It’s nice to sleep in a bed and have a shower again. I don’t sleep in though, because I’ve got some work to do this morning. I wake up early to work and hope I’ll have time to also hit the gym. Unfortunately when I’m finished with the things I had to do, it’s time for breakfast already. I pack my bags and walk to the same restaurant as last night. There is a big breakfast buffet with yoghurt, fruit, pancakes, eggs and bacon and a lot more. I eat it all in that order and talk with some people.
After breakfast it’s time to go outside where there is a cowboy show before we get on the train. It’s very funny and we laugh a lot. Just before I get on the train I run back to my car to exchange my shorts for my jeans, because it’s much colder today. I run back to the train and go aboard. I booked first class, because this is probably a once in a life time experience and with my length I like to have some extra leg space. The train is over fifty years old and one of the first first-class trains bought by the Grand Canyon Railway. The train doesn’t go really fast and the chairs are very comfortable. I enjoy traveling without having to drive for a change. If you’ve read my New Zealand blog last year, you know I love to take train rides like this.
The scenery we’re crossing with the train isn’t really spectacular, but I knew that before. The landscape around the Grand Canyon is quite flat, there are no mountains here. While walking through the train I discover that you can open the windows in between the train cars. I’m not sure if you’re allowed to open the windows, but I take my chances and enjoy some fresh air while hanging out of the window. During the ride the train still has to slow down a few times because of cows on the rails and one time there is a electricity problem, stopping the train completely. I guess that’s what you get with old trains like these.
I use some of the time to read my book. I didn’t come to reading much in the past days, so I enjoy this opportunity. When we’re getting closer to the Grand Canyon, the landscape starts to change. There are more trees and rocks instead of the wide empty field. The train ride takes about 2,5 hours in total from William to the Grand Canyon National Park.
When we arrive at the park, there is a bus is waiting to give us a tour. First we get a warm lunch, that’s nice so I don’t have to search for dinner tonight anymore. After lunch we drive to a couple of viewing points that are closed off for normal cars. I haven’t seen the Grand Canyon from this side before and I am glad that I went on this trip. Just like I remember from seven years ago you can sit here for hours without getting bored. The view is so magnificent that I have a hard time letting go of it. I take a mental picture of it and then return to the train. The day went by faster than I thought and when I sit back down in my seat, I feel that I’m actually a bit tired. I’d love to stay another night at the hotel, but tonight I’ll just sleep in my car again.
On the way back there is a very funny guitar player providing some entertainment and when he’s gone again I use the time to upload pictures to my computer so I can add them to the blog when I’m online again. Just before we’re back in Williams we are surprised with a train robbery by some cowboys. I think I recognize them from this morning before we left. They pass the train on their galloping horses en then enter the train and ask everyone for their money. It’s a real Wild West experience. After asking our money they start laughing and without much further trouble we ride back into the train station. It was a nice relaxed vacation day today and I can check one thing of my bucketlist, riding the Grand Canyon train. I don’t feel like driving anymore today, so I sit down in the hotel lobby next to the fireplace. My car is still parked at the back of the hotel, so when I’m ready to go to bed I can just walk there. Tomorrow the road trip continues.
