October 10-12, 2011 – Camp Verde, AZ continued


Rex received tickets for the Verde Canyon Railroad as a Christmas gift from the owners of the Dolly Steamboat and we finally got a chance to use them.  We rode the train on Monday and had a great ride.  Our two FP& engines, No.s 1510 and 1512, were built in 1953 for the Alaska Railroad.  In 1988 they went to the Wyoming-Colorado Railroad and ran on the scenic railroad from Laramie to Fox Park in Wyoming.  When the Colorado-Wyoming Railroad closed in 1995 the engines were purchased by the Verde Canyon Railroad.  We rode the Colorado-Wyoming Railroad out of Laramie the last year it operated and were disappointed when it closed.  We are glad the engines found a new home.  



The scenery in the Verde River canyon was beautiful and we even saw a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree beside the river (unfortunately, we were not able to get a picture of it).









We passed by a couple of cliff dwellings shortly after the start of the trip.










Engines 1510 and 1512 going by beautiful basalt cliffs as they head back down the canyon.

We enjoyed our ride and the weather was perfect – sunny and in the high 70’s. 






Tuesday we drove to Prescott and kayaked on Watson Lake in an area called Granite Dells.  Granite Dells is an area outside of Prescott that is famous for its granite formations.










We enjoyed paddling among all the formations.













This tree was the lone sentinel on this small granite island.












We caught this snake sunning himself on a rock beside the lake.  Can you see his reflection in the water?









We also passed this Bald Eagle having lunch on the far side of the lake.  The eagle was eating something it had caught and we could see feathers or fur flying each time it ripped a piece from its prey.  It actually let us paddle fairly close but did keep an eye on us the whole time.


We had a great day kayaking and even got a little sunburned.


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