We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Flagstaff, Arizona to catch the train to Los Angeles. Half way between Grand Canyon Village and Flagstaff we got a call from the station agent in Flagstaff. The Southwest Chief – originally scheduled to whisk us across the desert to Los Angeles overnight – was now delayed. Rather than a 10:00 p.m. departure we were now looking at a midnight departure. Putting aside for the moment the potential impact of that delay on the second link of our planned rail adventure – the Coast Starlight scheduled to take us from LA to San Luis Obispo – we would have to find a way to kill some time in Flagstaff.
Fortunately, Flagstaff turned out to be a people friendly town. Cooperative, accommodating faces greeted us everywhere even in the depth of winter when smiling for tourists is not the expected visage du jour. Justin, the Amtrak agent in Flagstaff could not have been more encouraging. Yes, Flagstaff has lots of nice restaurants. Yes, even on a Sunday evening in the off-season. He recommended two of his favorites. He also recommended that we stop in at the historic Weatherford Hotel for a drink before dinner. It was built in 1898 and, according to Justin, operates now much as it did then.
This is the site that greeted us as we walked toward the hotel. It was NOT hard to find.
We took his advice and stopped in at the Weatherford for a drink in the Zane Grey Bar on the 3rd floor. Zane Grey became a regular at the Weatherford during his travels to the American West. He had heard Buffalo Jones speak about his bison preservation efforts along the north rim of the Grand Canyon and decided to explore the West. Buffalo Jones had established the bison preserve at the request of his friend, Teddy Roosevelt. For those of you not familiar with Buffalo Jones, he also co-founded and became the first mayor of Garden City, Kansas, my home town.
The Zane Grey Bar is virtually unchanged from its wild west days. On our way up to Zane Grey we passed through a 2nd floor parlor room where a group of local musicians had gathered to play Celtic music. They play – without charge – every Sunday night for anyone who wants to drop by and listen. We enjoyed our drinks and the Celtic music before heading off for dinner at the Tinderbox, Justin’s favorite restaurant in Flagstaff.
After dinner we returned to the Weatherford. The front desk at the Weatherford is managed by a young man in his mid-20’s named Matt. Notwithstanding his tender age, Matt was the General Manager of the hotel. He graciously allowed us to take up space in the hotel lobby after we explained to him that we were looking for a comfortable place to kill time until our 12:00 a.m. departure. As we waited in the lobby Matt repeatedly jumped up to greet every visitor to the hotel, many of them by name. He also held the door for patrons and visitors alike as they headed out. The hotel seems to serve as a social gathering place for the local community, especially the music lovers, in addition to its role as a refuge for Flagstaff travelers. Although many of those who dropped in during the evening just stopped in to chat for a bit with Matt.
Tower alcove in Zane Grey Bar
All-in-all our extended time in Flagstaff was great. The food was good, the people were helpful and cheerful, and we learned a bit about the history of the west and of my home town.