Mommy and Wesley Trip 2025

This year was Wesley's turn to take a special trip with me. This boy LOVES trains. We decided to take the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon.

My parents arrived Thursday to stay with Lauren and Wesley and I left that afternoon as soon as I picked him up from school. (Yes, I pulled my kid out of school on Friday to ride a train. No regrets.)

We drove to Williams and checked-in at the KOA where we had reserved a cabin. Wesley was enamored with the cabin and insisted on opening and closing the door each time we went in or out. We had dinner at our picnic table and read bedtime stories on the porch swing. It was quite cozy and so nice to finally enjoy some cooler temps.

We woke up early Friday, had breakfast, and headed to the train depot. Wesley was so excited and honestly, so was I.

I was a bit worried about him getting bored on the 4.5 hour round-trip ride to and from the canyon and brought card games and snacks. We played two rounds of Go Fish! in the dining car but otherwise, I kid you not, the Wee Lad spent almost the entire time on the train like this:

Window open, arms on the sill, head on his arms. Loved every minute of it! (Except the pretend train robbery, that he didn't like. Neither did I.)

We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sky was clear, the weather perfect, and it wasn't too crowded. We hiked along the rim trail a little bit and Wesley fell in love with every canyon layer rock example and asked for a picture with each of his favorites.

We found a bench with beautiful views of the canyon and ate the lunch that I'd packed. We then shopped (that kids likes to shop and he for sure doesn't get it from me) and he picked out a souvenir for the trip.

I insisted on hiking down into the canyon for at least a few minutes, just to say we did. Wesley wasn't too inclined until he saw this arch from the trail. We both decided that was a good goal to hike to and then turn around.

I love this boy!

We got back to Williams and had dinner at an old-fashioned Route 66 diner before heading back to our cabin. There was an indoor pool at the KOA and we went over to try it out. We ended up soaking in the hot tub instead - Wesley's idea. The next morning we watched the Grand Canyon IMAX movie. Wesley has never been to a movie in a theater before and I thought he'd find the IMAX pretty amazing but nothing, and I mean nothing, could overshadow the train ride the day before.

We headed home after this, stopping at a rest stop for a quick picnic lunch, before getting home and enjoying the rest of the weekend with my parents.

It was a wonderful trip! Wesley has already informed me that for his next Mommy and Wesley trip in two years we're going to go backpacking. I can't wait!