My dad is just like my grandpa,
but my grandpa is better.

- Zach, 5th grader

Photo credit: ArizTravel.com - All Rights Reserved

“What makes your grandparents so special?”   This was the question Verde Canyon Railroad posed to thousands of grade school students across the state of Arizona, in the annual “Grandparents Day Essay Contest.”

An abundance of entries poured into the Railroad’s Clarkdale depot, full of all the qualities that children find most appealing and important in a grandparent. Winners were chosen from each region, and each successful author will be awarded complimentary first-class train rides for them and their grandparents aboard the famed wilderness excursion train on Sunday, September 13th, 2009 celebrating Grandparents Day.

“We really enjoy reading the essays– they’re always so bright, funny and charming that it makes it very difficult to choose winners,” said Teresa Propeck, Verde Canyon Railroad’s Marketing Director.

“My dad is just like my grandpa, but my grandpa is better,” said Zach Abrigo in his prize winning essay. Abrigo is a 5th grade student at Cottonwood Middle School in the Verde Valley. Adriana Revilla, a 4th grader from Desert Heights School in Peoria, let us know about her “lovable” grandparents, “They are so understanding because when I accidentally gave my grandpa a black eye they did not get mad.”  “What makes my grandparents special is that they love me no matter what,” said McKenna Olsen, a 5th grader from Challenge Charter School in Glendale. “Sure, they’re sometimes embarrassing and weird, but that’s only because they’re just trying to play around with me.”

Students from Del Rio Middle School in Chino Valley submitted an entire binder full of entries about their retiring lunchroom/playground volunteer, Celia Chapman, known as “Grandma” to the entire student body. The students love their “Del Rio Grandma” for helping them open their snacks and lunches, keeping them safe from harm on the playground, and for her famed Hubba Hubba dance every Friday. “She also knows most of our names at school, which is about 700 children,” said 3rd grader, Coltin Farnsworth. Naturally, with credentials like this, the Verde Canyon Railroad will award a train ride to “Grandma” Celia Chapman.

Students love their ‘Del Rio Grandma’ for her famed Hubba Hubba dance [she performs] every Friday.

Other winners include Makaela Hayman,  4th grader at Clarkdale-Jerome School; Keigan Willingham, 3rd grader at Del Rio Middle School in Chino Valley; Miranda Masters,  2nd grader at Canon Elementary in Black Canyon City; Adrian Lara  and Charity DeTemple, both 4th graders at Prescott Valley’s Acorn Montessori; Nialetti Daley, 5th grader at Phoenix’s Joseph Zito Elementary; Collin Wood and Rook Wood, 2nd graders at Bustoz Elementary in Tempe; and Justin Paprocki and Jacob Garza,  5th graders from Challenge Charter School in Glendale.

Grandparents Day is Sunday, September 13th. On this date, the Verde Canyon Railroad departs at 1:00 pm and returns at 5:00 pm, a perfect, leisurely excursion through the wilderness for grandparents, parents, and children of all ages.

The Verde Canyon Railroad depot is located at 300 N. Broadway in Clarkdale, 25 minutes from Sedona, 2 hours north of Phoenix and 90 minutes south of Flagstaff. Go to verdecanyonrailroad.com for more information.

Gazing at the glorious expanse of Verde Canyon in full summer bloom, while sipping a fine wine in the luxuriating comfort of a Verde Canyon Railroad, is the epitome of bliss.  The Grape Train Escape wine-tasting events sweep into this serene wilderness sanctuary on select Friday evenings between June 5th and September 4th.  The lavish service is non-stop from the time the train departs the depot at 5:30 p.m. for a round trip to the ghost ranch of Perkinsville until returning at 9:30 p.m.

For info: www.verdecanyonrr.com

The first wine delight is savored with accompanying exotic appetizers as the train leaves the station. The setting sun’s interplay of light and shadow casts entrancing illuminations on the red rock cliffs and the valley’s lush foliage takes on a glow of spun gold. World-renowned photographers have dubbed this the “magic hour” for capturing awe-inspiring images.

