Marley Makes 3: 24.06.10 Wild West Show & Grand Canyon Railway Train to the Canyon & Shuttle Hopping!

Good morning! I am quite behind on blog posts! Since we went into northern Arizona and Utah, the internet has been just painfully slow or non-existent. We will have to look into Star Link Satellite Internet for next year!

Marley went to Doggy Daycare. That was so nice having that service right in the RV park! We could wander and explore and had peace of mind that Marley was safe. He had his own little room with a door to the outside and a private little place outside. His own little cubby for his leash and supplies. Soft music played...it was quite the setup and only $25!

At the Grand Canyon Railway RV Park where we were staying, there was a short wild west show put on by the Cataract Gang before we boarded the train.

The Cataract Gang!

We're riding the Grand Canyon Railway Train to the Grand Canyon!

*TIDBIT* September 17, 1901 the first steam train took passengers and supplies from Williams AZ to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. On June 30, 1968 Train No. 14, carrying only one baggage car and one passenger car, left the Grand Canyon Depot with just 3 passengers aboard. That was the last train for almost 20 years.

Then a crop duster and his wife, Max and Thema Biegert, reached deep into their pockets and dedicated everything they had to restoring the depots, track, bridges and trains to reinstate train service to the canyon. Their hard work paid off and on September 17, 1989, 88 years to the day from the first train to the canyon, the train ran back to the Grand Canyon. More than 10,000 people showed up in Williams to celebrate and even more to greet passengers at the Grand Canyon. Today, more than 225,00 people ride the train to the Grand Canyon each year.

Me and Sherry..."Cheese!"

Cashton and Grampa

The Grand Canyon looks different every minute, from every view. We kept taking pictures!!! These are only a few!

We walked through the historical ElTovar Hotel. This was the front porch. The ElTovar Hotel and Hopi House were constructed in 1905. Verkamps Gift Shop was built in 1907 and the railroad depot was added in 1910. The National Park Service took over from the National Forest Service and much improvement was made to roads, paths, and walls under the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Program in the 1930’s.

Taking a break!

Sherry and Cashton

Cashton was up on the sidewalk above us taking pictures so we had to take one of him too!

Grampa had a cold one on the ride back.

The train took us back to the Depot…Oh no! The Cataract Gang is robbing the train! They got some of Sherry's money too! Three robbers and a Marshal came on board where the robbers got their tips and the Marshal caught them!

Playing with the editing software. This is the same photo from earlier only I gave this one a black and white background. Which one do you like?

Here is the Grand Canyon Railroad Train Video! It was a fun day. I can still hear Cashton giggling during the Train Robbery!

One day we drove up to the canyon and shuttle hopped. The Grand Canyon has a three line shuttle service so you can go there and park and hop on shuttles for different routes through the park. It drops you off at each scenic vista or attraction and another bus will be by in 15 minutes to take you further. It was really nice because then we didn't have to think about parking or negotiating traffic. The day we rode the train up there we saw all the stuff on the blue line.

This day we jumped on the Orange and Red lines. I made sandwiches and we had a picnic in the truck with the air conditioner on to cool off for a bit! Thank goodness for our portable refrigerator! We rode the Red shuttle all the way to Hermits Rest and bought frozen strawberry treats that surely hit the spot. It’s pretty hot!!!