Grand Canyon Railway & Williams, AZ

SAT., NOV 12, 2022 thru MON., NOV 14, 2022

On Saturday we drove 60 miles from the Grand Canyon to Williams AZ to arrive at the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. We had one more fun day planned in the Grand Canyon before we had to say goodbye to this majestic national park. Months ago we bought tickets to ride the historic Grand Canyon Railway from Williams to the Grand Canyon… a 65 mile, 2+ hour ride. We were all looking forward to the upcoming day, although no one more so than Cheryl. That girl loves trains! However these train tracks are also used by freight cars as well. Upon check-in, I noticed a sign “Trains run at night. We have no control over the train schedule.” I’m guessing it might be a noisy night!

Cheryl, Joe & I took a walk over to the railway later in the afternoon to pick-up our tickets and scope out the area. The Polar Express train was getting ready to depart with parents and kids in matching pjs ready to board. Such fun to see the kids excitement!

We had an 8AM departure on the train on Sunday. Early for us! The train cars are all restored dating from the early 1900s to about 1950. Our luxury train car was the “Fred Harvey” with an upstairs glass-enclosed Observation Dome to enjoy better views, padded high-backed chairs, live music, snacks, bar service, and the fabulous Noel taking care of us during our ride. So much fun. We also had access to the downstairs parlor which included stepping out on to the rear outside platform for a unique perspective. A delightful experience and worth the cost! 

We purposely held off on exploring Grand Canyon’s Historic Village earlier in the week because we wanted to save it for today. Upon arriving at the Grand Canyon after our train ride…

• We enjoyed viewing artwork at the historic Kolb Studio (1904), which originally was a photography studio established by the Kolb Brothers. 
• We wandered thru the beautiful Hopi House, which was designed by architect Mary Coulter and built in 1904 by the Fred Harvey Company as a market for Native American crafts. It still displays Native American artwork today. As stated in the previous post, Mary Coulter was the architect for the Fred Harvey Company and designed 8 buildings in the Grand Canyon. Many of her buildings are still in use today. 
• We visited Lookout Studio (1914) which was a rustic studio of stone and log timbers also designed by Mary Coulter. It offers fabulous views from its 3-tiered porch that’s perched on a precipice. 
• We walked part of the Bright Angel Trail that takes you down to the canyon floor.
• And we had a delicious lunch at the historic El Tovar Hotel, also built by Mary Coulter. 

When we walked outside after lunch, we couldn’t believe the change in the weather! It was spitting snow, windy and foggy, but highly picturesque. 

Then it was time to head back to our train for our afternoon trek back home. We enjoyed complimentary bubbly once on board, snacks, live music and even a “train robbery.” A fabulous last day exploring the Grand Canyon! 

Another view of snow arriving at the Grand Canyon…

On Monday, Nov. 14th, “the pod” walked a mile or two on the historic Route 66 in Williams, AZ. Also known as “The Mother Road” or America’s Main Street. Williams was the last town bypassed by Route 66 on October 13, 1984. There’s a mural about it. 

A few nuggets of information we came across in town… During prohibition, the Sultana Bar had gambling and bootlegged liquor in the basement. You could gain entry by invitation only. The Grand Canyon Hotel, built in 1892, was the only surviving building from the fire of 1895. The hotel appealed to folks wanting to visit the Grand Canyon. After all Williams was (and still is) considered “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon.” 

We would have enjoyed visiting Pete’s Route 66 Gas Station Museum, but it was closed the day we visited. Last but not least we were able to see the world’s largest steel Route 66 Shield.

Definitely off-season here but fun to see the history! Tomorrow we move on to Winslow, Arizona, and yes I think we will be “standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona!”