Joan and Steph arranged this over a month ago - a "Chocolates and Champagne" Valentine trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad. Joan loves trains.
You board the train near Cottonwood, Arizona, a couple hours north of Phoenix. So... road trip!
It's been a couple years since we've been on this stretch of I-17; pretty in a rugged Arizona sorta way. Since we knew we'd have a couple hours in the car on the way there, we stopped for a quick breakfast... at Chick-fil-A. Heart-shaped chicken breakfast sandwiches. Yes, really.
We enjoyed the conversation mixed with some classic rock on the way north. As usual, we were early. Plenty early. We checked in for the train, then drove back to Cottonwood to wander around the town.
The old town is full of shops and little restaurants. It has the feel of an old mining town that is re-inventing itself. Of course, we were sucking in by a place that was named "the Cat's Meow"... it was vintage clothing, not cat stuff. But, there was a pet stuff place nearby...
Nobody needed $17 cat socks, so we continued walking around town. Back in the car, we came across a Hippie Shop. We knew it was a hippie shop, because the name of the place was the Hippie Shop. I didn't think we needed any hippies (since I used to be one), but Joan said, "Let's stop - maybe they'll have a tie-dye shirt for you?" (insert rapid car turn here)
Yes, I did find a shirt. Tie-dye is kinda ironic on me these days... I'm an old guy with short hair... buying a shirt from a young guy with long hair.
More looking around, then back to the train. They have different seating you can buy: coach or first class... we opted for the first class AND the chocolate and champagne package. We were assigned to our train car and waited to board. Obligatory group selfie...
Inside the train car...
And the chocolates...
Yeah, that's a chocolate fountain. No, apparently they they don't allow you to go into it face first. We enjoyed the club seating...
Steph and I don't care to ride backwards, thus the seating arrangement. There was also finger food that was included in our package; we were told we didn't need to eat lunch ahead of time. We weren't going to go hungry... and I didn't think there was such a thing as too much chocolate.
The train is a 38 mile ride through the Verde River Canyon. This used to be a small freight line, but when the current owner bought it, he decided the scenery was something that should be shared. On with the trip...
18 passenger cars, with every third of fourth car being an open air observation car (no ticketed seating there) - nice for going outside for the photo ops.
The railroad used to be called the Verde Valley Railroad, but I guess "canyon" sounds more scenic. For those who remember high school Spanish, Verde is "green." This time of year, there isn't a lot of green out there, but it is ruggedly scenic.
The view out the window...
It is a gradual climb to Perkinsville, where they move the locomotives to the other end of the train, then take you back. The canyons are striking...
Swapping ends with the locomotives...
Steph swapped to the other side, I stayed where I was, preferring to ride backwards so I could sit by my Honey...
I handed Steph the camera to get a shot of Joan and me. Twenty shots later, Steph let me have my camera back. Apparently, she forgot her photographic training: set up the shot, get the shot, get out...
The train goes 10 to 15 mph most of the way. The ride back is downhill, so a bit faster. Into the tunnel...
The weather weasels had been predicting 90 to 100% chance of rain for today. And chilly. We lucked out, and they were wrong. It was pleasantly cool, and no precip until just before we got back...
It didn't last long, and our walk back to the car was dry. And carrying all the chocolate we couldn't finish. I was wrong, you can have too much chocolate. It was a fun excursion - glad the ladies popped for first class and the chocolate package.
It was approaching sunset as we got close to the Phoenix area. Joan got this with her phone...
Nice way to wrap up the day.
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