Verde Canyon Railroad

The hubby often gets grumpy when I stop at one of the festivals we go to and take the time to throw my name (and information) into the give away hat.  Bearing that in mind, I had to write fast at the Tempe Arts Festival when I entered for a chance to take a free ride on the Verde Canyon railroad.  He had to eat his dirty look when I got the email saying that I had won two first class tickets on the train. (http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/)


We decided to redeem the voucher on Easter Sunday.

We spent the morning talking during our drive north out of the valley.  We were so deep in conversation that we missed it when "Mable", our GPS, told us to turn.  It didn't take long to get back on track, and soon we were at the train station.

Every moment after that was purely magical.  We had a snack while snapping pictures with "E. Bunny" and then boarded the restored Pullman car.  It seemed as if every direction that we looked could have been taken straight from a postcard.  I saw my first wild bald eagle in AZ, and it was on this train ride that I noticed the pretty flowers on the cactus. 

The Verde Canyon Railroad isn't cheap (about $85 for a first class ticket) but it is worth every penny.  The finger foods were delicious, and I could have drank a gallon of the prickly pear lemonade.