The Grand Canyon Railroad!

We all had such a great time walking the South Rim at the Grand Canyon earlier in the week,

 and the boys wanted to go down the Bright Angel Trail again.  

So, we packed up the trailer in Flagstaff, and went to a marvelous RV park 

in the small town of Williams so that we could spend a day on ....

THE GRAND CANYON RAILROAD!!!

It was an absolute blast!  We met at the train station early in the morning, watched an 

Old West gun fight show, boarded the train, and enjoyed the three hour ride north to the

Canyon.   We then had three hours to do or go wherever we wanted, and then met back

at the train station for the ride back south to Williams.

Waiting for the show to begin.

Posing with the Marshall.

Posing with a Bad Guy!

Preparing to board our Pullman Car.

Two VERY excited young men!

Lots of different languages here on the train and at the Canyon!

The train went between 30-40 mph.

Our train attendant was very good at pointing out interesting things

along the way.

It was a beautiful day, with a  lovely gentle breeze coming in through the windows.

Once we got off the train, the boys and I parted ways.

They headed to the trail for a short hike down, and I wandered around the South Rim,

just enjoying the lovely day, God's amazing creation in the Canyon, and  

watching all the very interesting people there as tourists.

We met at our prearranged time, and boy.....were they wiped out!

The train ride back to Williams was restful (so restful in fact that some of us dozed off), and

uneventful until we heard gun shots outside the train.

It was a train robbery!

Before we knew what was happening, the gangsters had boarded the train, and were

going from car to car demanding money.

We had been warned ahead of time, so some of the passengers had "tips" for them

Notice the dollar bill rolled up behind Isaac's ear!

Then the Marshall came through, wondering if any of us had seen the gangsters.

Isaac pointed him to the back of the train!

It was hilarious!

The train pulled in right on time.

It was a full day, but there were smiles all around!

At the RV park, the boys had so much fun playing on this covered wagon.

Good-bye Williams, Arizona!

We will be back for sure!

Our Grand Canyon Adventure!

Last week was a glorious week of cooler temperatures, spectacular scenery, and great family times.

Joe and I piled the boys in our travel trailer and headed north to Flagstaff.

It was time for them to see the Grand Canyon!

Words and photos cannot even begin to describe the majesty and awesome

wonder of this beautiful place.

Caught them both having a snack as we rested our feet!

Yes, those are tourists out there on the outcropping of rock.  You can't see it from here, but

there is a strong fence and railing there also.  

We were shocked to see how many people were standing on ledges that

were definitely not safe.......all for that perfect photo shoot.  Yikes.

Here we are, standing at that outcropping of rock shown above.

What a spectacular view!

I love this picture.  I think I will get it framed.

Joe is such a great dad and pours himself into the lives of his children.

We walked the entire south rim, and then went a little ways down the Bright Angel Trail.

I plopped myself down on a rock while Joe and the boys went farther down the trail.

Isaac and Joshua thought it was great fun and wanted to hike it further on another day.

Me?  Nope.  My feet and legs had had enough!

Here you can see the switchbacks of the trail......that goes on as

far as the eye can see!

This is very zoomed in from my vantage point on the rocks above, but the boys

wanted me to take their picture from way down on the trail.

You can see Isaac's red shirt in the middle of the picture!

HERE IS A BLAST FROM THE PAST!

January, 2004

Our first exploratory trip to Arizona!

Family Pictures!

Whoo Hooo!!!

We weren't expecting to see Courtney until Christmas time!

But her job brought her to New Mexico, so she worked it out to come home for

several days ahead of time.

It was quick, but very sweet.

AND, the most amazing thing is that we got everyone together for dinner
one evening and managed to get some family pictures taken.
With eight family members and one grandchild, it was not an easy task!
 I think they turned out GREAT!

Rachel and Elenna, who is now TWO!

Love these two daughters of ours so very much!
Rachel, 24 and Courtney, 26

Now for these two rascals who consume my days!!!!
Joshua, 9 and Isaac, 10
Of course I didn't even notice they had on their chore boots until the sun was down
and we were all looking at the pictures!

Now for all four of the Krause men!
Jonathan, 22 and David, 18

This is what these four looked like just seconds before the
above picture was taken...........

Birth Order!

Who would have thought when we got married 28 years ago that we end up
with this brood?  It's been quite a run......and it's not over yet!
Thank goodness we have each other, both for the good times and the not-so-good!

Elenna and me.......what a special girl she is!

I love this big crazy family of ours!