It had been years since either of us had seen Grand Canyon National Park. We were thankful to be able to make several day trips from our Williams, AZ, base at Grand Canyon Railway RV Park. The Grand Canyon is about an hour north of Williams, and admittedly, by the third car trip, we were getting a bit tired of the drive. In retrospect, it would have been nice to spend a couple of nights in the trailer village in the national park.
Our first day trip was more or less a planning trip. We stopped at the first visitor center and picked up trail guides and suggested itineraries. We walked a bit of the rim trail and then headed back to Williams.
Our next day trip was our walking day. We parked near the village in the first open spot we could find. Even in March there are lines to get into the park, and parking spots near the village with its lodges are at a premium.
Once parked we started walking on the rim trail towards the west. After a couple of miles, we caught the free shuttle bus to Hermits Rest, the westernmost spot, and then back to our car for some lunch. Then we walked along the rim trail in the other direction, walking back to the visitor center we stopped at the first day. We walked around 4.5 miles total on the rim trail.
We had thought we'd venture to the lower tunnel on the Bright Angel trail. One look at the snow, slush, and mud-covered trail changed our minds. The park service was recommending traction devices and hiking poles. Nope, we had no desire to be a park statistic.
Our third day we made the 22 mile drive to the Desert View and the east entrance to the park. We had planned to eat a picnic lunch, but the picnic tables along the route were covered with snow.
Our last day we rode the Grand Canyon Railway with Arlo, Harold's brother, and his wife, Linda. Once a month the railway runs a steam locomotive as opposed to the diesel. It's around a 2¼ hour ride each way. So you end up with three hours at the Grand Canyon. We had deliberately saved most of the historic building museums and shops for this day, knowing that we didn't want to venture too far and miss our train back.
The Grand Canyon is amazing. We lost count of how many times we said, "Wow!" Go if you can, stay in the park if you can.
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| Zoom to see the snow-covered Bright Angel Trail |
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