Sedona, AZ: It’s never a spooky ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad where passengers are ‘treated’ with pleasure – not ‘tricked.’ On Friday, October 31, ghosts and goblins, witches and warlocks – pint-sized and full-grown – are invited to join in the Railroad’s frightening good fun.
In addition to the spectacular fall foliage on the scenic excursion through Arizona’s other grand canyon a costume contest will be featured. Passengers are encouraged to dress up and win prizes. Prizes will be awarded for the best, funniest, and scariest costumes worn by a child and adult. Other than the great service extended to all passengers from depot and train personnel, they won’t be recognizable behind their fearful or funny disguises in celebration of this ghoulish holiday.
Guests may see the Wicked Witch of the West handing out train tickets, or a mad scientist greeting visitors with soda and snacks. Watch out for the Bride of Frankenstein as she points out rock formations from the open-air viewing car during the train journey that boasts more treats than tricks.
Passengers are encouraged to share ghost stories as the train starts up the tracks under the watchful eye of spirits past, which hover over the abandoned copper smelter. The mining activity was the reason these historic tracks were laid nearly a century ago. Perhaps the Sinagua Indian ruins, visible from the train, harbor phantoms of an even more distant past.
The perfect Halloween moment, however, is when the train, powering towards Perkinsville on its four-hour journey, plunges into complete darkness as it passes through a 680-foot man-made tunnel blasted through rock back in 1911. Long shadows cast by the late afternoon sun may make the return journey just a bit spooky.
Present day inhabitants of the Verde Canyon soon steal the scene, as passengers and hosts alike excitedly point out the amazing variety of wildlife such as deer, Javelina, fox, wild burros, or maybe even a bear. Migratory birds are finding their way back for a comfortable winter in the canyon, joining resident bald eagles, Black and Decker.
The brilliant backdrop of autumn leaves, blue skies and the clear green water of the life-giving Verde River, one of the few remaining wild and scenic waterways of the West, enhance the startling beauty of the soaring red rock cliffs of this wall-to-wall wonderland.
