Many times Pam has said that she would like to take a train ride through the mountains, so what better way to do it than a ride to the Grand Canyon Village? The show started at 9 am with a little cowboy show and a comedy shoot out.
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| Shoot out before the train ride! |
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| And they all got shot except the sheriff! |
The two and a half hour ride north, included commentary by a great hostess, a part Indian local, who had stories about the old towns and ranches along the route. We also saw a mountain lion den and a herd of wild mustangs. A guy came to each train car and played some local music on an acoustical guitar.
Once we got to the Grand Canyon, Pam got to see the view for the first time, along with the trail that we will be hiking out on when we do our rafting trip in a few weeks. One of the main things we wanted to get done, was to confirm the ability to park the RV in the village close to the access to the Bright Angel Trail, where we will be popping out after a nine mile walk uphill at a 19% grade. We found the parking lot we need to use and figured out how to get there. Then we spent the rest of the day on the Trail of Time, getting a taste of the immensity of the Canyon, and taking lots of pictures.
The train ride home was once again filled with historical stories, and entertainment. The train was also stopped by train robbers and we got held up by cowboy robbers on horses. We also saw a golden eagle in flight. It came out that our guide was a dealer in Las Vegas, so a bit of time was spent on winning tips for blackjack, as recommended by a former dealer who knows the odds and tricks that the casino uses to help you lose your money.
We got back at about six pm, and walked from the depot into town for a salad and pizza. And beer!
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| Loading the train |
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| All aboard!!!! |
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| As we went around a BIG bend, we could look back and see the back of our train! |
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| NO! That is NOT Pam looking out the window! |
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| If you look at the middle of the picture, that is a mountain lion den. |
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| Crossing the road in Grand Canyon Village |
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| First view of the canyon! |
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| Panoramic view of canyon. Don't forget to click on it so you get a big version of it! |
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| Corral full of mules that take tourist into the canyon |
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| These guys just got off of the trail. |
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| The reddish, zig zag trail up thru the green trees is Bright Angel trail - we are going to climb that on Memorial Day. |
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| This is a lower part of the trail. |
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| More views of the canyon |
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| Surprise! Mike standing out on a ledge looking out over the canyon! |
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| Hopi Indian museum |
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| We were lucky enough to see a Hopi Indian dance demonstration. This was the basket dance. |
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| Hoop dance |
Hopi grass dance
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| Singers on the train |
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| Help! It's train robbers! |
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| Oh no! They are on our train! |
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| Mike's in trouble now...... |
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| The big question is "is the robber smiling?" Keep smiling Mike, that's a gun next to your head! |
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