Welcome

Welcome to the travelog for the Search for Coconino.

Background

Coconino is the name of the largest county in Arizona. With its 18,661 square miles it is larger than each of the nine smallest states. Coconino County contains the Grand Canyon National Park and the county seat is located at Flagstaff, AZ. The name Coconino comes from Havasupi word for "little water".

Coconino is also the name of former Northern Pacific dome car 554 once used on the Vista-Dome North Coast Limited between Seattle, WA and Chicago, IL. This dome car is now used on the Grand Canyon Railway between Williams, AZ and the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

My sister Laurie had been wanting to take me on a birthday trip of my choosing. We talked about the Grand Canyon and the thought of seeing (and possibly riding) that former NP dome car seemed like a good choice to me.

We were originally going to go in April around the time of my birthday but a busy work schedule that month changed it to June, the next best dates for both of us. At least the chances of better weather and longer daylight were going to be a lot better in June. The plan was to leave Sea-Tac Airport on June 23, 2011. It was destined to be a great trip!