Williams and the Grand Canyon

  Williams, Arizona, United States
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

For the past few days we have surrendered ourselves, freely and completely, to the tourist machinery of the Grand Canyon. We had the foresight, many weeks ago when we were planning this trip, to realise that we might be in need of a break from driving once we had been on the road for a few weeks. So we booked ourselves a railway package for visiting the Canyon. We haven't driven the car for 2 entire days! Hope we still know how (although driving an automatic isn't too much of a challenge)...


We arrived on Sunday, heading in from Holbrook on the interstate that has replaced old route 66 and become unavoidable here. On the way, we stopped to view another crater - this time not a volcanic one, but one that was created by a meteorite!

Meteor Crater

Mark trying to lift a meteor

It was enormous, more than 1km in diameter and 200m deep. Standing on the rim, staring at this point where earth and space collided, you cannot help being struck with awe. And this isn't even a particularly large meteor crater - it owes its fame to the fact that it was the first proven meteor impact crater and it is also the best preserved. Nothing much grows out here in the high desert, so the crater still lies open to the elements. Nor do those elements pose much of a threat to its shape, it barely rains here and the wind simply soars across the top of it. We joined the guided rim walk to admire the crater from some other viewpoints and hear more about who discovered that it was created by an impact rather than earthly forces.


Williams meanwhile, our base for the past few days, is another Route 66 town and was in fact the last one to give up the battle to save the old road. For many years, the town battled against the arrival of the interstate, but even this fighting spirit could not prevent the inevitable. But the town still has much of its charm, with plenty of buildings well preserved from its heydays, first as a railway stop and later when it accommodated those travelling Route 66. The real reason to come here though is that it is the starting point of the Grand Canyon Railway. A century ago, before cars took over, this railway was what provided access to the Canyon for early sightseeers. Now it has been revitalised to offer modern-day tourists a similar experience.

The steam engine that didn't pull us to the Canyon

We checked into the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, right opposite the train depot before joining many other excited people in the queue to pick up our train tickets. With an evening to kill before we head off to the Canyon, we thought that we would make good use of the Hotel's splendid indoor pool. Sadly though, the indoor setting did not mean indoor temperatures and the near-freezing outdoor air was seeping in through the cracks under the doors. Needless to say we didn't float about for long, but the chill certainly got our hearts racing and the mad dash back to our warm room offered some exercise. We certainly welcomed our evening meal which was served, buffet-style in Max & Thelma's restaurant (all part of the Grand Canyon Railway organisation), just across the road. The food was delicious and it was a real treat to be able to choose how much we wanted so that our plates were not overloaded.


The next morning, we got up early and after a very tasty buffet breakfast at Max & Thelma's we boarded the train. While we had forked out top dollar for this railway package, we did not go so far as to book first class tickets or seats in the special "dome" car which had a glass bubble roof for better views. It didn't matter though, we were in Budd class, with the masses and with a winning atmosphere. Sadly the authentic steam engine does not pull the train in the cooler winter months, so we had to make do with the diesel locamotive. Not that you notice once you are on board anyway. The 63 mile trip still takes a nice long time - over 2 hours - as the train chugs peacefully along at a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour.

On board entertainment

They train company helps to pass the time with the provision of "family entertainment", a fiddler who plays lively cowboy ditties and encourages much clapping along. And while the landscape along the journey is not wonderfully exciting, the journey passes very pleasantly and everyone is tangibly distracted by the anticipation of seeing the Canyon.


We pull into the depot up at the Canyon, but still we canīt actually see the Canyon itself. Just a few deer that are standing around happily letting people take their pictures and many, many, many tourists wandering about the place.

Out of the train, onto the bus

The Grand Canyon

We are ushered out of the train and straight onto a coach for a tour that is also included in our package. We drive out of Grand Canyon Village a little way, to a lookout just to the East and there, once we disembark, we catch our first glimpse of the Canyon's expanse. It is impossible to describe either what we were seeing or how we felt about it. The Canyon is simply too big to take in on the first viewing and because of its incredible size it just doesn't look real. Sure, the rock closest to us looks real enough, but the buttresses and cliffs on the far side look like they have been inserted, like they are just a big piece of decorative wallpaper across the horizon. It is too far away to gain a sense of perspective or depth - the far side of the Canyon is 18 miles away. Back on the bus, the tour guide mutters away incomprehensibly about all manner of things that bare no direct relation to the Canyon at all while navigating his way to our next stop. We go to two more lookout points before we are deposited back in Grand Canyon Village and finally left to our own devices. We welcome the freedom to do our own thing again as if we have been locked up for days, not just shuttled around for 2 hours.


And now our real Grand Canyon experience can begin. We check into the Lodge where we will be staying the night (we are booked on the return train trip the next day) and then go off to explore.

