Williams, AZ, Gateway to the Grand Canyon

Saturday, May 1 (b) for Thursday, April 29, 2021


We left Bill and Cheryl Edwards' home in Tempe, AZ and drove back north to Flagstaff to reconnect with ... 



One of Randy's favorite views in this part of the adventure was the San Francisco Peaks mountains. It really dominated what we saw for miles. This was on I-17 on the way north to Flagstaff.


We arrived in Williams and got set up in the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, then headed out to look for lunch and sightseeing. We stopped in a diner which was well known for their pies, and decided we weren't hungry enough for both lunch and pie, so maybe a salad, then pie? No, we decided on pie and coffee! Cherry Chocolate Drop for me, some type of Coconut for Randy. I made the better choice!


Williams has a Visitor Center with a small museum, with a lot of dusty history, items from the past, and many boards with information. What fascinated us the most was the diorama of the town back in its history. While the case was a bit dusty, the inside was one of the best we have ever seen, as you can tell by the number of pictures we took.




I've mentioned that both Randy and I like the Burma Shave advertisements from our youth. We didn't see the "sign by the side of the road" in the midwest, but we knew of them from print and even old TV ads. For some reason, after all these years, I have always remembered this one as my favorite. In the little museum, it was on a plaque.



Another feature in Williams was the Red Garter Bed and Bakery, a former "bawdy house" which now provides four "haunted" rooms, as well as the bakery downstairs. The young lady in the upstairs window gives her best "come hither" wave.


As we walked around town, we saw some interesting period buildings and signs ...




On the grounds of our hotel were a few railroad engines and other cars, and we were hard by the Grand Canyon Railroad station.


I hope to quickly explain our problem at the hotel and railroad. We made reservations for the hotel in Williams, the train ride up to the Grand Canyon, and a lodge room in the Grand Canyon park. We got notified about a week before, while on the road in Oklahoma, that our train ride was cancelled. After fussing at the hotel on our arrival, we found out the reservation was never confirmed and we were dropped. We do NOT know who made the error. We decided with AAA, who was in charge of the reservation, to keep the hotel and lodge reservation and we would drive from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park, about an hour drive. The hotel and lodge were both managed by Xanterra by contract with the National Park system. More on that in another post.

We went off in search of dinner, and found this diner. It was jammed, with a waiting line, but we stayed.




In a place like this, what else can you order but a burger, fries and a Coke. OK, I had slaw with water with my burger, but it was great.


After our fun dinner with discussions about town and the Grand Canyon park with a couple different families, we headed out on our neon tour. It wasn't all neon, but Williams did a good job of lighting up the streets, in spite of a lot of businesses being closed, either temporarily or permanently. Please browse the pictures.












We ended our evening out with this sign:




 

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