Tag Archives: trains

Sedona and Grand Canyon …Tentative Itineary

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All right! Things are starting to come together. Here’s what I have so far. This is all subject to booking and my co-traveler’s approval.

DAY 1

Saturday is a travel day. we’ll fly out of Albany into Phoenix and pick up the rental car. The goal is a morning flight so we will have time to swing into Scottsdale for the trolley ride with “Boston Jim”. We can have our lunch there.

Then back on the road for the rest of the drive to Sedona & check-in. ETA between 4 & 6pm. Once checked in we’ll be off to the grocery store for a few food staples and any other essentials we might have forgotten or chose not to pack.

Finish the day watching the sunset at the Airport Mesa.

DAY 2

Recover from yesterday’s full travel day. Take our time getting out and about. Once out, head for Upper Sedona and take the double trolley tour.

 Then get lunch in Tlaquepaque.

After lunch browse the shops in Upper Sedona and relax.

Spend the evening at the time share relaxing and grilling dinner. It needs to be an early night because we’ll be headed to Williams early the next morning.

DAY 3

Grand Canyon Railroad and Rim tour with Lunch at the canyon. This is a full day so nothing else is planned here.

Day 4

Back to the Grand Canyon. I’d like to do one of the tours here. Maybe the Bottom of the Grand Canyon? That one is quite unique. Depending on the time we may be able to get the IMAX show in as well. This is still being “fine tuned”.

Day 5

A little closer to “home” we’ll head south toward Cottonwood and check out Montezuma’s castle & Montezuma’s Well. My plan was to do this on our own but we can consider a tour. Then over to the Blazin’ M to see the Olde Towne they have set up. From there catch the Verde Canyon Rail Road trip and then return to the Blazin’ M for the Dinner Show.

Day 6

Slide Rock Park in the morning. Lunch back in Sedona at the Canyon Breeze and then the Trail ride and dinner at the M Diamond Ranch. there might be time for a spa treatment before lunch if we are so inclined LOL

Day 7

This is the last day and depending on how we did up to this point we can chose from a bunch of things.

Red rock Jeep Tour

The Ghost Town of Jerome

Grand Canyon of the Little Colorado

Painted Desert

Out of Africa Safari Park

“Spa Day”

Sunset Crater

Meteor Crater

So that is where the planning stands at this point. There’s enough left on the to-do list for another week!

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Bucket list Sedona ~ take 2

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Ok Here’s the NON-NEGOTIABLE List:The trip to the Grand Canyon on the railroad with the rim tour will be a full day. The 2nd trip will be for the IMAX film and some exploring of the canyon on our own.

Williams Station

 

Verde Canyon Railroad is an afternoon and is combined with the Blazin’ M dinner show.

Verde Canyon Tarin

The morning is open although we want to go to the Blazin’ M before the train ride too because there isn’t time to browse the Old Time town exhibit and shops after the train ride.

Blazin "M" Dinner Show

 

The Cowboy Cookout and trail ride is a mid afternoon and evening leaving the morning free.

M Diamond Ranch

Getting Ready for the Trail Ride

The Sedona trolley will be the first thing we do on Sunday.

Sedona Trolley

 After all their motto is :The Best First Thing To Do in Sedona, Arizona. I think that first day is a great day to get familiar with our surroundings, do some shopping and browsing in Upper Sedona and in general stay close to the condo. Shake off any lingering travel weariness.

　

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http://www.thetrain.com/

 

 

http://verdecanyonrr.com/

 

 

http://www.sedonahorsebackrides.com/cowboy-cookouts/

 

 

http://www.sedonatrolley.com/

　

 

  • Grand Canyon Railroad and Rim Tour
  • 2nd day at Grand Canyon with IMAX Movie
  • Verde Canyon Railroad
  • Blazin’ M Ranch & Dinner Show
  • Trail ride: Sedona Cowboy Cookout…M Diamond Ranch
  • Sedona Trolley

　

South Dakota Wrap-up

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This vacation can be summed up in one word…AMAZING! It was so much more than I expected. What a journey of perception to go from “What’s in South Dakota” to “Amazing”.

Everyone’s hot button will be different but for me it’s animals…all kinds of animals. If I’m in Florida I’m always on the look out for creatures, ‘gators, birds, snakes ; when we go to Alaska I’ll want to see seals, sea birds , bears maybe whales and walrus but I didn’t know what to expect in South Dakota.

I think I loved the Wild Horses the best

Racing the Wind

 followed by those funny little prairie dogs.

But seeing buffalo in the wild ,

 not a zoo was really something as were the “beggin’ burros of Custer State Park.

