Thursday, 3/ 15 – Friday, 3/16: We just couldn’t decide what to do next. Debated back and forth between keeping to the original plan of following Rte. 66 all the way to Winslow or heading south to Prescott Valley to try to escape the cold. Then we realized wherever we went we would want to do something interesting during the day and the thought of a train ride sounded appealing. But we’d already checked the Grand Canyon off our list and never intended to go again, so that didn’t seem like an option until it was almost too late. Somewhere along the drive it became clear that if we skipped the train ride I would be disappointed so Ron sped us into Williams to try to catch the 9:30 Grand Canyon express. We arrived at the depot just a few minutes before the whistle blew, a bit frazzled and unsure where we would leave the van and (more importantly) where we would spend the night when we got back. More discussion, more decision making and we chose to buy tickets for the next day, check into the RV park just a few steps from the depot and relax. Lunch was at the Red Raven – a small bistro on the main drag – followed by pie and coffee at the Pine Mountain Cafe. We returned to the van, did some laundry and settled in for the rest of the day.
The train ride took us through high desert terrain (where we spotted a prairie falcon hunting from the train window) and up into the pine-juniper forest before depositing us at the Grand Canyon Village, just a staircase away from the historic El Tavor Lodge where we enjoyed another nice lunch. Boarded the Orange shuttle bus to the east side of the park and took in the views from Yaqui Point. Now I’d been taking pictures since we left Williams and kept getting an out of memory” message on the camera screen so I continually deleted some of the worse ones. I concluded that my chip was full so when we got back to the visitors center to change buses I bought a new one. When I opened the compartment to put it in I found an empty slot. Apparently I never put the original back into the camera after downloading pictures to the laptop. Missed so many beautiful shots of the canyon!
We continued our journey the next day and stopped to spend a few hours totally mesmerized by the exhibits in the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. One of the best museums we’ve visited on this trip. I could have spent weeks in the room dedicated to the history of the native American cultures of the Colorado Plateau. Now, we have spent a lot of time hearing about the diverse civilizations that developed there and how they differed, how they evolved and how they were affected by the Europeans that arrived in the 16th century, but this exhibit put it all into perspective using artifacts gathered from across the plateau and oral history as recounted by current tribal members. Researchers still work with the museum to add to the understanding of this rich, but often overlooked, American story.
The state park just south of Flagstaff we had chosen to stay in was still closed for the season, so we wandered down to the Lake Mary area in the Cocino National Forest to try to find an open camp. All the federal campgrounds were also closed but we turned into the Mormon Lake Road – still in the forest – and pulled into the same off-road spot we used last spring when on our way to the canyon. There was plenty of snow still on the ground and lots of puddles, but it was above freezing for a change and we stayed cozy and warm in the van.
On Sunday morning we headed to Winslow and checked into La Posada before walking into town. Doug arrived a couple of hours later as we were packing some clothes and other necessities. We chatted a bit, visited the on site museum and ate dinner at Turquoise, the very highly rated restaurant located at the hotel.
A little history of the Posada. Built as one of the Harvey hotels that dotted the Santa Fe railroad stops from Kansas City to California the hotel was abandoned once I40 passed by the town of Winslow. It was rescued from destruction by a small group of determined townspeople and brought back to life by a couple from southern California, Alan A and Tina Mion (an artist whose quirky portraiture has hung in the National Portrait Gallery as well as many other notable museums throughout the world).
The Ultimate Road Trip 