Grand Canyon Arizona - A Grand Tour on the Right Track
Within its own world, the landscape of the Grand Canyon assumes a sweet uncertainty.
In all its grandeur, there co-exists a source of bravado and a nurturing soul. The Grand Canyon speaks volumes to the senses. Ethereal in its beauty, its sculptors are the elements of millenniums. I see why it justifiably assumes its right as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Morning comes, and powered by adrenalin, I can barely contain my enthusiasm. For most, it will be a regular day. For me, it will change the way I look at life. In a little more than two hours I shall come face to craggy face with the Grand Canyon, a place where Mother Nature acts as principal architect.
Williams, Arizona is known as “a small town with a big destination.” In the heart of the Kaibab National Forest, the town thrives inside the world’s largest stand of ponderosa pines. Well-preserved Williams is home to the Grand Canyon Railway, an environmentally responsible route to and from the Grand Canyon.
The fully-restored 1923 Harriman coaches carry 133,000 visitors per year to the grand gorge, eliminating approximately 46,000 automobiles annually from entering the Grand Canyon National Park. A future park project will focus on a total ban on cars in the Grand Canyon, to take effect in the next six to seven years.
I arrived at the Grand Canyon Railway Station in Williams, to the friendly greeting of Marshall John Moore. The retired Missouri marshal doubles as entertainment coordinator for the Grand Canyon Railway, and his frontier lawman appearance adds to the authenticity of this 1900s railway depot.
Marshall Moore escorted me around the many amenities of the historic Williams depot. “It isn’t just a place where you board the train.” The 1908 complex is adjacent to the new Fray Marcos Hotel which adheres to the 1900s architecture of the original landmark.
Our tour continued to the Depot Gift Shop with its endless array of collectibles and official Grand Canyon Railway gear. Giftware manager Dick Baker said, “I pretty much have it all, everything related to the Grand Canyon, that is.”
We moved on to the Railroad Museum, located in the original dining room of the Fray Marcos Hotel. On display were photographs and facts about the history of the Grand Canyon line and the industries that built up the area of Williams. Outside, Steam Locomotive #20, built in 1910, and a restored 1923 Harriman coach car, are on free public display all year round.
There are three classes available on the train - coach, club, and chief. Coach, with reversible seats, holds 90. Round trip fare is $49 per person. Club accommodates 58, features a mahogany bar, and complimentary coffee and pastries. A club class upgrade is $12 per person. The chief class boasts a stylish observation lounge with luxurious sofas and chairs facing the aisle, and accommodates 25 guests. The open-air platform, complimentary continental breakfast, and cheese and fruit plate on return, requires an upgrade of $50 per person.
I waited with the marshal for the call to board from the conductor. On a typical day, 15 minutes before boarding, The Cataract Creek Outlaws perform a Wild West stunt show. “We probably have one of the finest stunt shows around,” said Marshall Moore. “Unfortunately, we can’t perform today because of the snow. The weather has really kicked us in the butt this week.”
In deep snow, we departed at 9:30 as scheduled, the steel rails plotting our pathway, and for the next 65 miles I discovered that the old adage “getting there is half the fun,” is actually true. I joined seven others aboard the elegant chief class parlor car. Taking a seat, I watched as the Kaibab National Forest and the Arizona grasslands unfolded on the moving picture window of the Grand Canyon Railway’s chief “Keokuck” car.
At 11:45 a.m. our train pulled into the Grand Canyon Depot, one of the three remaining log depots and the only one of its kind serving an operating railroad. From here, our tour bus was to depart just west of the depot for the South Rim excursion. We boarded the “Grand Tour” bus, ready to travel to east and west rim overlooks and many canyon viewpoints.
After a welcome to the Grand Tour, our driver/guide Joanna Pettingill took us to our first stop at the Bright Angel Lodge. We enjoyed a hot buffet lunch in the Arizona Room which overlooked the canyon, then were off to our first lookout point, heeding the warnings of slippery conditions. Considering there are five million visitors to the park annually, the accident rate is low, but extreme caution near the edges is important.
The Trail view point was our first of four stops. My feet were planted firmly on the ground, but my senses were soaring. Layered cliffs of colored stone were stained by mineral deposits and carved in a colossus of surreal shapes.
This storybook of erosion is punctuated by the Colorado River. “The carving of the canyon by the Colorado River has taken place over the last six million years, exposing rocks at its base that are close to two billion years old,” Joanna said. “This was all once under the ocean.”
The Grand Canyon is vast and beautiful, a territorial goliath 190 miles long and one mile deep, covering a total of 1900 square miles. I stood long and stared. It is like no other landscape, a universe unto itself with an outer space feel. The Bright Angel Trail was visible from where we stood, its hikers dwarfed by measureless terrain.
Enthralled from our first vantage, I couldn’t imagine it getting any better. It did. Each scenic outlook offered a different perspective, showing off unique characteristics of the canyon. Joanna led us from one stunning viewpoint to another: Hopi Point, Yavapai Point and Observation Station, and our final viewing stop, Mather.
Our bus tour ended back at the Grand Canyon Railway depot where we began. The canyon itself is worthy of days of exploring, but the Fred Harvey Grand Tour undoubtedly provided the finest, short-term experience for those who don’t actually want to hike into the canyon.
Re-boarding the train took on new meaning and a clearer understanding of the pressures of the park’s salvation. After bandits staged a mock hold up aboard our coach, I reflected on the canyon’s natural blessings that are in imminent jeopardy of being robbed.
Within our world, the popularity of the Grand Canyon poses a risk to its preservation. The significance of the Grand Canyon Railway not only embraces the heritage that forged the establishment and protection of our first national parks, but it provides visitors the “privilege of entering the park and not a license to alter it.” Quite simply, all that is wondrous should be respected. After all, isn’t that the key and the basis for everything of value?
Author: Tracey Rayson
| Add your comments |
