January, 2019

Amtrak to the Grand Canyon.

I've done this before. The trick is to watch for a window of good weather at the canyon and then make the phone call to Xanterra to see if a reservation for two nights at El Tovar is possible on such short notice. Remarkably, it always has been.

Kansas

Newton, Kansas in the middle of the night. The train is scheduled to leave at 2:45am.

Colorado

Daybreak at a stop in La Junta, Colorado. There's an engine crew change, here, so the stop is a few minutes longer than normal, giving you time to get out and take the brisk air.

The Spanish Peaks.

New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico is one of two fueling stops between Chicago and Los Angeles (the other is in Kansas City).

The sun will be down before the train reaches Arizona.

The sunset colors are spectacular on this cold evening. We're running just under 90 mph.

Arizona

Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon Railway, which will take me to the South Rim. The track on the right is the mainline to Flagstaff, and the track on the left is what I'll be on taking me to the Grand Canyon.

There are stairs up from the train station, and then it's just a hundred yards to the rim. This is the first view.

El Tovar Lodge (1905). This hotel set the standard for all the iconic National Park lodges to come.

The main dining room.

Canyon views from a wide range of overlooks. The colors change during the day and depending on where you're standing. I did not hike down the (snow covered) Bright Angel Trail.

Mules of the Grand Canyon.

The hotels of the South Rim share their vegetable and fruit waste with the mules (the Shrively Apples Program).

More views...

The Grand Canyon Pioneer Cemetery.

(below, left) June 30, 1956 two airliners collided over the Grand Canyon killing all 128 on both airplanes. Twenty-nine of the victims are buried here (others are buried in a mass grave in Flagstaff).