Day 31 -- May 1, 2003

We extended our stay in Williams, Arizona so we could ride the Grand Canyon Railroad from Williams to the Grand Canyon and back. The railroad kept the town of Williams alive after Interstate 40 took the cars away from Route 66, so it was very important to us to support the railroad.

Williams is at an elevation of 6,800 feet, and the temperature was a nippy 46 degrees at 8 pm last night, so we dressed much warmer than usual. This was the only day on the trip that I wore long pants.

We met Fred and Barbara from Wisconsin in the parking lot of the Grand Canyon Railway. Inside, ticket agents Jessica and Ivonne took good care of us. Jessica recommended the Pine Country Restaurant for great pie and good home cooking, so we planned to take her advice and go there for dinner.

The Grand Canyon Railway does an excellent job of making the day a memorable experience. The customer service was top-notch, and the day was filled with entertainment and extras. This began with a very well-presented gunfight show before we boarded the train. The skit was clever and funny, and the actors did a nice job. They pulled a man from the audience to be part of the show. I started to take off my beads as they scanned the crowd for a likely suspect, but I didn't, and I wasn't picked on. I noticed that none of the gunfighters even made eye contact with me throughout the day. Not into beads.

After the gunfight show, we boarded the train. It was a nice touch when every employee of the Railway and the restaurant in the railway station came out and waved goodbye as the train left the depot.

Each train car has its own Customer Service Agent, and Nan was great. She had a wonderful personality, and she entertained us with information and humor throughout the trip northbound and southbound. There was also entertainment on the train. We enjoyed an excellent western fiddle player on the two-and-a-half-hour trip up to the Grand Canyon and a Navajo singer / guitarist on the return trip. There was also a bank robbery on the return trip. Everyone had their hand out for tips, but other than that, the entertainment was very good and unexpected.

A big tall man sat down in the seat in front of us. We met Harry Turner from Cottonwood, Arizona. Harry was a real treat. He knows Arizona like the back of his hand, and it was like having our own personal tour guide for the day. We learned so much about the area, the Grand Canyon, the mountains, trees, Indians, cows, you name it! It was interesting to learn that Harry was born in a POW Camp during World War II. There just can't be many Americans like Harry!

One of the interesting sights along the train route is a family of squatters who have been living on the land since 1916.

The only problem with the train is that you have only three hours at the Grand Canyon. It was a real race to hit several of the viewing points as we rode a shuttle bus from the depot to the last overlook and back. It was overcast, so we didn't get to see it at its best, but the Grand Canyon is truly one of the wonders of the world and an amazing sight. I had only seen the Grand Canyon from a high-flying airplane, so it was a treat for me to see it up close and personal.

We couldn't believe the edge is just right there almost everywhere you go. It's easy to see how a number of people fall in and die each year. The Grand Canyon is not the place to bring small children!

I wonder if I would have been as impressed as I was with Big Bend if I had seen the Grand Canyon first. I'll never know. Everyone needs to see the Grand Canyon as it is such an amazing work of nature, but I really think Big Bend should become much better known and much better attended as it is awe-inspiring in its beauty and diversity.

An artist was sitting quietly painting just a few feet from the rim at one point. We waited for her to notice us, and we introduced ourselves to Judy Van Heist. She was working on a beautiful watercolor. When she heard about our trip and book, I thought she had one of the best questions/comments about what the book should be about. Judy simply asked: "What has surprised you?"

Taking pictures for folks when you sense they'd like a photo with their designated photographer in the shot as well is always a great way to meet nice people. That's how we met Scott, Amy, Beverly, and Clarence.

We also met Chuck, the engineer on the train, and Bernie, the conductor.

The two-and-a-half-hour trip back to Williams would have been long, but our new friend, Harry Turner, was there in the seat in front of us.

We walked around Williams and took photos. Williams has a number of Route 66-oriented businesses. The town still has most of its old buildings in use, and there are several old motels and great signs.

We made our way to the Pine Tree Restaurant for dinner. We were starved as the time constraint at the Grand Canyon made us decide to skip lunch and grab a cookie and candy bar at a snack shop. A great selection of pies caught my eye as soon as we walked in. We had chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans. The Pine Tree was great -- a place where they still bring a basket of Saltine crackers when they serve your green salad. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

Our waitress, Jessica, couldn't believe what she was hearing when we ordered four pieces of pie! With 38 pies on the menu, there were just too many that I felt we should try. We enjoyed Coconut Cream, Blueberry Apple Peach, Elvis Pie (peanut butter, chocolate, and banana), and Chocolate Dipped Cherry. All were very good. Boz really liked the Coconut Cream, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Blueberry Apple Peach. The folks seated next to us couldn't believe their eyes when the four big pieces of pie were delivered, and we met Pat and Bill. We also met the cashier, Karen, and her son Cody and his girlfriend, Kelly. Lots of other folks were looking our way in disbelief. We had not managed to eat any pie for several days, so I figured this was a good way to get back on track with our pie sampling. We only took a few bites of each slice.

We visited the Route 66 Roadside Store after dinner to shop for a Route 66 Christmas ornament, and we found one. Jenny is the owner, and we really liked her. She suggested that we see the old mining town of Jerome when we visit the Sedona area tomorrow. We met Larry and Barbara while in Jenny's store; they spend their vacations visiting national parks.

We can learn a lot from the people we meet. Today would not have been nearly as much fun or as informative if we had not been lucky enough to be assigned the seats behind Harry Turner.

The Daily Journal of Round America:

Each day, we collect our thoughts on a web page just like this. We drop in some of the photos from the day. Our goal with the Daily Journal is to write about the towns we visit, the sights we see, the people we meet, and the pie we eat. We write about where we are, where we've been, and where we are going, but we also make observations about what we've seen and done as well as about life in general.

You can follow our travels from the Daily Journal section of this web site. Other pages of interest include the running report of "vital statistics" on the Trip Scorecard, our nominations for the Best & Worst of the trip, as well as a rating of the pie we eat. If you'd like to see information for a specific state or town, click here, and then click on the state of interest and the full itinerary is shown.