I had a fun adventure planned for the day. Everyone knew we were going to the Grand Canyon today, but nobody knew it would be by train! The train was scheduled to leave by 9:30 am sharp, and we were about 30 minutes from the station.
Tip #4 – Pack up all of your stuff the night before and make sure you have plenty of gas if you need to be somewhere in the morning.
We woke up at 7:30 in the morning and felt like we had a lot of time on our hands. WRONG! We have 2 kids, an entire van to load up and we still need to pick up the tickets. Good news is we got there with 11 minutes to spare, but the morning would have been way easier if we would have just packed the night before.
A trip to the West just wouldn’t be right without a train ride!
Once we got off the train, we went straight up to the Grand Canyon. The views were just spectacular as it was a clear, bright day. This was Jeff’s first time to see this Natural Wonder of the World in person, and he was really shocked by its beauty and size. Owen decided it was nap time as soon as I started walking up to it:
After looking around and hanging out, it was time for Dre to complete his lessons for the Junior Ranger Program. We went to a ranger lecture about the mighty Condor. Dre learned that a mama Condor’s time-out method is to step on the fledgling’s neck when it is misbehaving. That fact is what he put down on his Junior Ranger book when asked about the lesson. Afterward, he obtained his Grand Canyon badge and completed a special assignment book for the 100th Birthday Badge (which has been a bit difficult to obtain).
The time went by quickly and soon enough it was time to get back on the train. That is where trouble was waiting. Robbers came aboard the train and wanted to take our money! We had informed Dre that some bad cowboys might come and rob the train. We asked what he would do, and his response was that he “would just kill them.” Well, he got his opportunity:
That was by far the highlight of the Grand Canyon for me. Dre made all of that up 100% on his own, so Jeffrey and I are in for some trouble when he is older I think.
We ate some sandwiches in the hotel room for dinner and then went down for a swim afterwards. Another great day on our great journey.
Tip #5 – If you are going to be hiking at all, I would recommend something that allows you to carry baby on your back. It feels way better than a front carry and just doesn’t seem to add as much strain.
That train ride looked amazing! Will have to do that with Carter someday. I LOVED Owen’s expression when the robber took the money! 😂😂 What a great way to visit the Canyon. Good tips too!
What a blast. Good thing Dre didn’t have $10 and conceal carry. He might have had to take action.