The San Diego trip had been a trial run for my main adventure of my trip ,to visit The Grand Canyon. By going to SD I had worked out how the Amtrak ticketing system worked and this was good because I would be on a tight schedule. The following day was the day I had picked for the trip, it also coincided with some free tickets to go and see a comic Bill Maher do a live show in LA. It was possible to go the show and get to Union Station in time for the trip but it was going to be tight.
Show was awesome, got away for 3:45, ran across town back to my digs, grabbed my overnight bag and headed for the station. I made it in time and even managed to buy a cool pair of Sketchers trainers.
Train journey was about 10 hours and was made interesting by a guy called Leo who traded notes on living in South Central with stories about Liverpool, lots of comparisons!
Before I knew it I was in Arizona and boarding a transfer bus that would take me to the Grand Canyon Railway Station.
I had to wait a few hours in the hotel before being rounded up by some real cowboys to be educated on the ways of the old wild west. After their show was finished we boarded the old fashioned runaway train and head out towards the Canyon. The journey was fantastic and definitely the way to get the Canyon.
When we arrived I became a cliche , my jaw dropped and all my best laid plans went out the window. I can't find the words to describe the Canyon and my pictures don't do it justice even though I've tried my best. All I would say is it's worth the effort, and having made the effort be sure to give yourself a few days and pack some camping gear. My trip was way too short, and I was travelling back to LA before I knew it! Anyway that's a story in itself so I'll save that for another day...hope you like the photos!
