DFT24 - Day 10 and 11

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 Tuesday we headed to the Grand Canyon by train. One thing about us is if there is the ability to take a train ride…we are going to do it. So we had to be in Williams, AZ and on the train for a 9:30 departure. On the way out of Flagstaff we stopped at the Campus Coffee Bean for coffee and pastries and it was so good! I had an Almond Joy latte and Daniel got another cinnamon roll. 

The train ride lasted 2 hours and 15 mins but when you got off in Grand Canyon Village you had roughly three hours before you had to be back on the train. On the train ride to the Grand Canyon we had a fiddle player come to our car. EG got to play the fiddle with him. 



Once we got off we walked around all the points of interest in the Village. Had lunch in the Harvey House Cafe which was very mid. And then by the time that was over it was pretty much time for the train ride back.  

On the ride back we had a guitar player sing in our car. We got ice cream sandwiches from the cafe car. And then we were robbed 😉 by some escaped bandits. 

If you just want a quick and pretty easy way to see the Grand Canyon…I def suggest the train ride. 

Once we got back to Williams we decided to stick around town a little while and do our laundry. We put the clothes in the wash and headed to eat tacos. Then after dinner we put them in to dry and walked around for a little while. It was perfect to do our laundry and not have to sit there and wait on everything. 

It rained almost all day in Flagstaff on Tuesday and the campsite was flooded again but we got back so late both girls were already asleep. But it rained all night long and almost all morning. Finally there was a break in the rain long enough for us to pack everything up in the truck to head out. 

Wednesday morning we headed back to the Grand Canyon this time by car. Here is a lovely picture from when we go here of C and I sitting in the car while Daniel and EG got to go up in the Desert View Watch Tower…someone wasn’t cooperating 🤷🏻‍♀️ For the rest of the day she banned to the carrier everywhere we went. 

We went to the main Visitors Center at Mather Point and had lunch in the grab and go cafe. My ham and Swiss on a pretzel bun was really good. We watched the video and then headed into the bookstore to by the girls a stuffie….because what trip is complete without a new stuffed animal 🤷🏻‍♀️

After Mather Point we headed to the Village where we were staying for the night at Maswik Lodge. We are a little frustarated with our lodging at the Grand Canyon. First off we wanted to book a cabin which is right on the rim but it was only for three people. Not knowing how the cabins were set up we called and asked if we could rent one since our fourth was Charlotte and she could honestly sleep anywhere and they said No. So we booked this lodge. Well now that we have been here we could have for sure checked into the cabin and no one would have ever known that we have 3.5 in there for the night. But anyway…online it says check in time for here is 3pm. So we made a dinner reservation for 4:30 at the El Tovar Dining Room. I went in at 3 and they should it was still be cleaned and they would call as soon as it was ready. It went back at 3:30 since we had a reservation at 4:30 and they said it could possibly be 5pm before I got the keys. I got really upset. Tried to call Xanterra several times and  no luck with reaching anyone who could actually help. All I wanted was for someone to push my reservation back. The dining room wasn’t answering because it wasn’t technically open yet. The front desk inside Maswik Lodge wasn’t very helpful and honestly didn’t really want to even try to help. In the end we decided we would just try to get there as quick as possible. Made there by 5pm and they took us in late…thankfully. 

I was a little nervous to eat dinner there because C is not known the behave the best at dinner especially since she hadn’t nap yesterday. After she ate while we were waiting on our check she did try to lay in her chair and rolled off it into the floor. That’s when she told me she was sleepy 🤦🏻‍♀️ Overall both girls did great…but we let EG have Chocolate Mousse for dessert…that won’t happen again for a while. She was wired after that. 

I really enjoyed walking around after dinner when there were not ten million people out and about. We walked .4 miles on the Bright Angel Trail and watched the sunset! 




Now that we have seen the Grand Canyon it is time to start our journey back East!

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