Gonna catch the next train goin', gonna leave my blues behind

When Lou suggested a train ride, I was probably less enthusiastic than he'd hoped. "Well, I've done something like that before. My girlfriend and I rode the Skunk Train from Ft. Bragg to Willits and back. It was fun for the first ten minutes or so. But let me think about it."

I did think about it and decided, sure, let's do it.

The Verde Canyon Railroad runs from Clarkdale, Arizona (near Cottonwood) along the Verde River to Perkinsville. There are standard rail cars (each with a bar) and open observation cars where most people spend the trip when the weather's good, like it was today.

I hadn't known Verde Canyon existed, so I didn't know what to expect. Would it be dramatic and scenic, or just one of those low spots between hills pretending to be a canyon. I wasn't very encouraged as we started off. But then, oh yeah, it became a real canyon with cliffs, a tunnel and everything.

It's a four-hour round trip but I never got bored. Red rock formations, cottonwoods leafed out in bright green, the river making me wish I had an inner tube... Parts of it reminded me of the train at Disneyland. Only this was real. I'm glad I went. I could have been happier, though, without the train songs over the PA. The scenery was entertainment enough.