The GRAND Canyon
Well up at the Grand Canyon I didn’t have a data connection so I had to combine yesterday’s and today’s posts together. Plus I don’t think the Grand Canyon can fit in one post, I’m not really sure it can fit in two either.
The trek started out yesterday bright and early at 7:30 am. Our luggage had to be ready to go at 8:30 am and we boarded the train at 9:15 am. The train itself is really cool. We rode first class, which offered complimentary food and beverages as well as amazing views as we rode from Williams to the Grand Canyon. Other nice things included huge amounts of leg room and a nice reclining seat compared to airlines. I guess the main downside of traveling by train was the fact that we traveled at a blistering speed of 40 MPH or less. It was definitely a great experience and a great way to travel to the Canyon.
After arriving at the Grand Canyon we boarded our tour bus and got our first glimpses of the seventh wonder of the world. I’m going to attempt to describe the canyon and will most likely fail miserably. It was big, not just big but enormous. Think of the biggest thing you can and multiply by ten. Not only that but the many different types of rocks formed beautiful layers of color all over the canyon walls that shone beautifully as the sun set later in the day. The Colorado river wound its way through the bottom of the river and from our vantage point the eight to ten foot rapids looked like nothing more than small ripples in the water. I wish I could provide a better description but we’re talking about the seventh wonder of the world and I’m simply an amateur blogger with an active readership of around five people I would guess… (if you want to leave a comment please do, that might give me a more accurate estimate).
I spent the afternoon walking the rim trail and getting whatever views and pictures I could. In the evening we ate at the El Tovar restaurant which was fantastic. I had a delicious eight ounce ribeye and had to forgo the chocolate taco for dessert instead enjoying a delicious mint chocolate truffle tart. We were even lucky enough to see three mule deer outside the hotel munching on some fresh grass.
Today roles around and I did some more hiking along the rim trail, (hopefully next time I’ll have the time to hike down into the canyon) you can never truly see enough of the grand canyon. After a quick lunch at a soda fountain near the rim we stopped back in at the El Tovar were our train attendent (Mark) was entertaining guests with his self composed ambient piano pieces. It was a really nice and relaxing way to end our stay at the Canyon and the pieces performed were all excellent. You can find the music at http://www.HarlanMarkVale.com.
Another thing I might mention about Mark is the fact that he has built his own house out of old tires and soda cans. This may sound crazy to most people but he certainly is a promoter of sustainability, he generates his own power via wind energy and solar panels, and collects rain water for all of his water needs. So all in all a pretty cool or possibly crazy guy. After the music performance it was back over to the train depot to return to Williams. Now we get to the true highlight of our Grand Canyon train ride, the pink stove. While on our return journey Mark directs our attention to the left side of the training where back in the forest there is an elusive pink cooking stove. Why was this so fascinating? Come on, it’s a pink stove!
We arrived back at Williams and made the quick drive over to Flagstaff where we’re staying the night. The Grand Canyon truly is a wonder of the world and I recommend that everyone put it on their bucket lists.