Between the delectable foods and a variety of superb wines, passengers merrily move back and forth between the climate-controlled coaches and the open-air car’s refreshing breezes offering up 360 degree views. The softening light entices elk, deer, fox and many forest creatures to the water’s edge of the Verde River for a reviving drink. Great blue heron, ducks and other waterfowl cruise the river in the fading light.

The train’s narrator enriches the journey with fascinating facts of the area’s history, geology, archaeology, and ecology, spiced with humor-tinged folklore.

On the return trip from Perkinsville darkness falls over the canyon. It’s time for a dessert wine, fruit and chocolate as nature stages her celestial extravaganza. The night sky is splayed with the diamond brilliance of stars, the beguiling moonbeam’s hint of romance, and mystifying shapes from the train’s headlight dance on the canyon walls.

Throughout the journey favorite wines are available in full bottles or by the glass, as are cocktails, beer and specialty train drinks.

Slip away from the city and board a Grape Train Escape for an evening of divine pleasure.   This popular excursion runs on the following Fridays:  June 5 & 19, July 10 & 24, August 7 & 28, and Sept. 4, 2009.  For reservations call 1-800-293-7245 or book on-line at www.verdecanyonrr.com. Extend your stay at one of our comfortable area inns listed on our Web site.

The Verde Canyon Railroad depot is located in Clarkdale, 25 minutes from Sedona, two hours north of Phoenix and one and one-half hours south of Flagstaff. Passengers are encouraged to arrive approximately one and one-half hours prior to departure.

photo credit: five eyes on flickr.com

Tip the scales from ordinary to extraordinary in celebrating Dad on his special day.  Throw Papa ON the Train for Father’s Day on June 21,2009.  Riding the rails with loving sons and daughters in the relaxing climate-controlled cars of Verde Canyon Railroad will weigh in as a golden memory. The train gently slaloms through the pristine wilderness of Verde Canyon with breathtaking views around each bend. Cottonwoods and mesquites display their fullest bloom alongside the winding Verde River; wildflowers in flashy ruby, cobalt and gold blaze the hillsides, and crimson sandstone cliffs jut into the azure sky.

Keeping in mind the old saying, “the way to a man’s heart….,” come early and treat Dad to the Copper Spike Café BBQ on the outdoor patio to commence the Father’s Day festivities.  Then with his special gift in hand, Throw Papa on the Train for a fun-filled afternoon. Dad will delight in the historical narration of the once-flourishing copper mines and the rugged men who completed this rail line in 1912.  He’ll sport a boyish grin as the train passes through the 680-foot manmade tunnel and over the lofty S.O.B. trestle-style bridge.

Verde Canyon Railroad

Dad will feel like a king, bestowed with a special gift and surrounded by pampering rail staff. He’ll ponder how dads from the past took their roles as the “head of household” as the train’s narrator points out the ancient Sinagua Indian cliff dwellings and old homesteader ranch house on the valley floor.  Stroll with Dad to the open-air cars for a superb view of the huge nest of Black and Decker, the resident bald eagle couple. Catching sight of their fledglings testing their wings in flight will warrant giving Mom an extra hug as sons and daughters remember her encouragement to chance new horizons.

Leaving the bustling city behind to drink in the soothing elixir of nature’s beauty, spiced with tales of the Old West, is a way to show your love and gratitude to Dad for his years of parenting that will long be remembered.

The round trip to Perkinsville and back departs the depot at 1:00 pm and returns at 5:00 pm, just in time to treat Pa to toe-tapping entertainment and a feast of cowboy vittles at the nearby Blazin’M Ranch Chuckwagon Dinner Show.

For train reservations call 1-800-293-7245 or book on-line at www.verdecayonrr.com. The cowpoke dinner show can be conveniently booked at the same time.

The Verde Canyon Railroad depot is located in Clarkdale, 25 minutes from Sedona, two hours north of Phoenix, and one and one-half hours south of Flagstaff. Passengers are encouraged to arrive approximately one and one-half hours prior to departure.