We got a taste of the local
climate last night. It got down to 45°. Furnace heat felt
really good.
Today was full of fun. It started with Dick being selected to participate
in a shootout. We then took a 65 mile train trip to Grand Canyon Village, spent 3½
hours enjoying canyon views, returned to the train for a ride home, survived a
holdup, and had nice Mexican dinner at Pancho McGuillicuddy's.
The shootout ...
They
hold a wild-west shootout just before each train departure.
There's a lot of audience interaction before and during the performance.
We talked with the gunslingers before it started and Dick ended up being
selected to be a sucker card player.
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| Scene of the crime |
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| Carol met a gunslinger |
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| "Come on sucker, we're gonna play poker." |
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| "Now these are the rules of the game." |
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"Looks like I've got the winning hand!"
(But, the gunslingers cheat.) |
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| The marshal stepped in. |
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| He had to draw to make his point |
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| The gunslingers went down |
The train ride up ...
The
terrain changed from high desert to prairie, prairie to pine, and pine to
canyon as we traveled to the south rim. We saw deer and antelope (not
sure they were playing). A cowboy musician strolled through the cars
singing, playing a fiddle and joking with passengers.
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| The marshal rode along for extra protection |
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| The fiddler was a joker, too. |
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| Looking back |
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| We traveled through remote country |
Grand Canyon Village ...
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| Arrival |
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| El Tovar Hotel (up close) |
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| El Tovar Hotel (from afar) |
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| Hopi House |
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| Lookout Studio |
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| There were outstanding views everywhere |
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| Looking down on a plateau |
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| A closer look at a structure below |
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And still closer
(there's a burro down there) |
The ride back ...
Everything
went smoothly until we were stopped by train robbers.
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| Mt. Humphreys (12,633ft elev) |
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| Robbers stopped the train |
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| They wanted cash, coins and jewels |
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The marshal saved the day
(but, wouldn't throw the bad guys
off the train because of litter laws) |
End of the trip ...
The
train engineer was a woman. She handled the big engine beautifully.
 |
| our engine |
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| our driver (on the left) |
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This steam engine has been
converted to run on vegetable oil! |
The Grand Canyon is an amazing site. It's hard to know, before visiting there, how big it really is. Did you ever do any hiking here or take the donkey ride down?
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