Of course it is “where the deer and the antelope play”.

I couldn’t help but compare my Pronghorn experience in Arizona with the Pronghorn experience in South Dakota. In South Dakota there were Mule Deer, White tail and antelope around every turn. Some even seemed to be posing for the photo ops, very few seemed skittish..

 Sometimes it seemed like they were as busy watching us as we were them. In Arizona I saw 1 pronghorn way off in the distance and 1 mule deer family while I was on a tour bus at the grand canyon. The difference is notable.

We didn’t eat in fancy restaurants but the food was good and everyone we met was nice and helpful. The Foothills Inn was clean and everything as promised. Our stay there was very pleasant. I have no complaints.

Mount Rushmore takes your breath away when you see it for the first time. It is truly a monument for the ages. I only wish the weather had been better when we visited the mountain. Maybe next trip. Sorry I missed the Needles Highway but Iron Mountain Road was a great experience. Had our budget and time allowed, we definitely should have included a visit to Crazy Horse and not just the drive by. Next time?

　

Keystone to Hill City and back on a vintage train. The 1880 Train did not disappoint.

 It was a relaxing ride through the Blackhills while the narrators gave us quick bits and stories sprinkled with lots of humor.

　

　

The caves, Wind Cave and the mining tunnel at Thunder Falls…both interesting and worthwhile visits. There are still many more caves in the area to explore as well as more passages and tours in Wind Cave. I guess you could say we only “scratched the surface”.

The Mammoth Dig isn’t a cave but it’s a great indoor activity for a rainy day. Well worth a visit.

Rapid City is a great city.. We only just touched on what there is to do. I’ve heard there’s shopping and art but we only had the one day so we got to visit Skyline Dr and Dinosaur Park,

 checked out the presidents in downtown

 and ended at the Journey Museum.

The city has a beautiful park as we learned on our trolley ride and so much more that we missed.

It deserves more than one day. To paraphrase a saying…so much to see, so little time J

I can’t forget to mention the “Longest Dirt Road” that crossed Pine Ridge Reservation and meeting with members of the tribe. A nice, nice memory! Maybe next time we’ll find a Pow-Wow and visit Wounded Knee.

We need another visit to Wall Drug with it’s “Free Ice water” . Great souvenir shopping so bring your wallet! They are also online. www.walldrug.com

Last but certainly not least was magnificent scenery of the Badlands. That rugged beauty impressed me as much as the Grand Canyon but in a different way.

I’m so glad I have so many pictures and wonderful memories. My friends said I wouldn’t want to come back to New England. Well, I wasn’t ready to leave South Dakota, there was still so much to see and do, as one of my readers expressed as they told us of waterfalls and sights we missed, but I am not ready to move there. LOL I would consider a 2nd vacation and next time someone says to me “what’s in South Dakota I’ll know just what to say…”So much you just won’t believe it ‘til you see it!”

　

That about sums up the South Dakota vacation. It’s time to start planning the May trip to Sedona, Arizona. I also have some day trips coming up that I will fill you in on as they roll around. As always suggestions, comments , cheers and jeers and welcome. I hope I’ll be hearing from you, my readers!J

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Just a quick reminder…there’s only a few more days to vote for your favorite name for the Prairie Dog.

Prairie Dog with Flower

 You’ll find the poll on the archive site: http://aroundustyroads.blogspot.com

Thunderhead Falls, South Dakota

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After our drive across Pine Ridge Reservation we stopped back at Mount Rushmore and Sandy retrieved her souvenirs. With no concrete plans we decided to head back north toward Rapid City. We passed The Crazy Horse Memorial and although we had originally planned to go there we were starting to count our pennies. We could see the carving from the road so the decision was made to skip it and save the entry fee.

A little farther along our road trip we saw the sign for Thunderhead Falls. It’s a waterfall that is underground. It had started to rain again so doing something “underground” seemed like a chance to stay dry.

Thunderhead Falls Entrance

We followed the signs and found a dirt parking lot. The first thing I did was inspect the car to see how much mud was covering it. Some had washed off as we drove through the light rain but there was still plenty of evidence of out earlier adventure.

There was cute little train displayed in the parking lot. At first I thought it was just a model or a toy but it turns out that this is an ore train. The cars were loaded in the mine and then the ore was brought back to the surface by this little train.

Ore Train

It was a short walk to the entrance but it was so pretty. The river that creates the falls in the mine poured out in another cascade and we had a little bridge to cross over it before reaching the entrance. It was nice on this rainy day. I bet it would be spectacular in sunshine.

We met a family leaving but other than that we were the only visitors. I guess the rain was keeping the tourists away. The lady at the ticket booth was very friendly and informative and tickets were only a couple of dollars each so well within our shrinking budgets.

