Grand Canyon - Getting There

Since we were at our daughter's for a good two months, and since the parents of our new grandchild needed time to themselves, a couple of side trips were planned.  Our first was to Sedona, which has already been posted here.  The no-brainer choice for another excursion was the Grand Canyon for a longer stay of four nights and five days.  How could we not do that?  But first we had to GET THERE.  Since I didn't relish the prospect of driving and the potential of running into overcrowding on the road, we first drove to Williams, AZ, then hopped on the train you see above.  Williams acts as a sort of "Park & Ride" for those seeking an alternate way into the park, with a bonus of entertainment on the way.

While there wasn't much to see outside during the ride - mostly just high desert scrubland - each car had a guide of sorts that kept us informed of what we were looking at, and the history of various sites along the way.  Then a guy with a guitar was moving from car to car, picking and singing old cowboy songs.  It really was a nice alternative to driving.

We reversed course on the way back from the Canyon, this time springing for one of the bi-level super luxury cars with windows on top for better views.  We were very disappointed, however, because alcohol was served and flowed freely; they were treating the ride as a big party with whooping, hollering, etc.  Since we're not drinkers, and are averse to whooping and hollering in public, we retreated downstairs, which was decked out as a quiet lounge with big, soft couches.  This was a great reprieve from the party going on upstairs, and as a bonus the train conductor also used this as his mid-trip lounge, and we learned a lot from him regarding the history and ownership of the train itself.  He broke away to park our ride, and when it stopped at the hotel we spent the night before driving back to Chandler the next day.

So this is how we traveled to and from the Grand Canyon.  As for our time there, these posts will be divided based on where we went and what we did.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Sunset Endcap

This sunset pic might be an apt way to conclude the posts from our walks in the neighborhood around our daughter's house in Chandler, AZ.  Lots of beauty and interest to be found even in the city.  Next stop: the GRAND CANYON!

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Succulent with Glowing Edges

The pattern here is what caught my eye, as I thought it might look good in Glowing Edges:

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Cat in Window

Published a cat-in-window picture from the recent cruise we took in New England.  They make pretty good subjects, but this one is a step up due to the serene atmosphere created by the furniture and foliage outside.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Work Truck

This truck, just down the street from Allison and DeQuan, was loaded up like this every night for the next day's work with various items, always piled high.  Gotta hand it to 'em...

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Flower Sprays

Everything in nature has its beauty - bugs, snakes, trees, cacti, mammals, birds... everything.  In the flora world, however, nothing can beat natural sprays of flowers such as these.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Praying Mantis / Fact Check Verification from a Valuable Contributor

Suppose these guys are found just about everywhere; pics here of some encountered in Taiwan and Japan.  This one was reposing on the front door of the kids' house there in Chandler.  They are pretty scary looking - even more so if you've seen them lightning-strike prey with those forearms.  And the way they cock their head up and swivel around to look at you seems a bit too personal...

It's in family lore that Bob, my oldest brother, when he was a little tyke, saw one on the handlebars of his tricycle and was terrified enough to scar him for life.  Will have to fact-check that one.

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FACT CHECK RESULT:  Bob responded with verification and so much more...

This is true and happened shortly after we moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in the summer of 1957 when I was five and before Jim was born.  I had no idea what was this giant ferocious bug that landed right in front of me on my trike, and I started screaming.  But what's not mentioned is that my friends and I later became enamored with praying mantises.  My best friend in Wilmington was Mike Farantino.  He and I would catch them in an adjacent vacant, overgrown field in Wilmington, and fly them like balsa wood airplanes.  They'd fly a distance and we'd catch them again.  One time we launched a praying mantis and it flew over our two-story apartment building (probably to get away), and we followed it in the air and went around and found it again.  You had to grab one behind the head because they could latch on to your finger and bite.  When launching you'd transfer your grip to under the thorax/wings and sort of gently throw it horizontally, and it would fly - sometimes pretty far.  We never harmed them and would release them when we were done playing.

In Jim's picture the praying mantis is green.  I don't know about Chinese insects but in Delaware they would change color from green to brown, and back, depending on the background.  I have seen them in Houston and Austin occasionally.  Here they seem to be mostly brown, although I know I have seen a green one in Texas too.

I attended a private Christian school in Wilmington (since closed) for grades one through three, and I started first grade at age five - kindergarten was not common them.  In second grade I took a praying mantis nest in a jar to class to show everyone.  Those nests look like a brown papery blob about half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter on a grass stalk or twig.  Fairly solid and somewhat crunchy.  Anyway, the thing hatched while I was there and somehow the jar lid came off (not my fault, I said and still say) and we had 50 tiny little mantises scurrying around the classroom all afternoon.  They come out very pale then turn dark brown, almost black, a couple of hours later.  The boys thought it was cool but our teacher and the girls in the class were not amuse.

Bob

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Palm Seed Pods

The seed pods on some sort of palm tree they have over there.  Koko ate some of these after they'd shriveled and fallen to the ground, which created a bit of a scare, but they turned out to be harmless.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Ornamental Yard Cactus

Another bear of a cactus.  Had to be very careful with Koko on walks, as she would want to get close to sniff and identify these strange new plants.

Chandler Neighborhood Shots - Prickly Pear Cactus

These grew everywhere where I lived down in Mexico ('80 & '81), and my friends there introduced me to the tunas, those red things that are actually quite tasty.  Unfortunately, they left me a little bit estreñido (you translate)...