Us at the Canyon

Sun setting a bit at the Canyon

Finally we have the time and the space to get to grips with the Canyon and start to take it in. As the sun starts to set, we find ourselves in a much quieter spot on the rim and we pauze for some time to admire the colours. But we don't stick around (stupidly!) to admire the full colourful spectacle of the setting sun because we need to kit ourselves up with a few essential items for later in the evening. We are here for the full moon, so we want to join the guided ranger tour, but it is already seriously cold and it will also be seriously dark very soon. So we head to the main shop to buy some gloves, torches and chocolate bars to help get us through the night. Then we follow the rim trail which is now lit by the light of the moon. In fact, the moon is so bright that we have moon-shadows following us and we only need our torches where we go through patches of dark trees. Off to our side, the nearest walls of the Canyon are also glowing in the moonlight. We join the ranger-led group for a stroll a bit further along the rim. He chatted away about some of the Canyon's features and wildlife until we were suddenly halted at a bend in the trail. There ahead of us, spread across the path, was a group of elk, hanging out and grazing in the moonlight. They looked up at us as we looked on at them and there was a stand-off for some time until we decided to turn and head back the way we had come. In a quiet spot a little further back up the path, the ranger talked to the group about other wildlife encounters that visitors to the park had experienced. It was interesting to hear that, although there are elk, coyote and mountain lions in the park, the greatest danger actually comes from a much, much smaller creature: scorpions. Thankfully it is too cold for them up here on the rim of the Canyon, so you need not worry about checking your bags and boots unless you are camping down on the Canyon floor. Another fact of note was that, although rattlesnake bites are very rare, one woman managed to pick up 2 on the same day. She was on a rafting trip though the canyon, got out of the boat onto one of the riverside beaches and stepped right on a rattlesnake that promptly bit her to warn her to back off. She clambered up the beach with her things, then on her return to the boat she managed to stand on the snake again, receiving her second bite. We were unsure whether this story says more about the rattlesnake or about the woman concerned. Oh yes, and apparently 5 people a year manage to "fall off" the Canyon, or rather, to fall into it, presumably to a rather horrible death. Apparently most are men between the ages of 25 and 34, acting like idiots while posing for photos...



Back at the lodge, we slept like logs in our incredibly comfortable room. A good thing too, because the alarm was set for the crack of dawn. We were up, out of the room and shivering on a bench besides the rim of the Canyon by 6.30am, ready to watch the sun light up the rocks around up.

The sun starting to rise at the Canyon

It did so, slowly, peacefully, but not all that dramatically since we were not seeing it from the best vantage point. But it was wonderful to have the chance to admire the Canyon without the crowds, in fact almost without any other people around us. And it was good to be up early, because this meant that we could have an early breakfast and make an early start on the hike that we had planned.

Some helpful hiking instructions

Mules ahoy!

By quarter to eight we were heading off for our first adventure "below the rim" - somewhere that only 5% of visitors to the Canyon actually go! We followed a steap trail that switchbacked down the side of the Canyon, passing deer, squirrels and even mountain goats. As we went down, we met people coming up who had come from the North Rim (we were at the South Rim) and had spent a couple of nights down in the Canyon on their way across. It sounded like a special but quite strenuous trip. After just under 2 hours we reached our target for the day: 3-mile point. We had hiked, and this time it really was a hike, 3 miles of trails but had also descended an impressive distance into the Canyon. Down here it was much easier to get to grips with the scale of everything and, while it was still awesomely big, things didn't look fake any more. We munched on bananas for energy and rested on some rocks while admiring the view down further into the Canyon's depths and up behind us to the rocky bluffs. Soon it was time to head back, since we could expect the return journey to take up to twice as long because of the climb.

A nice, easy stroll

Mountain goats on the trail

Needless to say, the hike up was much more tiring, but we had plenty of excuses to stop and rest - a little chat to some fellow hikers, a particularly scenic viewpoint or getting out of the way of a mule train as it came down the path. In the end, we made very good time and had just the right amount of energy to complete the climb back to the rim. 5 hours after we had started our treck, we were back at the top and had covered a total of 6 miles. We were exhausted but satisfied.

Checking our progress on the hike

A long way back up...

When we got back to the lodge to buy some lunch, a ranger came over to Laura as she was paying for the food:


"I see you have been down into the Canyon" he said, looking at the state of her jeans and shoes, covered in thick red dust.


"Yes, we have!" she replied, thrilled to have made an impression.


"How far did you get?"


"Just to 3 mile point and back."


"That's pretty good, congratulations!" he finished, with a broad and genuine smile.


Having well and truly done our exercise for the day (or week?) we were happy that we didn't have to drive out of the Canyon but could rely on the train to take us back to Williams. The return trip was even more relaxing. The train was buzzing with the energy of people who have had a fabulous day and are sitting back to contemplate on what they have seen. And the train service didn't let us down on the return journey either - there was entertainment aplenty. This time a Native American who played the guitar beautifully and sung in dulcet tones in a language we didn't understand. Then, before we reached Williams, the train drew to an "unexpected" stop (we were actually all told to look carefully out of the left-hand windows and we had a pretty good idea of what would happen). Sure enough, there were cowboys on horses alongside the train and once we stopped, some of the boarded. They then went through the carriages, "robbing" people at gunpoint and generally causing a good stir. They were followed shortly after by the "marshall" who was trying to catch up with and arrest the cowboys. By the time this drama had run its course, we were drawing into the train depot again and it was time for another fabulous meal at Max & Thelma's and another delicious sleep in the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel.