Thurs 5 July 9644 steps 5 flights
At 7 am we returned to Williams where we gathered in an arena at the train station for a live shoot out. It was a very amateurish cowboy skit and the hidden microphones did not work very well, which made it difficult to hear the dialogue. Although that may have been a blessing in disguise. However, I think the kids enjoyed it, especially when the dying cowboy nearly lands face down in a pile of horse manure and at least we were sitting in the shade. Then we boarded the train and sat in a cool lounge with dome windows on the way to the Grand Canyon. To be honest, there is not a lot to see on the way there, but it was a very relaxing trip and we had some entertainment when the roving minstrel came by and sang a few foot-stomping, hand-clapping, old-fashioned ditties.
Then we hopped on a bus which drove us to a few different lookout points. The Grand Canyon is indeed the most incredible, vast chasm and no photos can hope to do it justice. To put it in perspective, the white line you see in the Colorado river is actually a rapid that is over 300m long and 100m wide. We were lucky enough to see a condor. The bus returned us to the village where we had lunch and continued to explore till we took the train home at 4:30pm.
In the late afternoon the colors of the canyon start changing. In retrospect, maybe we should have spent the night in order to watch sunset or sunrise over the canyon.
On the trip back, the train was “hijacked” and boarded by “train robbers”, but during their show, while we were waiting for them to reach out cabin, the train stopped again, and an ambulance and fire truck arrived and finally the paramedics took someone of the train on a stretcher, with oxygen mask and drip. It was very interesting to see how efficient they were and how none of the motorists who had been stopped by the train crossing the road got impatient. It whole thing took about 35 minutes. The train continued and the robbers found our compartment, we tipped them a dollar each. They were followed by the sheriff. Ham acting, but good fun.
Chuckle of the day: Kneeling buses and Americans with their dogs
What I learnt: I have a healthy respect for heights and keep what I consider to be a safe distance from the edge. David too. The ground is covered with loose stones and dust and is very uneven, one misplaced step and goodbye. It happens, apparently a few every year, mostly men aged 21 to 30.
I have to ask “Am I over-cautious because have I inherited the “fears”of my father or am I just sensible?” which leads to the questions “Do the people who we saw posing or doing yoga positions on the edge of the precipice or on rocks that jut out over the canyon think they are invincible or do they think at all?”
Kim's journey 