She pointed us along a path that we followed on our own. No guide here but you really didn’t need one. The handout we were given with our ticket gave us the history and the mine wasn’t that deep. There were signs identifying different ore deposits and the reason they were important and then there was the falls itself.

I know underground falls aren’t all that rare but I had never seen one so thins was an enjoyable , if brief, side trip. A very nice “filler”

I think pictures say a thousand words and can do a better job of finishing this post off.

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1880 train Hill City to Keystone

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I don’t know about Sandy but I had a good night sleep that night and we were both up in plenty of time to get ready to head to Hill City to catch the 1880 Train. The railroad runs from Hill City to Keystone and back. The engines and cars are so authentic that many film companies use footage for movies and TV programming, Some of this programming includes Gunsmoke, Orphan Train, Dakota Woman, National Geographic , PBS, and the BBC.

The total round trip is about 2 hours but we planned to get off and explore Keystone a little before catching the return . We weren’t under any time constraints except for the train schedule as this was the only “planned activity” today.

After grabbing our Jimmy Dean sausage breakfast sandwich it was back in the car and heading out RT 44. On the way to the junction of 385 south we passed signs for Thunderhead Falls. This is billed as an underground waterfall. That went on our “possible” list.

All of the roads were nice and wide and well paved. We were making good time when I spotted something on the left side of the road. Sandy didn’t see what had caught my attention and I was too busy making a U-turn to explain. With any luck she would see soon enough.

Completing the U-turn I pulled off the road to the shoulder and was rewarded with a great look at more wild animals. I wasn’t sure what they were. I thought they might be big horn sheep but none of them had the distinctive curved horns. It took some research and asking around before I settles on an ID of Big Horn juveniles and ewes.

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We were soon joined by other cars which were pulling over and taking pictures. Finally the whole herd started across the road. I held my breath because the cars were really flying down this wide highway but I shouldn’t have worried. As the little parade crossed the road the on-coming traffic stopped and waited until they were safely across the road.

Then it was back on the highway for us in order to get to Hill City in time for the Train.

Water Tower Hill City

Hill City Station

Once in Hill City the Train Depot was easy to spot and we arrived with time to spare.

Lines for Train, Hill City

 We picked up some snacks and soda at the snack bar for the train ride and poked around the gift shop before taking our places in a very long line to board the train.

The trip was narrated by a retired gentleman who said he was a “Workamper”. He and his wife were full time RVer’s . They travel around the country in their RV and find part time seasonal work at the various State and National Parks. His wife was working in the gift shop. This gig gave him 3 days on the train and she had 3 days in the gift shop. They would stay until the season ended and then move on. It allowed them to see the country and gave them a little income to support their retirement. Kind of a modern day gypsy.

From this very personable interpreter we learned about “summer” cows. As the train passed a herd of cows he announced that if we looked to our left we’d see a herd of summer cows. I looked and saw a plain old herd of cows. So I had to be the one to ask…what do you mean? Well he drawled, some are brown and some are black and some are spotted…“some are” (summer) cows…ohhhhhhhh!

I also found out that he suffered from CRS….I should have known better but I hadn’t learned my lesson. I bit…what’s CRS? Can’t Remember Stuff.

One thing he did tell us seriously is that the name “Black Hills” comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa which means “hills that are black”. Seen from a distance the pine covered hills appear black.

We saw a lot of deer and pronghorns. It was fun trying to decide if they were mule deer or whitetail and then we were pulling into Keystone.

RR Station, Keystone

As soon as you exit the train you see a sign welcoming you to “Historic” Keystone. We explored up one side of the street past homemade fudge shops and souvenir stores then

crossed to street to more T-Shirts shops and every kind of souvenir stand you can imagine. Mixed in were little restaurants and fast food eateries. We found one that offered a buffet and settled in for lunch.

Following our lunch break we continued down this boardwalk investigating each of the stores and emporiums along the way. It had clouded up and before too long it started to rain. A gunslinger came out of the “saloon” and began trying to drum up business for the afternoon vaudeville show. He was soon joined by a 2nd cowboy , this one cracking a whip. I don’t know how much success they had because we had to skip it. We needed to get back to the station for the return trip to Hill City.

She's comin' 'round the mountain

On that note I will leave you with one last gem form the train narrations. Upon complaints from a miner’s wife that none of the family mines had ever been named in her honor, her husband complied and named one “the Holy Terror!”.

Black smoke belches as they stoke the engine

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about our visit to the Wild Horse Sanctuary, so we’ll be heading back down to Hot Springs in the morning.