Williams, Grand Canyon and Prescott

So many pictures. Fantastic View. So little time! I will share more in the days to come. We had a beautiful weekend and the weather was perfect to be outside. Friday night we had supper at a well known steak house, Rod's, still operated in it's first historical location. Very good food and service. Saturday we walked all over downtown Williams, the Gateway to the Grand Canyon and the last town to have Route 66bypassed by Interstate 40.
A lot of Rt. 66 memorabilia. We started out for lunch at the Twisters soda fountain. Walked up and down the main street for blocks, browsing in all the shops and taking lots of pictures.
There was a Model T Car rally and lots of bikers in town. This is a very popular destination for folks on a day trip from Phoenix or those on a weekend tour from Las Vegas. Took a pause for pie at the Country Pine restaurant.
OMG is my only comment! The pics say the rest.
This town has much early history, before the automobile days. We attended a "reenactment" of a Fort Williams Civil War Battle in the middle of town.
A Chamber of Commerce group does this every night and they have also marched in Vegas for a Tea Party Appearance of Sarah Palin and John McCain. It was fun to watch and they invited us to sit and have "Cowboy Coffee" around the fire. The railroad reached Williams in 1882. Today it is a Burlington Northern Sante Fe. line. Also many folks come here to ride the Grand Canyon Railway train up to the Grand Canyon National Park and back.
We chose to take a "Marvelous Marvs" Personally Guided tour on Sunday. We went in a very comfortable van with just one other couple, although he can have up to 12 people. It was a wonderful day. He provides a wealth of information along the trails,points out the greatest photo ops. Besides my DH loves livin' on the edge! He offers a fantastic way to see and learn about the Grand Canyon first hand as he is a native to the area. He takes you for a lunch at the cafeteria and then gives you time on your own to explore the gift shops and walk a little farther down the Bright Angel trail if you want to before you head back. This hotel was the one in tne Chevy Chase movie "National Lampoon's "Vacation." The South rim is very commercialized and congested but if ya want the Natural experience, this is it.
On the return trip we watched a video of the Mule Rides to the bottom of the Canyon. Oh how I wish I was younger. I could go for that! When I could do that, I was too busy and couldn't afford it! Due to the large numbers of people, and the large amount of traffic at the busiest National Park, this tour was a wise way to see it. It also helps to cut down on the smog that is emitted into the air and obscuring the views into the canyon. The train takes you up to the beginning of the park, drops you off and you're on your own. You have to make it back to the train before it departs or you're on your own. I really think we got the much better deal for the money!
He picked us up here and dropped us off at our coach! We also chose not to stay at the RV Park by the Depot, but up on the hill at the "Canyon Gateway" RV Park. Very quiet and nice clean facility. Much more reasonable rates also! Yesterday and today we left KayCee at the Canyon Pet Spa. She is tired, so must have had a good time. Today we drove about 60 miles south of here through the Kaibab and Prescott National Forests. We had lunch in Prescott and visited an Affinity RV dealer. Shopped in their store, and looked at some rigs. The one I would consider was a 2010 Winnebago Tour. Ahhhhhhhh. I'm not downsizing with that though, and that kinda was the plan! I just can't get away from comfort! Foofy to the end...lol. We drove over to Prescott Valley to a Bronze Smith shop, that makes bronze statues for many different things. Our youngest son's best friend used to work there, so we stopped in for a look. We got the mini tour when we told them where we were from, and our mutual friend. It is a very interesting procedure to make those Native American and Western Art pieces. We watched the Artists at work!
Of all the days, I forgot to take my camera, so will share those pics that DH took with a disposable camera when we get them developed. We still have a few minutes to spare when we got back, so we drove out to their 18 hole golf course and looked it over and stopped into a "Renaissance" shop that is going out of business. I didn't get my outfit once again, one of these days I will! Hopefully before I go to a Renaissance Festival again. Next time I want to dress up! Believe it or not, tonight we stayed home and ate left overs. I booked our spot for Amarillo Texas on Thursday Night, and by then I will need two hours of exercise to work off that pie!