Williams, AZ - Night Shot of Train with Lights

A night shot that turned our pretty well considering it was hand-held with a slow lens.

I decided that this is enough of the Old West for now.  We'll jump to mainland China, then may come back to take in the Grand Canyon...

Williams, AZ - Fall Colors

As we'd gained altitude driving to Williams in the latter half of October, we got to see some pretty good fall colors.  This and the two pictures below were captured on the hotel grounds the morning after we arrived:

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #9

The shootout...

Once this performance was over everybody made their way to their assigned railcars to begin the trip. These actors stood alongside the tracks on our way out, waving and wishing us all a good journey.

But they weren't done with their day's work.  Each afternoon as the train makes its way back to Williams, these same guys and girl gallop alongside on horseback, firing their pistols into the air, whereupon the train creaks to a stop out in the middle of nowhere.  Then, playing the part of bandits, complete with handkerchief-covered faces, they dismount their horses, board the train and go from car to car "robbing" the passengers of assets and sense of security.  Of course it's all an act, and a way to gather tips for their entertainment services.  I put some money in my shirt pocket so that it dangled halfway out.  When one of the "robbers" got to our car I raised both hands, protesting that I didn't have any money to steal.  Naturally he saw the bill hanging out of my pocket and snatched it away.  I regret to say that it was just $1 instead of a ten or twenty.

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #7

The faceoff...

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #6

 

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #5

It appears that our little guy is somewhat sad at the passing of their companion...

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #4

Here is our heroine again, the first to die:

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #3

There was only one female among the actors, but she was just as tough as the rest of them.

Naturally I focused on the revolvers they used, some of which appeared to be Rugers:

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #2

Of course you can't have a shootout without someone shooting out, and they had a half-dozen or so actors to fill those roles.  This little guy caught my eye right away, being a midget, which I think added to the authenticity of the performance, as surely they had midgets in the Old West.  He was a key player, appeared to enjoy what he was doing, and we thought did a good job.

Williams, AZ - Shootout Shots #1

The idea behind going to Williams is that you spend the night in the hotel at the train stop, then board early the next day.  This we did, but about a half hour before boarding they performed a 15-minute Old West shootout, complete with fake storefronts.  I made sure to sit at the top of the spectators' bleachers so that the Bigger Cahoona could get to work.

One thing I noticed right away was that the windows opened up to the parking lot beyond, showing cars, pedestrians, etc.  This takes a lot from the immersive experience, and I'm considering making a layer of some western scenes from the Canyon, placing them behind the storefronts, then sending this pic, modified thus, to them as an encouragement to at least place something to look at besides automobiles.  We'll see whether I actually get around to doing that and, if so, whether they'll even take a look at a pic sent from the thousands of tourists that email them every year...