets and headed to our train.
This gent was our host for the Arizona car. Johnny Arizona, or so he called himself, was funny and served us delicious food. Russ got the First Class tickets for us so our breakfast and return snack buffet were complimentary. All beverages except cocktails were included.
Along the way we were serenaded by various cowboys.
and of course…robbed by bandits on the way home…
It was a great way to enjoy the beautiful and ever changing scenery from Williams to the Canyon. At various points we could see the train up ahead going around a bend – truly a plus for my railroad loving husband.
The car seats were comfortable and we had such a good time. The host and entertainment, food and scenery enhanced our whole visit to the Canyon that day.
We learned a lot about the area and the history of the train from our host, while also having a good portion of dad jokes interspersed with the learnin’
Since we went in March, the weather can sometimes not play nice. The day after our lovely trip, there was a heavy snow that wreaked havoc all over that area. The road out of Williams was closed late afternoon that following day and so those who rode the train would have been stranded in Williams.
Just something to keep in mind if you are scheduling a trip. God smiled on us and gave us a cold but good day for travel. It would have been a different story if we had purchased our tickets for the next day.
I highly recommend this as a part of a Grand Canyon experience in your future. You do get an extra day pass to the park which we had planned to use the following day. But with the weather change and closed road we were not able to take advantage of this perk.
Here is the Railroad information – https://www.thetrain.com